A clinical trial was conducted on a 2400-sow commercial swine unit, where 96 litters of pigs were divided into two groups of 48 litters each. One group was processed on day 1 and the second group on day 2. The sows for these litters were loaded into two adjacent farrowing crates equalized by parity and due date. The parameters compared were preweaning mortality, individual 21-day piglet weights, and adjusted 21-day litter weights. All three parameters were significantly better (P<.05) for litters processed on day 1 than for those processed on day 2, and litter starting weights significantly influenced each parameter.