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Why are farrowing stalls sometimes used for sows and piglets?

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A large grain elevator and several metal silos stand on a farm surrounded by green fields, with hills and a partly cloudy sky in the background. — Farm building Grain elevator and silos on a small farm.

Farrowing stalls, also known as crates, are used in hog houses to confine a sow during the period she is nursing her litter. The primary purpose of this confinement is to restrict the sow's movement so that she can stand or lie down but cannot move about, which prevents her from accidentally crushing her young piglets.12