Gestation stalls are used, as the name suggests, during the gestation period, which is 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days (113 days). They are used so that each sow can receive the proper amount of feed (see post #7), and so that fewer developing baby pigs are lost due to fighting.
The stalls also allow for better husbandry because each animal can easily be evaluated, as compared to a group where the sick one can kind of 'get lost' in the group.
They differ from farrowing stalls in that they have no place for baby pigs to be, the feeding trough is much smaller, as farrowed sows are put on full high energy, high fat, feed soon after farrowing (the proper word for a sow giving birth). A lactating sow will eat 15 or 20 pounds of this high energy feed per day, which is a large volume, and needs a large trough.
Hey, clown, I’ve got decades in farming—including hogs and cattle. Your posts make farmers sound stupid and cruel.