This study tested a new heating system: a warm water bed for young piglets. The first part of the experiment was a preference test combining the water bed with either the micro-cellular mat, the heated plate, or straw litter. In the second part of the experiment, the water bed was compared to different heating systems (thermo-plastic plates, micro-cellular foam mats with gas infrared heating lamps, and fitted insulated concrete floor with gas infrared heating lamps) to determine differences in piglet live weights, weaning weights, and leg injury scores. Temperature of each heating system was the same at a height of 10 cm above the heated surface, but varied between 27.9 ºC to 33.9 ºC on the lying surface for each system. In all of the choice tests, piglets preferred the warm water bed more than the other heating systems. At 3-5 days of age, over half of the litter preferred to lie on the water bed for 63.6-76.8 % of the 24 hour observation period. Less than 1 % of the piglets used the reference system for lying during that same period. In the second part of the experiment, it was discovered that the water bed system reduced the frequency of piglets’ skin lesions as they got older compared with the frequency of skin lesions occurring on piglets housed on concrete flooring. It should be noted that the water bed did not prevent leg injuries, but did help heal them by providing flexible, non-abrasive surface to lie on. Average weaning weights for the warm water bed system (7.72 kg) and the concrete floor with gas heating system (7.26 kg) were also significantly different. Piglets with fewer leg injuries were found to have higher weaning weights. This study showed that piglets prefer to lie on a soft, flexible material like the warm water bed. The warm water bed was shown to improve live weight development and weaning weights of piglets when compared with piglets housed on concrete flooring. Differences between the water bed and the other systems analyzed were not statistically significant.