With the move towards group sow
housing systems in North America,
developing management practices that
optimise sow performance and longevity in these
systems will be critical to the success and long
term profitability of swine operations. A variety of
group gestation systems have been developed,
each a different level of competition sows must
cope with. How well an individual sow copes in
each system will depend on the housing type and
management, but also on the animal’s individual
temperament.