Two experiments were conducted with the aim of investigating whether non-nutritive nursings (nursings without milk ejection), when included into a regular rhythm of nursings with milk ejection, affect milk intake and body weight gain during early lactation in pigs. In experiment 1, when the piglets were 9 to 12 days old, 8 sows were forced to nurse every 70 min three times in succession. Between the nursings, 2 piglets had an additional opportunity to massage the sow's teats from which they had been suckling. Milk intake was estimated by the weigh-suckle-weigh method. Additional massage on the two teats had no influence on milk output from those teats on subsequent nursings. In experiment 2, on day 7 or 8 post partum 16 sows were forced to nurse at every 70 min for a period of 24 h. In nine of the sows (group MIN70 + 15), non-nutritive nursing were induced 15 min after each nutritive nursing. In the other group of seven sows (MIN70), there was no opportunity for this additional massage. The total duration of udder massage was considerably longer in group MIN70 + 15 (median 271 min vs. 165 min, Mann-Whitney U-test, p < 0.005) than in the other group that did not have the additional massage. Nevertheless, the weight gain during the whole 24 h period was the same in both groups (157 g vs. 141 g, Mann-Whitney U-test, n.s.). Both groups had nearly the same decrease in weight during the 24 h manipulation of nursing rhythm in comparison with the weight gain during a unmanipulated period 24 h one day before (group MIN70 + 15 decreased 28% and group MIN70 decreased 31%, Mann-Whitney U-test, n.s.). The results suggest that additional massage provided during non-nutritive nursings does not induce higher milk output during subsequent milk ejection, either locally or systemically.