# what are the pros and cons



## gaited horse (May 18, 2009)

of useing a farrowing crate? has anyone farrowed with out a crate


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## wynedot55 (May 19, 2009)

i dont raise pigs.but i would not use a farrowing crate.because they are small an cramped.an the sow could crush the pigglets.its best to furrow her in a big pen.so she can move around.an the piggletts can move around as well.


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## potbellymom (May 20, 2009)

Instead of a crate, which is inhumane in my humble opinion, what we do is put them in a stall ours are 12x12 and in the corners of the stall we put up wooden boards about a foot off the ground will be fine. That way the piglets have somewhere they can escape too if they need to but no one is restricted.

Although we are not breeders we have rescued a few pregnant sows and we have yet to lose any young ones. 

- potbelly mom a.k.a. Farmy

(no one has gotten back with me yet about me farmy account which will not let me log in, so I created a new name at least for now!)


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## gaited horse (May 25, 2009)

potbellymom said:
			
		

> Instead of a crate, which is inhumane in my humble opinion, what we do is put them in a stall ours are 12x12 and in the corners of the stall we put up wooden boards about a foot off the ground will be fine. That way the piglets have somewhere they can escape too if they need to but no one is restricted.
> 
> Although we are not breeders we have rescued a few pregnant sows and we have yet to lose any young ones.
> 
> ...


did you get full size farm hogs or are they pot bellies. I am planing on having her out of her crate for several hrs a day if I breed her and use a crate


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## farmy (May 25, 2009)

we have had a Duroc cross,a Yorkshire and also a potbelly give birth in this situation and it worked very very well for all of them. 

I hope that's helpful.


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## gaited horse (May 27, 2009)

the only thing that would pervent me from the 12'x 12' baox stall would be cost of wood as it is I have to go witha cheaper boar then I hoped. my 4-h market hog did'nt make weight so I don't ge the extra money for tha i will have to find cheap wood just to rebuild there house they broke


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## farmy (May 27, 2009)

well in the end I guess you have to do what you can. If you do end up using a farrowing crate, I can only ask you to remember that the momma will want to spend plenty of time outside of the crate. She will need it both for her physical and mental health.


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## gaited horse (May 28, 2009)

of course she needs pleanty out side time will probley build the farrowing house right next to her pen so the babies can go out some times


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## username taken (Jun 13, 2009)

I have used both methods. 

Used correctly, a farrowing crate is a wonderful thing

Used correctly, a farrowing stall is also a wonderful thing

When I used the crates, they only went into the crate 1 week before their due date, and then they were out of the crate after 2 - 3 wks. 

If you choose to farrow in a free stall, make sure you have a creep area for the piglets, and bed it down with heaps and heaps of straw. For some reason, you get less piglet deaths with deep straw than with an earthen or shaving floor. 

It also depends a lot on the breed and temperament of the pig and where she came from. If she came from a conventional piggery which uses the traditional white breeds and farrowing crates, she will take to a crate quite comfortably, and will have a higher probability of overlay if she is kept in a free stall

If she came from a free range pig herd, and/or is a 'coloured' breed, chances are she will be slightly better at farrowing in a free stall, and she is far less likely to accept the crate. Sows that are very good mothers will lean against the side of the stall and lower themselves slowly and gently, while at the same time vocalising to tell the piglets to get out of the way, and also listening for the piglets to tell where they are. Often times the coloured pigs are better mums than the white pigs, but that is not the white pigs fault, it is just that the white breeds have been used in commercial piggeries for so long, the mothering ability didnt need to be real great.


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## jhm47 (Jun 14, 2009)

I agree with Username Taken.  The white breeds will nearly always do better in a farrowing crate.  They seem to be "laid back", and will often flop down in a bigger pen, and I have had some lose half their litter to crushing.  The colored breeds are more likely to get back up if they lay on a piglet.

In my opinion, crates are NOT inhumane.  Being laid on by a mother that weighs 100 times more than the piglets is not a fun thing either.  And---these sows/gilts are fed a balanced ration, their temperature is ideal, and they don't have to worry about parasites.  They also don't have to worry about other pigs attacking them and causing injuries.  They don't have to hurry to eat their feed, or the others will get their share in a crate.


