The first 72 hours of life are the highest mortality risk period for piglets. Understanding the welfare implications of neonatal piglet death and how to prevent it guides better management.
Neonatal piglet welfare involves acute suffering from crushing, hypothermia and starvation. Crushed piglets may survive the initial trauma but with spinal, thoracic or abdominal injuries causing pain before death. Hypothermic piglets experience progressive deterioration of body temperature, leading to inability to nurse and eventual unconsciousness. Starving piglets show restlessness and vocalization before weakness and death. These welfare impacts occur against the background of hyperprolific genetics that produce larger litters than sows can efficiently support, creating competition for teat access that leaves smaller, weaker piglets behind. The welfare of individual piglets must be considered alongside sow welfare in evaluating farrowing system options - both matter, and well-designed systems can protect both.