Farrowing crates are metal stalls in which sows are typically housed from a few days before parturition until weaning (21–28 days). In the 1960s, when intensive farming was considered as the way to improve pork production, farrowing crates was developed (Robertson et al. 1966). This was also in response to genetic improvements in pig production leading to sows being larger in size, producing more piglets per litter, and increasing the risk of piglets being crushed. Farmers and researchers reported a reduction in crushing of the piglets by the sow following adoption of farrowing crates when compared to farrowing pens (Blackshaw et al. 1994). Apart from increasing productivity, farrowing crates also helped management of the sow and her litter during routine husbandry activities such as castration of piglets and giving iron injections to piglets enabling them to be performed in a safe manner. Farrowing crates confine the sow to one place, and thus her dung is deposited in one area, at...
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Roy, R.C., Seddon, Y.M. (2022). Farrowing Crate. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_216
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