Abstract
In the UK, mean stillbirth rate is reported to be 6.7% (BPEX, 2008), which indicates a considerable loss for pig producers. Lately much research has been carried out to improve piglet survival by genetic improvement, but correlations between survival and reproduction traits showed contradictory results and seldom distinguished between maternal and direct piglet genetic effects. Some studies considered birth weight as a trait that is likely to be closely related to survival, but few looked at individual piglet birth weight. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between birth weight or its variation within litter and survival to examine if selection on individual birth weight is a viable way to improve survival.
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