Is the move to abandon stalls for gestating sows a done deal? Not in some people's minds. Listen close and you'll hear a murmur spreading in the pork industry that asks: Are we sure the well-being of sows is better served when housed in...

A University of Illinois animal scientist offers support for individual stalls, while a Canadian scientist provides an overview of group sow housing research. Can the sow gestation stall be saved? University of Illinois animal scientist Janeen...

The general manager of the country's largest pen gestation system says producers shouldn't fear group sow housing. Bob Ivey wanted to leave the standing-room-only crowd at the Sow Housing Forum in Des Moines with a crystal clear message: Y...

Trials of encouraged-exercise in gestating stall-housed sows improved bone density, bone-breaking strength and piglet survivability, but it had no real impact on lameness or most performance traits. Proponents of group sow housing systems suggest...

A new sow gestation pen design is aimed at protecting market access. Doug Groth, DVM, says the new pen configuration for sow gestation at Bluff Road Genetics is another step at trying to stay progressive and live within the new marketing box and...

Look beyond disease for solutions to structural issues. Most hogs are raised on some type of concrete flooring. These hard surfaces place structural demands on animals as they grow. Case Study No. 1 During a herd visit to a 1,400-sow, breed-to...

The variation in body size of sows needs greater consideration before gestation stalls are abandoned altogether. Pork producers should ask themselves whether stalls could be designed to fit the sows' body sizes better, states John Deen, DVM, at...

Independent livestock handling specialist Jennifer Woods of Alberta, Canada, says the United States needs a national program to address livestock hauling accidents. The cattle and hog industries, which rank first and second, respectively, in the...

Field studies at the University of Pennsylvania track application and performance of electronic sow feeders (ESF). Consulting veterinarian Tom Parsons told those attending the Sow Housing Forum in June that managing electronic sow feeding systems...