When a sow is forced to go off feed for whatever reason it is detrimental to her litter and has negative impacts on her reproductive performance. When a sow eats to much it may go off feed later on, also factors such as environment, temperatures and stress can causes a sow to stop eating feed. The cause and effect of off-feed events in sows is reminiscent of ketoacidosis in dairy cattle. Technology used by diabetic people is able to measure ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) levels in blood and has also been proven to test for ketosis in cows. This study attempts to test pig saliva for BHBA. The study concludes by saying not many sows go off feed or experience ketosis. Thirteen pigs per litter did not impose enough stress to raise serum BHBA levels in the sow, if a sow is consuming enough feed it seems apparent that the levels of BHBA are relatively low. It could not establish if there is a relationship between a sow not consuming feed and serum BHBA levels.