Livestock

Pig Nursery Transition Welfare After Weaning

The post-weaning period is one of the most welfare-challenging transitions for piglets, involving simultaneous separation from the sow, change in diet, social mixing, and environmental change.

Key Facts

UK commercial pigs are typically weaned at 3-4 weeks of age
Weaning causes cortisol spikes, gastric dysfunction, and immune suppression
Post-weaning diarrhoea is a major welfare and economic problem
Zinc oxide was used to control post-weaning diarrhoea but is now restricted in the EU
Alternative management strategies include probiotics, acidified feed, and delayed weaning

Welfare Considerations

The combined stressors of weaning cause genuine suffering and increase disease susceptibility. Piglets show distress vocalisations, reduced feeding, and vulnerability to infection. Management strategies that minimise the number of simultaneous changes at weaning, provide highly palatable starter feed, and ensure warm, comfortable housing reduce this welfare challenge.

What You Can Do

Minimise the number of changes occurring simultaneously at weaning
Provide creep feed pre-weaning to familiarise piglets with solid feed
Ensure nursery housing is warm, dry, and draught-free
Use water medication to maintain hydration if diarrhoea occurs
Work with a pig vet on post-weaning disease prevention protocols