Why are piglets born with sharp incisor teeth?
Sows don’t always have enough milk to feed all their piglets, especially if they have large litters. To ensure that at least some of the piglets survive, the strongest get preferential treatment. The teats nearest the front of her body get the most milk. The teats towards the back of the body get progressively less. Piglets are born with sharp incisor teeth to fight for the best teats. Once a piglet has established ownership of a teat, he or she will vigorously defend it. Fighting for teats is most severe if the sow does not have enough milk for all her piglets. This can happen if the sow has more piglets than she can look after or if she is in poor body condition, or if for some reason she eats less food.
