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Alternative Pig Housing

Alternatives to confinement

(To see references for this document you can click on any of the reference numbers in the text.)

In its 1990 report on intensive farming, the Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare recommended:
11.72 "... that future trends in housing the dry sow should be away from individually confined stall systems and that this be reflected in the Code of Practice for the Welfare of the Pig. The Committee recommends that the tethering of sows be banned. "

In the UK individual sows stalls have been banned as of 1999. Switzerland has begun a 10-year phase out of both individual sow stalls and farrowing crates. Both stalls and crates are effectively banned in Sweden and Norway, where all housing must allow animals to turn around. Freedom Foods plans to ban farrowing crates on the 1000 UK farms that are part of their scheme. In contrast, in Australia many sows are still in individual stalls, and most still give birth in farrowing crates, in spite of the fact that there are effective alternatives.

In addition to more space, pigs also need materials to satisfy their need to root and chew. In the UK, the RSPCA has set up the Freedom Foods scheme, where farmers wishing to be accredited have to meet a list of requirements. One requirement is as follows:
" Pigs are naturally inquisitive and must, at all times, have access to straw or other suitable media such as woodchips or sawdust for the expression of rooting, pawing, mouthing or chewing behaviours ".

Paddock housing for sows

In the UK, 25% of breeding sows are kept outdoors ( 1 ). In Australia the figure is around 10%, although it has risen to 20% in Western Australia. In that state, near Albany, the Great Southern Outdoor Pig Company has 3000 sows outdoors ( 2 ). The sows wean 20 piglets a year, which is comparable to indoor herds. They have no problems with lameness, are fitter, and have fewer farrowing problems.

The property has good quality electric fencing, good water supply for drinking and mud wallows, while straw-bedded huts and shade cloth provide shelter.

Outdoor pig production has also increased on the south island of New Zealand ( 3-7 ). Sows are kept in groups from 5 to 14 in paddocks with movable straw-bedded huts. Paddocks contain shade as well as mud wallows to minimise heat stress and sunburn. On one of these farms, 315 outdoor sows wean an average of 23 piglets a year, an exceptionally good figure ( 4 ).

Aggression is generally low among paddock pigs, and is associated with feeding. If food is spread out in a long line, even subordinate sows can eat their share and aggression is reduced ( 8 ).

Outdoor pig farming can be very successful where climate and environment are suitable. The soil should be light and free draining to avoid water-logging. A low rainfall is desirable. Land should not be steep or stony to avoid erosion and injuries to the feet. Shelters and tree belts are essential to provide protection from extreme weather and heat stress. On good land 15-20 sows can be run per hectare ( 1 ), but they should be moved to new land at least once every two years to avoid a build up of pathogens in the soil. Breeds of pigs suited to outdoor living should be chosen.

Capital costs are lower for outdoor pigs than for intensively housed animals, but good stockmanship is needed. Then the system can be very successful both for the farmer and for meeting the meeting the physical and behavioural needs of pigs.

Integrated housing

Sows can be housed indoors in permanent groups, in pens where they spend their pregnancy, give birth and suckle their young to weaning.

In a Norwegian system, a central straw-covered common area with an Electronic Sow Feeder is surrounded by a section of slatted floor to allow excrement to fall through. Individual farrowing pens with straw and a heater for piglets are arranged along each side of the common area. Sows can open the sliding gate to these pens with their snouts, so they can come and go between their piglets and the common area as they please. In 15 commercial operations, a range of 8.2-10.2 piglets/litter were weaned from each sow ( 9 ), compared to the range 8.2-10.2 in Australia ( 10 ). The system is productive, but at the same time allows the sow to carry out her natural behaviour.

The Edinburgh Pig Pen is designed to allow pigs to express all important behaviours. Four sows remain permanently in each pen, together with their current litters until they reach market weight. The permanent social group means that there is very little aggression and piglets don't suffer the stress and health problems associated with artificial weaning ( 11 ).

The pen is subdivided into several different areas through the use of partitions. There is an activity area covered with straw and a rooting area covered with peat. There is a separate dunging corridor to take advantage of the pig's instinct not to foul the nest area.

Sows in the system are very productive, producing 2.47 litters a year. In spite of the fact that more piglets were crushed than in farrowing crates, there were still 19.6 pigs sold per sow/year, compared to 19.4 weaned per sow/year in Australia ( 10 ).

Similarly, when the Family Pen was tested commercially in Switzerland, the mortality rate of piglets was higher, but there were still 19.5 piglets weaned per sow/year ( 12 ). Piglet deaths due to crushing were much lower when the mothers themselves had been born and raised in Family Pens.

Group pens

In the integrated pens, sows spend their entire reproductive lives in the same space. In group pens, the sows are separated and moved to other areas for farrowing.

