Piglet overlay in Australian farrowing crates - Blantyre Farms, NSW 2013

"Overlay" is a common cause of piglet death in farrowing crates, where the mother pig lies on top of her young, crushing them. The Australian pig farming industry claims that farrowing crates prevent overlay. However, in farrowing crates, sows often have great difficulty standing up or lying down due to weakness/injury and the confined space. In natural settings, the sow would be able to move away from her piglets before lying down.