Utfodring av suggor med koppling till smågrisdödlighet : Påverkas även grisarnas beteende?

Sammanfattning: Piglet mortality is a widespread problem in pig productions today. In Sweden were the average mortality rate 16,9% year 2021 from birth to weaning. The most common cause is starvation and crushing by the sow. A pig production outside of Eskilstuna has problems with sows that crush their piglets, especially during the night when nobody is working. They have therefore decided to change number of feedings for sows. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the change in the feeding routine reduces piglet mortality and the behaviour of the sows and piglets. The piglets and sows were observed during the week of farrowing and the week after and the number of pigs that died during this period were noted. The results were analysed later in the program RStudio. The results showed some difference in behaviour between the sows and the piglets but no significant difference in piglet mortality between the groups. The results suggest that the change in number of feedings did not affect the piglet mortality and the pig production should therefore explore other factors affecting their high mortality rate.