Bioscientifica Proceedings

In the recent years the use of hyper-prolific sows has increased and litters with more than 14-16 born alive piglets are not uncommon. However, piglets’ mortality after birth before weaning can range between 11 to 24 % in several countries. Recent findings show that, without human assistance of piglets (cross fostering, movement to a nurse sow, split- or suckling assistance), sows with an average litter size of 13.5±0.8 piglets managed to wean 10.6±0.6 piglets (average ± SD). This indicates that the upper limit that the domestic sow is capable of taking care till weaning is much lower than the current average total number of piglets born. The average number of weaned piglets obtained in many European countries is possible only with high standards piglets’ management practices. In this review, the most recent findings in physiology of new-born piglets and their implication in the management to improve perinatal piglets’ survival are described.

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