Bioscientifica Proceedings

The main cause of early postnatal deaths in piglets is hypothermia due to an inadequate intake of colostrum. Colostrum consumption is the outcome of complex interactions between the sow, the piglet, the litter and the environment. The sow may have an impact on many factors that are determinant for colostrum intake and chances of survival, such as piglet weight, maturity and vitality at birth, or within-litter variation in birth weight. Colostrum intake also depends on th...