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## Farrier! (Jun 14, 2009)

I have had 5 litters of pigs. All were outside in a large pen with just a small shelter. We had no problems and never lost a single baby.


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## username taken (Jun 14, 2009)

jhm, you are spot on

but I will say, I have had some white pigs who are very good mothers, because they come from a herd of white pigs who have been kept in free stalls, no crates. So the selection pressure is there. 

totally different thing if you take a white sow who has farrowed in a crate many times before, and suddenly farrow her in a free stall. 

I agree, crates arent inhumane. It comes down to the welfare of the piglet, or the welfare of the sow. I figure the piglets are more important for a few weeks


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## farmy (Jun 14, 2009)

username taken said:
			
		

> It comes down to the welfare of the piglet, or the welfare of the sow. I figure the piglets are more important for a few weeks


I see where you are coming from, but can't both be considered. I think not being able to move or stand of your own free will is def. inhumane, and when we have taken in pregnant sows we have done everything possible to make it safe for the piglets... and we haven't lost any. 

I think some people abuse farrowing crates. I have seen and been part of the rescue of sows with infected sores due to being in farrowing crates. Not to mention the mental h*ll it forces on them. 

All that aside, I think that if your main goal is just to make money... then there is definitely an argument for farrowing crates. But if you are looking at the health and happiness of all the pigs involved in your breeding operation then I can not see using them.


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## gaited horse (Jun 15, 2009)

I think that if i do use a crate she will spend a total of 12 hours out


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## username taken (Jun 15, 2009)

are you talking about a farrowing crate or gestation crate?

gestation crate they are in for the duration of their pregnancy, and I have never found a need to use these

farrowing crate they are in just before they give birth, and then until the piglets are weaned, or at least large enough to prevent death from overlay

I dont see the point in using a farrowing crate but letting her out for 12 hrs a day, unless you are leaving the piglets in the crate area. If you let her out with the piglets you may as well just leave her to farrow in a free stall, the risks are going to be almost as great


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## gaited horse (Jun 17, 2009)

I am planning on a farrow crate I hate the gestation crates. I meant 6 hourse sorry for the mix up. and that would be like 2 hours out 3 hours in 2 hours out after that then three more hours in etc


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## lupinfarm (Jun 17, 2009)

Those rails are called pig rails lol, you put them in dog whelping boxes too. Make sure they're big enough so the babies can squeeze under if mom happens to accidently try to sit on them.


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## KareyABohr (Dec 9, 2009)

We always used farrowing crates. They are meant to be used only for a short amount of time. The sows get the best feed and the cleanest water. The piglets survival rates are 50% more in some cases. Just use good common sense. The sow was NEVER ment to live in these.

I know this is a hot button issue, but imo, farrowing crates are fine for the short amount of time they are used especially with an agressive mama pig.


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## no nonsense (Dec 10, 2009)

I think that it's sad how much the peta mentality has infiltrated our society. The mere mention of something like a farrowing crate or a layer cage equals abuse in many people's eyes. Often they don't have the slightest idea of exactly how these tools are used. They just know that they are "bad". I'm not saying that all commercial farming practices are good, or are not sometimes distasteful, but for once I'd like to see a heart tugging video set to mournful music, showing the results of some well meaning yet ill informed  livestock owner who thought she was doing the right thing for her animals, however was in fact harming them. Instead it's always battery cage hens, pigs in farrowing crates or downer cattle, all carefully edited I might add, to show what appears to be the worst possible situations, all taken out of context. I suggest that just as many animals are harmed by the "kindness" of their owners; chickens in the house, ducks in the bathtub, or with diapers, hoofstock burned alive in barns because their anthropomorphic owners decided that they needed to be kept warm, or, suffocating in amonia drenched stalls because someone was afraid to provide proper ventilation because they thought it was too cold outside. Why isn't there an outcry against people who end up with a group of miserable parasite infested kids, because the owner wanted to believe that some magic dust she read about on the internet cured them of worms, instead of having to spend money on a decent wormer which time and again has been proven effective?


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## jhm47 (Dec 10, 2009)

NO NONSENSE---Ditto.


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## kenman (Dec 10, 2009)

Yep.


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