Causes of Suckling Piglet Mortality and Prevention Measures

For breeding pig farms, the death of suckling piglets directly affects the economic benefits of the farm. Only when the farm truly understands the causes and root causes of the disease can corresponding prevention and control measures be taken. Therefore, De Ba Xiongdi has made the following analysis of the possible causes of suckling piglet mortality for reference only.

1. Death by biting

Under certain stress conditions (such as overcrowding, poor air quality, excessive light, and lack of nutrients in feed), piglets may develop the vice of tail-biting and ear-biting. Bacterial infection occurs after biting, leading to death in severe cases. Sows with poor maternal instinct (vicious temperament), severe malnutrition before farrowing, or thirst and irritability after farrowing may bite piglets.

2. Crushing or trampling to death

Sows with poor maternal instinct, those suffering from postpartum diseases, or sows exposed to a noisy environment may become irritable. In addition, weak piglets that cannot escape in time are crushed or trampled to death by sows.

3. Low birth weight

Birth weight has a significant impact on piglet mortality. The mortality rate of piglets weighing less than 1 kg at birth ranges from 44% to 100%, and mortality decreases as birth weight increases.

4. Freezing to death

Newborn piglets are highly sensitive to cold environments. Although piglets can use glycogen reserves to cope with cold, their limited energy storage, imperfect physiological thermoregulation function, and lack of hair and subcutaneous fat make them vulnerable to death from cold in farms with poor insulation conditions. Meanwhile, cold is a predisposing factor for piglets being crushed, starved, or suffering from diarrhea.

5. Death from diseases

Disease is one of the major causes of suckling piglet mortality. Common diseases include pneumonia, diarrhea, hypoglycemia, hemolytic disease, congenital tremor syndrome, swine influenza, anemia, heart disease, parasitic diseases, white muscle disease, encephalitis, etc.

In conclusion, pre-weaning piglet mortality causes severe economic losses to the pig industry. Strengthening feeding and management can reduce the mortality rate of suckling piglets to a certain extent. It is necessary to strictly implement the epidemic prevention system in farrowing houses, adopt the all-in all-out feeding technology, and select practical pig farming equipment such as lifting farrowing beds and intelligent feeding systems, which can effectively reduce the mortality rate of suckling piglets, solve pain points for pig farms, and improve economic benefits.