Swine farrowing and disease management of piglets

04/02/2023

02/12/2022

Management — first few days after farrowing
There are many essential chores to be done shortly after pigs are born. The navel should be disinfected the day pigs are born using tincture of iodine. If possible, equalize litter size. If several sows are farrowing within a 24-hour period, pigs can be transferred successfully from one sow to another. Transfer bigger pigs in the litter, not the runts. Best results occur if pigs are transferred the first 3 days of life and have received colostrum before transfer.

Clip needle teeth, being careful not to crush the teeth or cut the gums. At the same time, tails can be docked. To dock the tails, use the same side-cutter pliers. Leave a stub on the tail about 1/4-inch long. Tail-docking is best done when the pigs are one day old.

Ear-notching is a good practice even in commercial herds. This identification helps select replacement animals from top litters and gives a check on age when pigs reach market weight.

There are many good sources of iron that can be used to prevent anemia. Iron-dextran injected in the muscle is an effective method. Injections in the neck or forearm are preferred to injecting in the ham. Common levels are 150-200 milligrams of iron as iron-dextran, usually given the first 2 to 3 days after birth. Don't give overdoses of iron because it may induce shock. Iron also can be mixed in the feed or in the drinking water. Supplying uncontaminated soil in the pig area is another method of supplying iron but is not used much in today's confinement systems.

Checking the sow's temperature immediately after birth and each 12 hours the first two or three days helps head off problems. This has proven particularly helpful in initiating early treatment for MMA. Temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and above indicate some action is needed.

Light birth weight pigs present a difficult management problem. Table 4 indicates nearly 60 percent of pigs born under 2 pounds will perish. Table 5 indicates that with extra care and nutrient supplementation, many of these pigs can be saved.

02/12/2022

The most critical period in the life cycle of a pig is from birth to weaning. On the average, about two pigs per litter are lost during this period. Poor management is the major contributing factor, although the actual cause may be crushing, bleeding from the navel, anemia, starvation or disease.
Weaning large litters of thrifty, heavyweight pigs is a key factor for a profitable swine herd. This publication attempts to outline management practices that help keep pigs alive and profits high.
(opens in new window)Preparation for farrowing
The average gestation period for sows is 114 days. To prepare for farrowing, producers should know when sows are due. They also need a method to identify all sows. The gestation table (Table 1) is designed to help producers determine farrowing date based on the date sows are bred.
However, producers should be ready for delivery prior to the due date because of individual variation in gestation.

Newborn pigs have a better survival chance if they arrive in a clean, sanitized farrowing facility. In addition, most producers feel that a break between farrowing reduces disease buildup. Many producers, however, farrow continuously to maximize use of expensive facilities. They must do a top job of cleaning and sanitizing.

A steam cleaner or high-pressure sprayer can be used successfully to clean the farrowing house. Adding a detergent helps remove organic matter. A disinfectant can be applied after cleaning. Cleaning also can be done with a shovel and broom. Floors can be scrubbed using a solution of one pound of lye and 30 gallons of water.

Some producers fumigate, especially those who have had a consistent scours problem in a central house. Directions should be followed carefully and precautions taken to avoid accidents with fumigation.

In addition, the sow should be washed with soap and warm water immediately prior to being put into the farrowing pen.

(opens in new window)Care at farrowing
The newborn pig has three basic requirements:

A good environment;
Adequate and regular nutrition; and
Safety from disease and crushing.
Individual attention from the producer at this point pays off with more live pigs. The amount of labor available may determine how much time you spend in the farrowing house. One person in charge of the farrowing works well in larger operations. Attendance at farrowing will pay off in more live pigs but may not be economically feasible. Tables 2 and 3 indicate the scope of piglet mortality and the large proportion of deaths occurring the first few days after farrowing.

07/10/2022

Preventing 5 major pig diseases in a breeding herd
How to prevent 5 major pig diseases from ?occurring? The key to the answer often lies in the breeding herd. After all, negative sows breed ?negative piglets. In order to eradicate pathogens from the breeding herd, vaccines and especially ?antibiotics play a pivotal role.

As a veterinarian, prevention of infections is a subject that is very close to my heart. Any article on dealing with pathogens and how to prevent them should touch on some basic rules that can avoid a lot of trouble.

