The transition from individual sow stalls to group housing systems is underway in many countries. Understanding the welfare implications of different group housing designs helps inform better standards.
Group housing represents a genuine welfare improvement over gestation crates by allowing movement, social interaction, and expression of natural behaviour throughout pregnancy. However, poorly designed group housing can create welfare problems through competition and aggression at feeding and resting sites. Electronic sow feeder systems that provide individual feeding rations while maintaining group living space address the feeding competition problem but require careful management of feeder ratios and space allocation. Free-access stall designs that allow voluntary social withdrawal combine the benefits of individual space availability with the option for social contact, representing a high welfare design that gives sows agency over their social environment. The transition to group housing requires investment and management skill that is feasible but not automatic.