What factors recorded before farrowing affect sow's ability to wean piglets?

Application Identifying predictors that indicate the ability of a sow to wean more piglets might offer opportunities for improved sow management.
Introduction The number of weaned piglets has a high impact on profitability per sow and also reflects animal welfare. The most critical period for piglets is within first 72 h after birth, where common reasons for pre-weaning mortality are crushing and starvation. Over the last twenty years, there has been a linear increase in the number of live born piglets, while trends for pre-weaning mortality fluctuate (Baxter and Edwards, 2018). This study tested the hypothesis that close observation of sows upon transfer to the farrowing shed for possible health indicators might identify factors which have an impact on the number of piglets weaned by individual sows.