Unexpected arrival and death of potbellied piglets

Question
Hi,

We have 2 pot bellied pigs-female.Both about 9 mths old. We only have them about 6 weeks and were not aware that they were pregnant when we got them. However one of the females gave birth to 5 piglets the night before last-when we went to secure them in their sleeping area the piglets were already born-1 was dead.
As we weren't prepared for this we made alot of calls and were told the best thing to do was to leave them with their mam. She was calling them to feed at regular intervals and they seemed to be doing well. However this morning we went out to check on them early and all 4 remaining piglets were dead underneath the Mam-could they have all been squashed by her? The other female pig is in this area with them also but there is lots of room for them and a bed of hay.We were really upset to find them dead this morning and are worried that the same will happen with the second pregnant pig. We had been checking on them regularly and making sure they were warm with their Mam.
Any advice to prepare for these new piglets arrival and keep them safe?

Answer
I'm sorry the piglets didn't make it. I assume they were full term, awake, able to move about. Any number of things could have gone wrong, although it's very unlikely that the mother squashed them all. Healthy piglets, even newborns, are quick and nimble, able to escape predators and avoid being squashed by other pigs.

But, because there's more than one adult pig, it might be best to set up a "creep area" where the piglets can get to but the adults can not. Piglets need lots of warmth. So give them lots of extra bedding. Some people set up heat lamps in a portion of the creep area, so the piglets can lay under the lamp, or move to a cooler spot, or leave the creep area altogether and snuggle with Mom. But heat lamps carry a terrible risk of fire, so use caution. Keep straw and hay far from the lamps, and  plug them into GFI outlets or use a GFI cord with it's own circuit breaker.

Make sure the pen is secure, so stray dogs, raccoons, etc can not get in and disturb the babies.

Have some goats milk or sow replacement formula ready just in case. Even newborn piglets can drink from a pan. Moma pig might enjoy some goat milk, too. Make sure the pregnant pig is getting enough to eat now. I think Heartland makes a food for breeder pigs http://healthypigs.easystorecreator.com/items/feed-and-nutrition-items/list.htm?...