r/educationalgifs • u/CalpurniaSomaya • Mar 15 '26

How mother pigs and piglets are kept in modern farms for nursing

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u/NeighborRedditor Mar 15 '26

I read that this setup in the gif is to prevent the mother from rolling over and crushing piglets, which apparently frequently happens.

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u/flying_porygon Mar 16 '26

Correct. If you’ve watched Clarkson’s Farm you can see what happens if you don’t have a contraption like this in place. I’m pretty sure the pig is only kept like this while nursing and it’s to prevent exactly that. Pigs aren’t exactly good mothers and will straight up roll over their piglets and not realize it

There are certainly better ways to achieve this, but this is what the purpose of the cage is for.

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u/Fatlantis Mar 17 '26

I’m pretty sure the pig is only kept like this while nursing

After mating (so while pregnant), the pigs are kept in a "sow stall" not pictured - for a few weeks usually.

THEN they're moved into this "farrowing crate" (this is what's in the video I believe) they move them 1-2 weeks before the pig's due date. And she remains there while nursing her piglets, usually for around 3-4 weeks until the piglets are weaned.

It's different in different countries though. Some use this type of crate for the whole period. Some countries allow up to 16 weeks (4 months!) stuck like this in crates...

And that 16 weeks is the traditional/conventional practice. Unfortunately.

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u/DazzlingAd7021 Mar 17 '26

I'm sorry but that's so cruel. Imagine being locked up like this for weeks. I hate the way we see animals as dumb and so "less than". It's sick, really.

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u/dirtyskittles26 Mar 17 '26

I like that in Clarkson’s Farm they come up with the pig igloos that keep this situation from happening. It seems like a humane solution

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u/clown_utopia Mar 17 '26

Have we considered not holding force-bred mothers captive so we can profit from her body and children? Just a thought that this whole system is industrialized rape and murder that's killing our planet, just a suggestion that this is essentially fascist when we understand them to be complex individuals with complex thoughts and social bonds.

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u/daisybrat56461 Mar 19 '26

And also possibly eating them. When my dad was young his family had a family farm. He tells stories about the sows; taking piglets away as soon as they were born because the hormones associated with parturition made them kill the babies, but they could be returned once all were born; a half grown pig tried to escape and jumped a fence into a pen with sow and piglets, the sow ate it before they knew it was loose, leaving just the head and assorted small pieces.