Background: Piglets weighing less than 1 kg have become a common occurrence in pig farms due to selection for increasing litter size. Large litters imply a decrease in the mean piglet birth weight and an increase in the within-litter variability of birth weight with a greater risk of mortality and lower growth performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of birth weight of female piglets on growth performance and on removal rates until selection for entry into the breeding herd (170 days) of Landrace x Large White crossbred gilts. Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 1495 Landrace x Large White (DB 25® - DanBred) crossbred female piglets were individually weighed after birth (BiW) and housed on the same farm from birth onwards. During the following developmental stages, gilts were again individually weighed: at 10 days, at weaning, nursery, rearing and selection (170 days). A phenotypic evaluation was performed to select the gilts that would be included in the breeding herd. Predicted probabilities for mortality, according to BiW, were estimated using logistic regression models. Female piglets were also retrospectively classified into eight classes of BiW based on percentiles, i.e., approximately 12.5% in each group. Cumulative losses by death or removal until weaning, nursery and selection phase were analysed using logistic regression models. The ability of pigs to compensate for low BiW was estimated using the