The objective of this study was to evaluate the supplementary piglet heating on the basis of surface temperature of warm-water pads (WWP) in strawless farrowing house. Two WWPs (0.48 m2 ) were installed in each farrowing pen for piglet heating. Surface temperature of all double-size pads was measured by infrared thermometer (GIM 3590) in 120 farrowing pens during winter season. Average surface temperature of the pads was assessed in 8 groups in section rows (in the order of 1st till the 8th pen) including frequency distribution of temperatures in the range 34 – 43 °C (with scale of 1 °C), in the range 37 – 43°C and 39 – 41°C, and in the 3 specific temperature limits (< 37.8 °C, 37.8 – 38.9 °C, and > 38.9 °C). The data were analyzed using the Descriptive Statistics procedure and a General Linear Model ANOVA by the statistical package STATISTIX 10.0. Significance of differences between WWP in pens was determined by LSD All-Pairwise Comparisons Test (at α ≤ 0.01). Outdoor average air temperature was -0.6 °C and average temperature in the farrowing sections was 18.7 °C during the measuring period. Warm-water pads in the group of second pens had the highest average surface temperature 40.59 ± 0.96 °C. The pads in the eighth group of pens had the lowest temperature 37.91 ± 1.83 °C (P < 0.001), because these were situated at the external enclosure wall of stable. In these pens, internal wall was not thermally insulated sidelong the heating pads, as it was in the first group of pens. As far as the average surface temperature is concerned, almost 94.17 % of double-size pads had advantageous temperature (37 – 43 °C) and 67.50 % had the optimum temperature (39 – 41 °C). It is possible to get improvement of temperature conditions by additional insulation of the external enclosure wall in the area of pens as well as by optimal heat regulation of the pads basec on the position of lying piglets.
