Farrowing pen design profoundly affects both sow welfare during confinement and piglet welfare through its influence on crushing rates, colostrum access and environmental temperature.
Farrowing pen design creates a genuine welfare trade-off: crates that restrict the sow protect piglets from crushing but impose confinement welfare costs on the mother. Research into loose farrowing systems that protect piglets through careful pen design rather than sow restriction is producing promising results. The welfare ideal is a system that protects piglets without confining sows.