Most of the time this will not need to be done, but if you do have a poorly piglet that needs any sort of treatment, trying to separate it from its mum can be an absolute nightmare, especially if like us you have nowhere else secure to lock the sow away while doing it. In the very early days sows are hyper-protective and can get absolutely panic stricken if any human causes any of the piglets to squeal - one of the reasons we have never tried castration. But yesterday and today, this method worked really well, and might be helpful to anyone else in the same boat.
Prepare a square/rectangular, deepish, flat sided, plastic box, a bit bigger than the piglet, with lots of straw. Tempt the sow out of the ark with some extra nuts. While she is pre-occupied eating, place the box on its side near the piglets, take some more straw and gently push the piglet you want sideways into the box with the straw, but without making any contact with your hand or picking it up, which will cause instant squealing and the mum to charge back in, barking her head off, to see what on earth you are doing. Put a bit more straw on top of the piglet, then gently turn the box upright, and shoot out of the ark and plot with the box as fast as you can. I have managed this four times now, in complete silence, and the sow has been completely unaware I have temporarily taken one of her piglets into the house, and closed the door behind me so she can't hear a thing, to do whatever treatment or jab needs doing. Getting the piglet back in again is a doddle too, just tip the box on its side somewhere where the sow can't see you and gently tip the piglet out. Hey presto! It has certainly made this particular aspect of life much less stressful! Tamsaddle