PigChat 0813 Draftb

Lactating sows are traditionally housed in farrowing crates in order to reduce piglet mortality. It is intuitive for most to believe that housing a 1.5 kg new born piglet and 200 kg sow in the same pen will present some problems related to body size inequities. There are those that argue that sows should not be confined to a stall at any stage of production and that the behavioural freedom to turn around provides better welfare for the sow. Most of those involved in commercial production will quickly point out that the freedom for the sow to move about is not such a great deal for the piglets as they are more likely to be crushed. Most suckling pig deaths occur within a few days of birth.