Starting with high health is the best place to be. Get reports of the health of breeding herds before purchasing stock. Get your vet to talk to their vet. Check the reliability of the breeding company from a disease perspective, not just on the genetic potential. If it brings disease on to the farm, it can blow away any of the genetic potential improvements you were hoping for. I have recently seen this with a hyper-prolific breeding herd but it spread Streptococcus suis as well.

Don’t merge farms. I am a great believer in closed herds, if possible; it stabilises immunity and reduces the risk of disease introduction. Every time new animals (gilts mainly) are brought on to the farm there is a risk of disease introduction and also they have to acclimatise to what infections are present. Importing semen is usually the safest option for limiting disease risk, whilst still being able to improve the herd’s genetics. There have been recent occasions where boar studs have broken down with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv), so nothing is totally risk free. Purchasing of pigs for finishing is always potentially high risk.

Biosecurity is still the most important way of keeping disease out. It is critical for staying disease free or maintaining your current health status and must be a part of any eradication programme; otherwise the chances of long-term success are severely limited. On many farm visits, one finds biosecurity is minimal and surprisingly, when you ask “how did the disease come in?” the farmer knows but has not really done anything to stop further infections coming in – too much trouble? Or if they have carried out eradication before they expect it to break down within 6-12 months “like it did the last time.” I frequently say “think of the farm as a fortress and how best you can defend it and keep infections outside.”

More specific pathogens and prevention
If we look at prevention of disease we have been fortunate to have usually an array of vaccines, therapeutic drugs etc to control the effects of the disease. Improvements in management, housing, heating and ventilation, nutrition all have played a part. It is when we have got one infection, then another, then another, the effects of disease complexes can make a major impact on a farm’s productivity and profitability and then the farmer usually considers the eradication option.

A combination of PRRSv, which is immunosuppressive, Enzootic Pneumonia (EP), which can also be immunosuppressive and a pathogenic strain of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App), leading to the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is a classic example. If the App isolate has developed resistance to the cheaper antibiotics like tetracyclines or trimethoprim/sulphas it is almost a necessity to go for the eradication option. Breaking down with swine dysentery is also a common reason to go for eradication because of its severity.

Most eradication programmes are focused on eliminating infections from the breeding herd. There they usually have some immunity, a low level shedding of the virus or bacteria and a good chance of getting rid of the bug. Trying to eradicate infections from growing pigs is very difficult and also costly, so partial depopulation of the growing/finishing herd is important.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv)

The European strain is generally considered mild in comparison with the US strains, hence the conundrum is: Is it worth eradicating, do we just live with it, or shall we just vaccinate?

PRRSv is a RNA virus and tends to change quite rapidly. There appears to be a lot of sub-strains and when the farmer, his vet and I were considering eradication we were concerned that the current vaccines may not be effective or sufficiently immuno-stimulating to eliminate the infection from the breeding herd. In the recent trials we carried out, we found a combination of the live PRRS vaccine (Porcilis PRRS – MSD Animal Health) and the killed vaccine (Ingelvac PRRS KV – Boehringer Ingelheim) worked very well. The whole breeding herd was closed including an extra stock of gilts and all were vaccinated at the same time, first with the killed vaccine and then at monthly intervals with the live vaccine, which had been used routinely in the sows for prevention.

Piglets were monitored for circulating virus by PCR after the three sow vaccinations and appeared negative by two months. Finishing pigs coming through the repopulated finishing site have remained negative over the last 18 months. Biosecurity was also introduced, so that no vehicles came directly on site, there was a changing room built, so that all visitors had to change into farm overalls, boots and wash their hands before entering the farm.

Enzootic pneumonia (Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae)

Eradication of M. hyopneumoniae has been a task since its discovery. Commercial eradication programmes developed by basically medicating the breeding herd with antibiotics to eliminate the infection from already immune animals. This has worked incredibly well with almost an 80-90% success rate. Tiamulin (Denagard – Elanco) has proven highly effective as have the tetracyclines on their own or in combination with tiamulin. The macrolide tilmicosin (Pulmotil – Elanco) is also considered highly effective and has the potential to eliminate some bacterial infections such as A. pleuropneumoniae and occasionally S. suis. Tylvalosin (Aivlosin – Eco Animal Health) in feed, coupled with injections of tulathromycin (Draxxin – Zoetis) have also been successful for EP.