In group pens, each sow must have at least 2 square metres of space. Stress hormones levels are much lower when pigs have at least this amount of space ( 13-15 ). Reduced immune function has been found when the space allowance is smaller than 2sqm ( 14-15 ). Aggression is higher in smaller space allowances ( 15 ). However, the animals in these studies were mostly gilts (young females) who are smaller than fully mature sows, so 2 sqm is an absolute minimum.

Food has to be delivered in such a way that all sows can eat without fear of aggression. Options include individual feeding stalls where partitions separate the head and shoulders of feeding sows, or Electronic Sow Feeders where each animal enters the feeding station in turn and is delivered a ration of food according to information activated by her ear tag.

As acknowledged by the RSPCA Freedom Foods requirements, sows need to have bedding to manipulate and chew. Abnormal behaviours are much less frequent when sows have straw ( 16-18 ). Having straw to chew also solves the problem of breeding sows being kept constantly hungry to keep their weight down.

Farrowing pens

The problem with traditional farrowing pens has been high piglet mortality - when the large sow flops down piglets can be crushed under her. However, a researcher in Victoria has designed a pen which allows farrowing sows to express their natural behaviour and at the same time protects piglets.

The pen contains a nest area covered with rice hulls, separated by a piglet barrier from a non-nest area with a feeder and slatted floor to allow droppings to fall through ( 19 ). The pen is at least 2 metres wide to allow the sow to turn around. It has inward sloping sides to both help the sow lie down slowly and to provide a safe area for piglets underneath. A heater is installed under one of the sides for the piglets.

The pen is undergoing farm trials. Piglets survival rates of up to 90% have been achieved ( 20 ), and research is continuing to make the design even more effective. In recent trials on 4 commercial farms the Werribee Farrowing Pen had lower piglet mortality than standard farrowing crates. A triangular piglet area was more effective than a rectangular one ( 21 ). You can find out more about the Werribee Farrowing Pen online .

A similar system has been trialed in Switzerland ( 22 ). It is divided into a straw covered nest area and a non-nest area. A heated piglet kennel is installed in the centre of the pen. Piglet mortality was 12.2% in standard farrowing crates, compared to 11.3% in the new pen. As a result of this research a 10-year phase out of farrowing crates has begun in Switzerland.

Ecoshelters for growing pigs

An effective form of housing from the point of view of both farmers and young pigs is the Ecoshelter, a large igloo shaped structure often measuring 9 by 22 metres. The sides and ends can be opened to increase ventilation in warm weather, and can be closed in cold weather. It is a light weight structure that is easy to erect and involves only about one third the capital cost of an intensive shed.

The floor is covered with straw for insulation from the cold, but spray cooling is necessary in hot weather. Pigs must have at least 1 square metre of space each. No "vices" such as tail biting have been observed among pigs in these shelters ( 23 ). No parasites have been found and levels of common diseases such as pleurisy and proliferative enteritis are low ( 24 ). The pigs show a wider range of behaviour and keep their pen cleaner than pigs in intensive sheds ( 25 ).

Ecoshelters produce much less odour than intensive sheds, and there is no problem with effluent disposal - soiled straw is composted and used as fertiliser.

In WA these trials these shelters have performed better than industry averages, with lower mortality and better weight gain ( 24,26 ). The pigs have more space, can exercise and express their natural behaviour, have fewer leg and foot problems, and less respiratory diseases due to better ventilation.

At Boen Boe stud piggery, previously an intensive farm subject to animal welfare criticisms, they now have 6 Ecoshelters for growing pigs ( 27 ). The change has cut costs by two thirds, maintenance costs by 80%, and stock mortality by 50% while eliminating waste water. Because the straw absorbs excrement there is less smell and sheds don't have to be washed out with large quantities of water, which then creates a problem of disposal. The pigs have better weight gain, are cleaner and healthier, with better muscle tone due to exercise.

Ecoshelter-type housing is also starting to be used for dry sows. A 100 sow piggery in NSW uses two large sheds divided in half, with 25 sows in each area ( 28 ). The farmers find the sows in better health and condition due to the extra space and exercise and the straw floor (instead of bare concrete).

The Ecoshelters have many advantages for sows, apart from being able to express their natural behaviour. There is less aggression, they have fewer leg problems, and fewer stillbirths ( 29 ).

A study at Curtin University of the economic benefits of Ecoshelters found that the cost per square metre of accommodation was one fifth that of intensive housing, the cost of running pigs was one quarter, and the initial capital cost was only 30-40% that of intensive sheds. While there was a higher cost for straw, there were lower costs for water, electricity, medication and buildings ( 29 ).

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