Weaning is one of the most stressful events in a piglet's life. Understanding and managing weaning stress significantly improves welfare at this critical transition.
Commercial pig weaning is a welfare-intensive event where multiple stressors converge simultaneously. The abrupt separation from the sow, change of diet from milk to dry feed, change of social group, and move to a new environment all happen at once. Each of these stressors is individually significant; combined, they create a welfare crisis that causes acute suffering and increases disease vulnerability. Management interventions — creep feed introduction, keeping litters together, providing milk replacer transition, and maintaining warm, comfortable post-weaning housing — each reduce specific stressors and improve welfare outcomes measurably.