The breeding herd must be closed during the treatment period and the young stock sent off site, so there is no chance of reinfection. Originally, medication was given for only two weeks as the organism does not survive outside the host that well. More recently, to ensure all the sows get the correct dose for a sufficient length of time, I have extended it to three to four weeks. Dry sows eat about 1% of their bodyweight (2.5 kg food/250 kg bodyweight) so for tiamulin alone we have used 10 mg/kg bodyweight and this requires 1000 ppm of drug to be included in the feed. Lactating sows can take in more food usually 2-2.5% bodyweight so the inclusion rate can be reduced accordingly to 400-500 ppm but it needs to be calculated. The problem is the sows that go into the farrowing house five days before farrowing and around farrowing time, their feeding may be restricted or they may not have much appetite around farrowing. So for these sows they are almost missing out on a week’s medication, so to make sure, the medication period was extended. Also, if tiamulin was being used for swine dysentery or Brachyspira hyodysenteriae eradication at the same time, it was advisable to use four weeks high medication followed by four weeks medium medication, to ensure there was time to clean and disinfect the farm and allow the organism to die out in the environment.

Pleuropneumonia (Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae)

There are a number of different serotypes of App (approximately 15) of different pathogenicity.

Eradication programmes mainly involved the use of tilmicosin in feed. Especially, in the early days of PRRSv infection plus EP and APP, the use of tilmicosin was advocated ‘to clean up’ the herd. High levels of medication (15 mg/kg bodyweight or 1500 ppm in dry sows) were used for two weeks. They cleared out the EP (reportedly 80-90%) but only had a 50% effect on App eradication. Generally, the pig’s performance improved for about a year before breakdown. The biosecurity of the farms was not always reported. It is essential to carry out antimicrobial sensitivity tests before embarking on an App procedure. Some laboratories use other macrolides, like tylosin or erythromycin, to test for tilmicosin resistance, so can be confusing as tylosin is much less active. Sixteen µg/ml is the MIC breakpoint for tilmicosin.

Recently, we used marbofloxacin by injection with the long-acting formulation (Forcyl – Vetoquinol) in the breeding herd with an excellent response, although it was quite costly.

Swine dysentery (Brachyspira hyodysenteriae)

Swine dysentery is one of the diseases that I recommend eradication, if possible, rather than trying to live with it. The pleuromutilins, tiamulin and valnemulin (Econor – Elanco) are probably still the most effective, followed by lincomycin (Lincocin – Zoetis) and tylvalosin, but recently tylosin, another macrolide, lost its indications for SD due to extensive resistance. The Czech Republic has seen their industry fall by two thirds, largely due to multi-resistant B. hyodysenteriae making them uncompetitive. Purchasing pigs for finishing can be a major problem and high risk.

The organism can survive in slurry lagoons and manure for a long time especially during winter months, so we try to plan to eradicate in the summer when the temperature is warmer and working in our favour. Susceptibility testing is advised and if possible only consider eradication with isolates with MICs against tiamulin of 0.5-1.0 µg/ml or below depending on test.

The basic programme is to treat the sows at 8 mg tiamulin/kg bodyweight for four weeks to clean out the sows. This is approximately 800 ppm in the dry sows and 400 ppm in the lactating sows. Piglets are injected on a weekly basis with tiamulin and sent off site until they are coming from sows that have been fully treated. After four weeks high medication it is dropped to 5 mg tiamulin/kg bodyweight (500 ppm and 250 ppm in dry and lactating sows, respectively) for a further four weeks. This should prevent any reinfection from a contaminated environment and allow the organism to die out. Cleaning and disinfection is essential, especially in straw based solid floor systems. Cleaning and disinfection of slurry channels is also advisable. Rodent control and fly control are also helpful. Biosecurity improvements are also part of your own future protection as you do not want to bring it in again. The chances of success are also 80-90%, if carried out properly.

If the farm has an EP problem as well, I advise them to consider eradication at the same time and raise the initial inclusion level in feed to give 10 mg tiamulin/kg bodyweight.

Meningitis (Streptococcus suis)

I have included this infection as a contrast. It continues to be a major problem and difficult to eradicate. The organism is transferred from sow to piglet at a very young age (by five days) where it colonises the upper respiratory tract and tonsil. It is like a time bomb sitting there waiting for a stress to trigger the disease.

Eradication is a problem however and not frequently reported. The organism can pe*****te lymphocytes, which can be transported around the body. Penicillins are not good at penetrating cells so may not kill all the bacteria. In one study, tilmicosin was used for EP and App eradication and at the same time eliminated S. suis. Many isolates are resistant to tilmicosin but where it is active (approximately 50%) this might be a useful approach. Tilmicosin can pe*****te into cells well.

