Choosing the right slatted flooring in farrowing crates could increase sow comfort and reduce shoulder pressure
lesions. That’s one of the observations coming out of a study by Kathy Zurbrigg, a surveillance analyst with the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The study set out to determine if a human pressure measurement system could be effectively used to measure the pressure exerted on a sow’s shoulder when it lays down to
farrow and nurse. Tests were conducted using two types of farrowing crate flooring – cast iron and triangular bar. It was found that the triangular bar flooring has narrower slats and wider slots (the openings between slats) than the cast iron slatted floor,” the study’s author observed. “The resulting decreased surface area for contact with the shoulder increases the pressure exerted on those areas that contact the slats, particularly the bony prominence of the scapula, because there is less surface area over which to distribute the sow’s weight. In this study, the addition of a rubber mat over part
of the farrowing crate floor significantly reduced the contact areas of the sow’s shoulder.