Eighteen farms of swine from North of Parana State, Brazil, were evaluated during the year of 1994. In the herd, at least six sows and her litters were evaluated from the birth up to weaning by four objetive variables (diarrhoea in the suckling, mortality rate, weight variation coefficient at weaning and average daily weight gain in the period), and were observed sixteen explainatory variables: (daily thermal amplitude, % area of the windows in the pant, pen 's area, corporal status of the sow, creep presence, farrowing assistance, weight at birth, onfalite presence, internal minimal temperature in the plant, litter size at birth, colibacilosis vaccination, sows per plant, coletive suckling, roof presence in the plant, intestinal parasites presence and sanitary breack utilization. The variables were evaluated by the ECOSUI program developed by EMBRAPA/CNPSA. The main risk factors observed were: high internal minimal temperature, high thermal amplitude, sanitary break absence, roof absence, high sows per plant, insufficient pen's area, onfalite and intestinal parasites presence and colibacilosis vaccination absence (founded in 50% of farms). The rates of the objetive variables were insatisfatory. The relation of diarrhoea presence was 8/18; to mortality rate the relation was 5/17; to weight variation coefficient, 0/18; and to the average daily weight gain, 9/17. The results indicate that the preventive veterinary medicine is very importam to reduce these risk factors to improve the suckling pigs performance.
piglets; diarrohea; risk factors; preweaning
