Review: Early life piglet experiences and impacts on immediate and longer-term adaptability

•Pigs routinely encounter challenging situations in commercial production systems.•The adaptability of pigs to routine stressors has implications for animal welfare.•Stress adaptability can be shaped by housing, human and social experiences early in life.•Some early experiences have a more enduring effect on stress adaptability than others.•Early experiences are important to the short and sometimes longer-term welfare of pigs.