Regardless of international animal welfare regulations, most sows in production currently spend most of their lives and the peripartum period in caged housing systems.
Although this type of management is intended to reduce neonatal mortality in piglets, several studies consider that there has been no significant reduction in its incidence over the last 30 years.
On the contrary, cage housing has promoted the appearance of alterations during the farrowing process such as dystocia, as well as in maternal behaviour and health, promoting stereotypes, skin lesions and other alterations, which not only impact the sows but also their progeny during the lactational period.
Therefore, the aim of the present review is to compare the productive performance and welfare of sows and their piglets within the farrowing, lactation, and post-weaning period in both traditional and free-farrowing systems, highlighting the differences in these indicators in each of them.
José A Sánchez-Salcedo 1, Ariadna Yáñez-Pizaña2
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2022 Jan 7; 1-11.doi: 10.1080/10888705.2021.2008935.
1Facultad de Ingeniería En Sistemas de Producción Agropecuaria, Universidad Veracruzana, Acayucan, México.
2Escuela de Ciencias de La Salud, Medicina Veterinaria Y Zootecnia, Universidad Del Valle de México, Coyoacán, México.