Farrowing Crates

Interested to see what people inside and outside of agriculture think about farrowing crates.  I love pigs.  My boyfriend has always had them and he got me very interested in them.  There is nothing more fun than pigs.  They’re always a blast, especially when they are first born.  But some folks who are pig owners tend to use what they call, gestation or farrowing crates.  A farrowing crate is a stall that is used for a pregnant sow,  female pig who has had more than one litter, to go into just before she is giving birth and stay throughout delivery.  They are used to protect not only the sow, but also the piglets.  Sows can easily kill their piglets by rolling on them, sitting on them, etc. and with a stall, it allows the newborn piglets to run around and find a tit and begin nursing.  The crates also allow the owner to aid in the delivery process.  There is a section of the crate designed for the sow and a section designed for the piglets.  Newborn pigs need heat, crates usually have lamps hanging over the top of them in order to ensure they are maintaining the correct temperature.  They also allow them to be born off of the ground.  The opposition claims that this is not good because pigs need iron, which is found in the soil.  While yes that is true, many pig owners give iron shots instead because keeping their newborn piglets off the ground also helps keep them dry and helps them remain disease free.  They are able to urinate and defecate in the crate and it has holes in the bottom that it will run through.  If they were all on the ground, they could contract a disease.  While the crate does not eliminate the chance of a disease entirely, it does help to lower the numbers.  I’ll post a couple pictures of them, let me know what you think about it.

These are some newborn piglets the day they were born. The sow is lying in the crate on her side so the babies can safely nurse.

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