Eradication with penicillin has been achieved but usually by medicating small groups of gilts and swabbing the tonsils, until they are clear. This is not practical for a commercial herd. Hysterectomy-derived piglets was probably the main way of establishing streptococcus-free breeding herds.

Medication is the most common approach for prevention. Penicillin V is probably the cheapest option usually in feed or water followed by amoxicillin around weaning time. Fortunately, resistance has not been an issue to the penicillins in most countries. Other antimicrobials with activity against S. suis are trimethoprim/sulphas and florfenicol. Occasionally, amoxicillin use precipitates a Salmonella outbreak of diarrhoea due to gut flora disturbances but this can be reportedly avoided by the use of amoxicillin+clavulanic acid (Strenzen – Elanco), which kills the Salmonella as well as controlling the Streps.

07/10/2022

The control of diseases in the farrowing room helps prevent disease spread through other stages of production. Ideally, strong and healthy piglets will be weaned, as opposed to weak and infected piglets that would pass disease to pen-mates in the nursery. Endemic disease is controlled by maximizing piglet immunity and by minimizing the disease challenge. Neonatal immunity is dependent on all pigs receiving sufficient colostrum and a continuous supply of milk from their dam. The quality of protection can be enhanced by sow vaccination or by providing the sow with natural exposure to pathogens. Important enteric diseases such as colibacillosis and rotavirus infection are often controlled with the help of sow vaccination. In order to minimize the pathogen challenge to newborn piglets, the farrowing facilities need to be cleaned and disinfected between farrowings and operated in an all-in/all-out manner. In addition, good biosecurity is essential to prevent the introduction of a serious disease challenge to a herd that has no background immunity. Viral diseases such as porcine epidemic diarrhoea and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome can result in close to 100% preweaning mortality if an outbreak occurs in a naïve sow herd. The health of suckling piglets can greatly impact the profitability of the farm and influence animal welfare.

06/08/2022

The most critical period in the life cycle of a pig is from birth to weaning. On the average, about two pigs per litter are lost during this period. Poor management is the major contributing factor, although the actual cause may be crushing, bleeding from the navel, anemia, starvation or disease.
Weaning large litters of thrifty, heavyweight pigs is a key factor for a profitable swine herd. This publication attempts to outline management practices that help keep pigs alive and profits high.
(opens in new window)Preparation for farrowing
The average gestation period for sows is 114 days. To prepare for farrowing, producers should know when sows are due. They also need a method to identify all sows. The gestation table is designed to help producers determine farrowing date based on the date sows are bred.

26/04/2022

12/04/2022

A mother pig wakes up feeling hungry and sore. She has been lying on a hard, concrete floor with no bedding and has an itch on her back that she has no way of scratching.
She is in a metal cage so she cannot turn around or move more than a few centimeters from side to side. Surrounding her, is a sea of fellow mother pigs confined to tiny cages.
She struggles to climb to her feet in the small space.
The floor is made of concrete slats so that her faeces will fall through, which keeps the space cleaner but makes it uncomfortable on her feet.
This mother pig has spent three months inside this cage and has developed painful sores from the metal bars and hard slats.
The barn has no natural light and the body heat radiating from the other pigs makes the air thick and stale.
The extractor fans aren’t strong enough to ventilate the room and there is a harsh smell of ammonia that makes it difficult to breathe and gives her lung infections. She hasn’t walked for months and her muscles are growing weak and starting to waste.
She is fed at the same time every day, and gets stressed due to the noise of the feeders coming in to fill her trough.
The sound of pigs squealing with intense anticipation fills the barn with a high-pitched noise. The feed she receives is concentrated, and will not be enough to satisfy her hunger. This small meal is all she can occupy herself with all day.
She has a strong urge to forage and root, but with nothing around her to explore, she begins to chew on the bars of the metal cage in frustration. All she can do is lie, stand, or chew on the metal bars.

14/11/2021

The Farrowing Barn
Pigs Farrowing Heads Up

The process of birthing a litter of pigs is called farrowing. Sows are moved to the farrowing barn a few days before their expected due date. There, they are housed in individual farrowing pens which provide them with comfort and privacy for their arriving litter.
Depending on their age, sows will usually farrow 8-16 piglets, weighing about 1 kg (2.2 lb) each. Comparatively, the mother pig weighs between 180-300 kg (400-650 lb), making her up to 300 times heavier than her piglets! Farrowing pens are designed with adjustable rails to prevent the sow from lying down too quickly and crushing her piglets. They also have built-in creep areas to which the piglets can retreat. Heat pads and heat lamps help keep the piglets warm and comfortable, increasing their chance of survival.

