Piglet litter sizes have increased noticeably in recent years but ensuring these piglets survive has presented challenges to producers. Thanks to a combination of a specialised feeding system and a carefully formulated milk replacer 1,700 extra piglets survive the critical weaning period each month. Average litter size has increased in the past five years. For example, in the Netherlands there has been an increase of 1.3 piglets per litter, as shown in Table 1. But this has presented challenges as litter size is strongly correlated with birth weight. The more piglets that are born, on average the lighter the piglets are. Besides, sows have more difficulties in coping with large litters. This has resulted in an increase of piglet mortality in the farrowing house as well as a reduction in average daily gain pre and post weaning. Whilst both factors are of concern to producers, the increase in mortality also draws attention from a welfare perspective.
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