Conversion of gestation sow housing from stalls to group systems has been\u00a0mandated in the recently revised Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and\u00a0Handling of Pigs, with all sow farms expected to adopt this practice by July\u00a02024 (NFACC, 2014). As such, this study aimed to investigate management\u00a0options that will take advantage of potential merits of group sow housing.
\nOne such advantage may be that sows housed in groups can interact with\u00a0one another and exhibit thermoregulatory behavior (e.g., huddling), thereby\u00a0potentially tolerating temperatures below the lower critical temperature\u00a0(LCT). This could result in reduced energy costs for heating and ventilation. \u00a0Housing sows in groups can also lead to aggression among gestating sows\u00a0and is aggravated by feed restriction during gestation. High fi ber (high\u00a0heat-increment) diets have been reported to increase satiety and reduce\u00a0aggression among sows in addition to increasing heat production of sows. \u00a0The addition of fiber to the diet could be a means of addressing behavioral
\nissues associated with grouped-sows as well as contributing to the energy\u00a0balance of sows under reduced barn temperature.<\/p>\n