Weaner Pig Welfare: The Critical Post-Weaning Period

Weaning is the most stressful event in a pig's life, combining social disruption, dietary change, and environmental change simultaneously. Good weaner management minimises suffering.

Key Facts

Weaning in commercial systems occurs at 21-28 days of age, far earlier than the natural 12-16 week timeline
Post-weaning diarrhoea affects up to 30% of weaners in poorly managed systems
Mixing of litters at weaning causes aggression and social stress until hierarchies re-establish
Feed intake drops dramatically in the first 24-48 hours post-weaning causing hypoglycaemia risk

Welfare Considerations

The post-weaning period is a welfare flashpoint — piglets experience simultaneous loss of their mother, social group mixing, dietary shift from milk to solid feed, and environmental change. Physiological stress is reflected in elevated cortisol, suppressed immune function, and gut barrier disruption. Welfare-positive weaning management includes providing creep feed before weaning to habituate piglets to solid food, maintaining warmth (30 degrees Celsius for newly weaned piglets), and minimising mixing of unfamiliar litters.

What You Can Do

Support welfare standards that require creep feed provision from 10 days of age to smooth dietary transition
Advocate for minimum weaning ages of 28 days rather than 21 days in commercial systems
Encourage pig producers to adopt all-in all-out management that avoids continuous mixing of litters
Choose pork from welfare-assured farms with documented weaner management protocols