Gestation Stall:

Should it Be Changed?

By: John JacobsEnglish 250 Section RN

What is a Gestation Stall?

• Holding cell for pregnant sows• Traditional Stalls• Group Housing Stalls

What the conflict?• Big pork buyers are banning traditional stalls.• They believed that traditional stalls are bad.• Most farmers do not want to change.• Most farmers don’t like group housing and the

cost to change.

Pros and Cons of Traditional Stalls

• Proso Individual careo Protectiono feed rationalization

• Conso Physical Effectso Psychological Effects

Pros and Cons of Group Housing

• Proso Improves animal’s welfareo Freedom to roamo Socialize with other sows

• Conso Fightso Cost

Mediation• Let the farmer decide on what is best for their

operation.• Studies from USDA Department of Economics

shows there are no differences between traditional stalls and group housing.

Work Cited• Frobos, Brandi. “Gestation Stalls.” Photo. Buzzard’s Beat. 5 February, 2013.

14 April, 2013. <http://buzzardsbeat.blogspot.com/2013/02/which-food-service-companies-ban.html>

• Pieuli. “McDonald.” Photo. Bubblews. 5 March, 2013. 14 April, 2013 <http://www.bubblews.com/news/286441-woman- threatening-with-deadly-bacteria-in-mcdonalds-restaurant>

• “Burger King.” Photo. Effingham. 14 April, 2013.<http://www.visiteffinghamil.com/restaurant s/detail/Burger%20King/40>

• “Hardee’s.” Photo. Smart Couponing. 23 December, 2011. 14 April, 2013. http://www.smartcouponing.com/index.php/2011/12/23/restaurant -deals-round-up-t-g-i-fridays-hardees-red-lobster-romanos- macaroni-grill-pick-up-stix/

• Cima, Greg. ”Gestation Stalls.” Photo. Javma News. 01 Aug, 2012. 14 April, 2013. <https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/120801h.a spx>

• “Gestation stalls chart.” Photo. The Pig Site. 01 April, 2009. 14 April, 2013.

Work Cited (cont.)• Johnson, Rachel. “Moderate Increase in Pork and Poultry Production

Expected in 2013.”Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. 2012. PDF File.

• “An HSUS Report: The Economics of Adopting Alternative To Gestation Crate Confinement of Sows”. The Humane Society of the United States. PDF File.

• “Producers share thoughts on g-stall use.” Iowa Pork Producer July 2012 22-23. Print.

• Harper, Allen, and Mark Estienne. "Gestation Stalls, Animal Welfare and People." Gestation Stalls, Animal Welfare and People. Virginia

Cooperative Extension, Sept. 2006. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.• "The Pros and Cons of Individual and Group Housing." The Pig Site. N.p., 06

May 2008. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.• Johnston, Lee, Yuzhi Li, and William F. Lazarus. "Retrofitting Gestation Stalls

to Group Housing." National Hog Farmer Home Page. National Hog Farmer, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2013. <http://nationalhogfarmer.com/facilities/retrofitting-gestation-stalls-group-

housing>.

Response Team Feedback

John Jacobs did a fabulous job with his presentation on gestation stalls. We have come up with examples of strength of Jacob’s presentation, as well as an example of weakness. Our group feels that Jacobs’ PowerPoint presentation made great use of visuals and text. His PowerPoint “was very clear and made sense” (Vespestad), and Jacobs “presented clear pros and cons for traditional and group stalls” (Garin). Jacobs made use of “good expanded facts and sub topics” (Garin) to present his mediation tothe class. Also, for those of us that were not familiar with gestation stall, Jacobs “included clear, relevant pictures of gestation stalls that helped explain his mediation” (Baer).

As far as evaluating Jacobs himself, he “looked organized and professional” (Vespestad). Jacob made his presentation flow well, and “seemed very confident in what he was presenting” (Baer). While Jacobs was very knowledgeable and prepared for this presentation, we as a group he could have projected his voice a bit better. Jacobs’ voice trailed off a few times during the presentation. That aside, he was very prepared for this assignment, and did a wonderful job on educating us on gestation stalls.