Why heat up the barns for group housed sows?

Do sows need pre-heated barns? Well, maybe not so much. Sows in group housing systems will maintain room temperatures between 9 to 12°C, leading to about 78% reduction in energy consumption when compared to gestation rooms maintained at pre-set temperature of 16.5°C. Conversion of gestation sow housing from stalls to group systems has been mandated in the recently revised Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs, with all sow farms expected to adopt this practice by July 2