Why do piglets die?

The piglets are cold to the touch and the floors of the farrowing pens also feel cold and damp. Affected piglets may lie down on their side and die in a dull coma. Piglets are born out of the warm environment of the uterus directly into the cold and wet environment of the farrowing area. read more

These pigs appear pale. With the sudden deaths due to ulcers, the ulcer erodes into a blood vessel and the pigs bleed out into the stomach. On postmortem examination, these are good-looking pigs with stomachs that are filled with a large blood clot, and die prior to passing significant amounts of blood into the intestinal tract. read more

These typically involve weak pigs that are crushed and die of starvation. Mortality in liveborn pigs is also associated with sows that farrow early, especially those that are induced to farrow on d 110 compared to 112. At day 109 of gestation, piglets can be delivered but many pigs do not survive past one day post-partum. read more