Now that
gestation crates are being phased out, more sows are housed on slats for easier manure management.
Dr. Laurie Connor, the Head of the
University of Manitoba's Department of Animal Science, says, after
reproduction, lameness is the second highest cause for culling sows.
She told Bruce Cochrane in an interview that “We determined basically that the ease with
which the sow moves, or her gait, is least affected by flooring which has a
slat width of four inches and a gap width of three quarter inches.
Both of those are just slightly below the actual
industry standard at the moment.”
