Space allowance, or stocking density, is expressed in terms of pigs per\u00a0floor area. Space allowance requirements are based on the body weight\u00a0of the pig, which is proportional to surface area of the pig. The optimal\u00a0space allowance is the minimum area per pig for maximal individual\u00a0weight gain. Many experiments have arrived at the same conclusion:\u00a0\u201ca decrease in space allowance per pig reduces growth performance\u201d\u00a0because reduced floor-space allowance increases competition for water\u00a0and feed, reducing feed intake and consequently body weight gain. \u00a0However, from an economic perspective it is clear that fewer pigs per\u00a0pen means less kilograms of pork will be produced per pen, despite the\u00a0improvement in individual weight gain. \u00a0Under conventional management in the grower-finisher period, pigs\u00a0remain in the same pen for several weeks until they reach market\u00a0weight. The maximum space requirement has to be calculated based\u00a0on the day that the first pig is sent to market. Considering a target\u00a0market weight of 125 kg, the first pigs would be typically sent to market\u00a0when the average weight of pigs in the pen is around 105 to 110 kg. \u00a0According to the Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling\u00a0of Pigs (2014) the minimum space allowance per pig under these\u00a0circumstances will be 0.75 to 0.77 m2 or 8.04 to 8.29 ft 2. According to\u00a0the same publication, a decrease of up to 15% is allowed in the grower-finisher period if the higher<\/p>\n