Pigs Survive Twister

Weather certainly is unpredictable.  It seems like there has been several tornados ripping across the U.S. in the past few weeks.  One image that sticks out in my mind is the photos from the twister that destroyed three barns at a hog farm near Lacey in Kingfisher County, about 75 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.   

The images are plain as day.  The farm took a direct hit.  And yet, the pigs are still alive while everything else around them is rubble.  How did this happen?  The pigs were housed in stalls.  The stalls protected the pigs from the twister similar to how your basement would protect you. 

There are those who argue pigs shouldn’t be kept in stalls because they can’t even turn around are unable to perform nearly any of their natural behaviors.  But the outcome of this twister may have been different if the pigs were not in stalls. 

Scientific research has shown that there are several different types of production systems that are good for pigs. What really matters is not so much the type of production system, but the individual care given to each pig. Using the knowledge obtained from science, producers have adopted and adapted techniques and husbandry skills to provide for the well-being of their animals.

In 1996, the National Pork Board gathered a group of international experts in sow housing and well-being and asked them to do a complete review of the scientific literature on the subject.  In 2005, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) independently did the same thing.

National Pork Board research as well as the review by the AVMA, concludes that there are advantages and disadvantages to all types of sow housing systems.  The major factor affecting the well-being of the sow in housing continues to be the skill and management of the person taking care of the animal.

So next time the weather turns deadly and you head to your basement, don’t think twice about pigs being kept in stalls.  It may save their lives.

- Teresa Roof