Effect of Pen Space on Performance of Growing-Finishing Pigs

For a number of years, the recommended space allowance for pigs has been 4 square feet and 8 square feet for the growing and finishing periods, respectively. Some producers have provided less pen space in an attempt to spread high facility costs over more pigs and thus lower per pig overhead costs. Some animal welfare spokesmen have expressed the opinion that even the recommended pen space allotments are too restrictive for both the pigs\u27 performance and welfare. The study reported herein was designed to evaluate performance of pigs housed in groups of 12, 16 or 20 pigs per pen and providing 4.73 and 9.47, 3.55 and 7.10 or 2.84 and 5.68 square feet per pig during the growing and finishing periods, respectively