By John J. McGlone, Pork Industry Institute, Texas Tech University - Sow housing in the broadest sense refers to how sows are kept. Sows may be kept indoors or outdoors in a variety of systems. Penning with indoor or outdoor systems differ substantially.

Outdoors, sows are almost never kept in crates or stalls but rather in pens or pastures of various sizes that allow social grouping. Indoors, sows may be kept in individual crates, stalls or tethers or in pens of various sizes.

Reasons for choice of a sow housing or penning system include the preferences of the pork producer, economics, legal requirements, geographic location and welfare of the sows. The leading reason for choice of a housing and penning system is the economic pressures on the pork producer.

This report attempts to objectively summarize, in lay terms, the current status of housing and penning systems for gestating sows (and gilts). Because economic forces play so heavily on decisions about housing and penning systems, and because the percentage of sows in crates has increased significantly over the last half of the 20th century, this report begins with a summary of recent USA swine industry restructuring. Then, common housing and penning systems for sows are discussed.

To read the remainder of this article Click Here

Source: Texas Tech University - May 2002

点击支持一下 共有条评论