Season effects on the suckling behavior of piglets.

The suckling behavior of piglets was evaluated in summer and winter, using 21 sows of the same genetic line. Data were collected in July (winter) and in January (summer). The experimental design was a randomized complete block (age of piglets) in a 2x2 factorial scheme, with season of the year (winter and summer) and shift (day, from 06 h to 1h:59min and night from 18h to 05h:59min) as factors.