Newborn piglets will start suckling from their mother’s udder within a few hours of birth. Colostrum, the milk produced by the sow on the first day, is rich in nutrients and antibodies which enhance the newborn piglets’ immunity. Farmers ensure that all piglets have access to their mother’s milk during their whole suckling phase, which lasts about 3-4 weeks.

Watch these short videos to see what happens in a farrowing barn!

14/11/2021

“The first thing to consider when you’re designing an alternative system is how the design criteria can meet the animals’ needs, with the idea that if you meet the actual biological needs of the animal, the animal will perform well for you,” she explains. Pioneering studies were first conducted in the 1970s in the Edinburgh Pig Park (located on SRUC farmland in the foot of the Pentland Hills), which aimed to prove such a point by first considering the natural behaviours of the sow during farrowing and nursing. During one study, typical, domestic pregnant sows were released into a forested area and their behaviour monitored before, during and after farrowing.

It is well-known that sows of wild swine species will depart the herd and seek a safe, hidden space to build a nest, deliver their piglets, and suckle them for around 7 to 10 days before reintegrating into the herd. This behaviour is not possible in confined systems, such as farrowing crates: satisfactory nest building cannot take place as manipulable substrate is not generally provided and the sow’s movement is restricted; the sow is exposed on all sides so cannot be assured her piglets are safe from danger; and the sow is not able to fully interact with her piglets, again, because of limitations to her movement. It was argued by some that this innate behaviour was not strongly expressed in commercial sows but the Edinburgh Pig Park study proved that this behaviour was in fact strongly exhibited by all sows when provided with the environmental conditions to do so. Footage taken during the study clearly shows sows gathering substrate to build nests in protected areas away from the group.

Suppressing such behaviours is known to cause stress and frustration-related stereotypies in sows, which in turn can impact sow productivity and lead to displays of poor maternal behaviour. It has been proven that sows farrowing in crates, compared to loose systems, have an increased rate of stillbirths, a higher risk of savaging mortality and piglets wean at lower weights.

13/10/2021

Modern lactating sows are leaner than their contemporaries of 10 to 15 years ago and they produce large amounts of milk. They also have a larger body weight relative to age and are more immature and still growing at the times of mating, farrowing, lactating and weaning as a gilt. These females therefore have higher maintenance requirements together with reduced feed intake in lactation. These changes make it particularly difficult for the gilt to consume sufficient energy to meet the demands, of growth and maintenance, foetal growth and then milk production. As a result there may be a breakdown of body tissues (catabolism) to meet these requirements. Although mature sows are not growing, they often have larger litters and an increased demand for milk products. The following factors need to be considered when assessing gilt and sow nutrition, feed intake, production and disease.

The breeding female should ideally not loose more than 10kgs of weight during lactation.
Losses above this will extend the weaning to mating intervals with fewer animals in heat within 10 days of weaning. Animals that have become catabolic may have poorer farrowing rates and litter sizes.
Low feed intake during lactation can have a significant effect in depressing subsequent reproductive performance.
With a high feed intake body condition is maintained and milk production is increased.
Growth rate in the piglet is maximised by converting feed into milk.
The lean genotype female requires a high intake of lysine and the lactating ration should contain 1.1 to 1.2% lysine with a protein level of 17-18%. Energy levels should range from 14 to 14.5MJ DE/kg.
Remember the sow is an individual and the feed intake will vary from one animal to another.
The first litter gilt is a particular problem because it has a restricted appetite and its energy and lysine requirements are greater than those of the sow. This can be satisfied by feeding an early grower diet (up to 1.3% lysine 14.8MJ DE/kg) or giving it as half of the daily ration.
Managing the feed intake is an art and sows from three days post-farrowing should be fed a lactation diet of the above specification to appetite but not to cause indigestion.
Sows should be fed twice daily with sufficient amounts that are eaten within an hour and a half.
Water flow should be a minimum of 2 litres per minute.
There is considerable variation in feed intake between different genotypes during lactation. Manage your own herd to maximise feed intake but do not cause inappetence.
Many sows will show a drop in their feed intake during the second and third week of lactation. This dip reduces milk production and hence weaning weights. Make sure that it is not due to inadequate or slow water supply. Recent work suggests that controlling feed intake on a set rising scale improves weaning weights. This is a contentious area however and is dependent on the diet quality. You are advised to determine your own response in this respect.
Maximising energy and lysine intake in the first two weeks of lactation stimulates the development of the primordial follicles in the o***y and ovulation rate in the next oestrus.
Sows prefer to eat in the early morning and late in the evening. It is debatable whether sows will eat anymore by feeding them more than twice daily.
Factors that affect feed intake during lactation

