With genetic improvements in sows, litters are larger and less uniform in weight. The number of piglets weighing less than 1 kg at birth is increasing, making it more difficult for them to survive in the litter. The basic diet of suckling piglets is milk.
The maternity unit is marked by the introduction of solid feed to facilitate the transition to the post-weaning unit. The sow naturally nurses for 12 weeks. However, in farm, weaning occurs much earlier, at around 21 days. This age tends to increase in order to maximise piglet survival. Weaning is an important phase that generates a lot of stress for the animal. There is an environmental stress due to the location changes, societal stress due to the separation from the mother and littermates and the mixing with new littermates, and dietary stress due to an important episode of neophobia and a high risk of dysbiosis in the intestinal barrier. After weaning, it takes about 10 days for the piglet to adapt to its new diet and return to pre-weaning performance levels (energy consumption and weight gain).
The objectives of weaning:
