Pig Farming

Pig Neonatal Hypothermia Prevention

Hypothermia is the leading killer of newborn piglets in the first 24 hours of life and is largely preventable through environmental management.

Key Facts

Newborn piglets have almost no body fat for insulation and cannot shiver effectively
Optimal piglet zone temperature is 32-36 degrees Celsius at birth
Heat lamps or under-floor heating in creep areas maintains warmth without restricting sow
Wet piglets from birth fluids lose heat rapidly unless dried promptly
Hypothermic piglets fail to suckle colostrum, compounding immunity failure with cold stress

Welfare Considerations

Neonatal hypothermia causes progressive weakness, failure to suckle, and death. The suffering involved - from cold stress through weakness to death - is both significant and preventable. Creating an adequate heat gradient allowing piglets to warm up while sows remain cool enough to be comfortable is an engineering challenge but a welfare imperative in modern farrowing systems.

What You Can Do

Support pig welfare standards requiring neonatal environment temperature monitoring
Advocate for creep heating requirements in farrowing system welfare assurance
Choose pork from farms with documented neonatal mortality reduction programmes