Successful pig farming depends on the farrowing area because, ultimately, productivity is how many pigs are sent out to market. Correctly managing the farrowing unit benefits every aspect of pig production: from piglet survival to days to next farrowing, from introducing diseases to sow longevity, what happens in the farrowing stall will have a long-lasting impact on the farm. Therefore, all pig operations should have a farrowing checklist, so nothing is left to chance.
What preparations are needed before farrowing? Well, the checklist starts early in the pig farming process. Sow selection, servicing, biosecurity, nutrition, and feeding influence a successful farrowing. Whether you favour free-farrowing pens or the more common farrowing crates, the same principles for managing a farrowing area apply. In fact, how a system is managed has a greater impact than the system itself (Baxter et al., 2018). Throughout this article, we will give you a general picture of everything that goes into farrowing, so you can build a checklist for your farrowing area.