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How are piglets kept warm in modern pig housing?

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A large grain elevator and several metal silos stand on a farm surrounded by green fields, with hills and a partly cloudy sky in the background. — Farm building Grain elevator and silos on a small farm.

In modern pig housing, piglets are kept warm through the use of specialized environmental controls within enclosed facilities. To maintain the necessary warmth, these buildings may be equipped with unit heaters, underfloor hot-water pipes, or heat lamps.1

Additionally, once piglets are weaned, they are typically moved to a nursery where the ambient temperature is maintained above 27 °C (80 °F) until they reach approximately four weeks of age. These measures are essential for the health and development of the young animals, as modern hog houses are designed to protect swine from extremes of cold while providing draft-free ventilation. In some systems, farrowing stalls are also utilized to confine the sow, which helps prevent her from accidentally crushing her young while they are in these temperature-controlled environments.21