High environmental temperatures. Above temperatures of 24ºC (75ºF) feed intake may be reduced by up to 80g per day for every increase of one degree.
Some breeding females eat more than others.
Sows eat more wet feed rather than dry.
Heat lamps placed too near the sow increases the temperature.
Low-nutrient-density high-fibre diets will reduce the availability of nutrients to the sow.
Litter size.
Lactation length.
Fat depths at farrowing. If a sow has been fed too heavily for the 3 to 4 weeks pre-farrowing this will depress appetite during lactation.
Floor surfaces. Slatted floors are cooler than solid floors. Air flow , humidity and efficiency of insulation of the house can also affect the temperature of the environment.
Sow health - It is important to ensure that the preventative routines have been carried out, particularly worming, so that damage to the digestive tract does not impair the use of food.
Palatability - A small pellet (5mm) is more palatable than a large one.
Nutrition during lactation is ideal if:

Sows maintain good body condition throughout.
Average total litter size born is 12 or more.
The farrowing rate is 90%.
Weaning weights at 21 days average over 6kg.
Do not make any changes if you are achieving this performance.

13/10/2021

The pen area is a minimum of 1.8m wide by 2.4m with the crate offset to one side with a side creep to the larger side close to the front passage. Provided the management is good there seems to be little difference in piglet mortality whether the creep is in front of the sow (as in the Camborough crate), to one side of the head of the sow (as in Fig.8-23) or further back, level with the udder. The position of the creep in Fig.8-23 gives the piglet contact to the sows head, fostering a maternal bond. It encourages the piglets to remain at the head of the sow rather than at the udder where they may be laid on. In hot climates a heated front creep may prevent the sow cooling herself and drip cooling procedures become necessary.

Crate designs vary widely and serve several purposes.

Safety for the stockperson.
Ease of management for such procedures as clipping teeth and tailing, examining the piglets and the sows udder.
Treating the piglets or the sow, feeding, changing creep feed and general hygiene.
Provision of a simple safe creep close to the sow for the piglets.
Reducing piglet mortality from crushing and disease.
Economy of space in the farrowing room
One guide to the efficiency of the design is the level of mortality achieved but other factors should also be assessed, such as the comfort and contentment of the sow, whether the crates are big enough for the biggest sows and the availability of both rows of teats to the piglets. To facilitate this ( and to reduce crushing against the bottom bar) "fingers" are incorporated as in Fig.8-23 instead of a low bottom bar. Various gadgets have been developed to reduce crushing when the sow lies down:

Adjustable bottom rails for different size sows.
A hinged bottom bar that drops inwards when the sow stands up making it difficult for her just to drop down when lying again.
Bottom bars that operate on an hydraulic ram (the proctor crate) so that the sides swing in when the sow stands and will only swing out slowly again when the sow starts to lie down. Such crates are expensive and elaborate but they do help to reduce mortality.
Crates with a fan that automatically turns on when the sow stands and blows cool air around her feet (blowaways) encouraging the piglets to return to the creep.
The floors of farrowing crates are important to piglet survival and health. If solid they should be insulated, smooth enough not to cause abrasions on the piglets legs but not too smooth and slippery to make it difficult for the newborn piglet to get to the udder and creep area.

Floors may be fully perforated , partly perforated as in Fig.8-23 or only perforated at the back end of the sow. They may be raised to various heights above the passage level to help in manipulation by the stockperson, to deter the stockperson from climbing, and to raise the piglet away from draughts at floor level.
Whilst crate design is important in assisting the sow to lie down gently, nevertheless its impact on pigs laid on is low if the management and the design of the house encourages the piglet not to lie in the danger dropping zone. The day by day management of the pen, the bedding and good drainage of the floor are vital components for success.

Good management in the farrowing house is the key to the successful rearing of healthy pigs and low pre-weaning mortality.