As the occurrence of group housing of dry sows increases, a concern that arises is that these sows may develop problems when they are confined farrowing environment. This study assessed the welfare of group housed gestating sows during the confinement of farrowing by investigating the prevalence of limb disorders, injuries, impact of body condition and the variation in the methdodolgy in lying-down behaviour. The assessments took place in 10 commercial herds. Forty-one percent of the sows observed demonstrated some form of difficultly lying down. Slipping was linked with difficulty lying-down, which was associated with lesions on the hind feet. Larger (fat) sows took more steps with their hind legs when attempting to lie down, while overgrown hooves was associated with abnormal behaviours when lying down. Skin lesions were found the most frequently on the lateral hind feet and shoulders. Fifteen percent of the sows observed were lame and lameness was associated with a numerous factors. Lameness was associated with an increase in the number of lesions found on the hock and hind feet. Lameness was also related to the occurrence of uncontrolled movements when trying to lie down. Thus, there may be a few key indicators that can be used to indicate the overall welfare of sows in the farrowing environment when they are group housed during gestation.