Indoors
The majority of pigs in Canada are raised in long, climate-controlled barns with adjustable lighting, fresh food and water dispensers. Swine housing allows farmers to closely monitor their pigs’ health and nutritional needs and make sure the pigs are comfortable and thriving.
Pig pens are made up of high quality, comfortable materials that are arranged into separate areas for feeding, drinking, sleeping and manure. The floor can be slotted to allow the waste to fall through and separated from the animals so they remain clean. Other barns use straw bedding to absorb waste and allow the animals to root around and express natural behaviours. If there’s no straw, then the farmers add toys and other materials for the pigs to use.
DYK: Pig barns are protected by biosecurity protocols that are designed to keep diseases from spreading between barns and from humans to pigs. This is why pig barns aren’t open to outside visitors. In fact, on many large pig farms, workers are required to shower before they enter the barn to keep the pigs safe from any pathogens that might spread disease.
Pig Housing
There are different types of housing for pigs:
- Gestation stalls: are pens for each individual animal to separate and feed pregnant pigs.
- Farrowing crates: mother pigs called sows give birth in farrowing crates and stay in the crate until the piglets are weaned.
- Group pens: Market hogs that are raised for food are kept in pens together.
Outdoors
It’s true that some smaller farmers still raise pigs in pens or pastures outside. These pigs are provided shelter and are able to root in the dirt for grubs. But raising pigs outdoors is not easy because pigs are sensitive to cold weather and temperature changes. They are also vulnerable to predators and diseases that can be transmitted by wildlife.
Balancing animal welfare and the cost of production is important to keep farms in operation. Some pig barns include an outdoor fenced area along the barn that the pigs can venture out into but still have protection from the elements and predators. These barns still allow farmers to closely monitor their animals while providing the pigs more room to express natural behaviour.
Ask an Expert
We asked Yolande Seddon, a researcher from the University of Saskatchewan, where pigs live?
Source: Canadian Food Focus, Sask Pork and Agriculture In The Classroom