PiG Tales and Porkers.. Breeding Pigs

Pig breeding

A simple rule of thumb to remember when breeding pigs is the 4 threes,
Heat if not mated is every 3 weeks
Pregnancy lasts 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days

Points to look out for
When buying or choosing gilts for breeding always make sure they have 14 healthy looking teats, as most healthy sows will farrow this number of piglets

Puberty
Most pigs reach puberty around 5 months old, this is really too young to put to the boar, best practice would be to wait until maiden gilts are 6 months old, easy to do as unmated sows will normally come into heat every 21 days as long as they are healthy and well fed.

How to know if a sow or gilt is on heat
A gilt or sow coming into season can be edgy and may not want to eat. The vulva becomes pink and swollen, though this is not always obvious in some.
To find out when a sow is ready to be put to the boar, press on her back just in front of her hind quarters. If she stands stock still and will not move, it shows that she is ready and will stand for the boar to mount her.
Sows are only in heat for between 8 and 36 hours so getting the optimum time saves a lot of stress for both pig keeper and the boar.
A frustrated boar is not a happy boar, and some less well natured can become a little difficult to handle.

Making things easier for yourself
If you wish to bring all the sows into heat at the same time, place a sow that is already on heat in with those that aren’t, and some of them will come into heat. If you repeat this you can eventually have the sows coming into season at the time of your choosing.
If you are working with several groups of sows this is very useful as you can have them farrow in sequence enabling you to give each group the best attention at farrowing time.

Signs of pregnancy
If after three weeks from going to the boar there is no sign of sow or gilt coming into season she is almost certainly pregnant.
While carrying the sow should be given food high in nutrients, grain and green veg is good if you are not using a proprietary pig food, and extra food should be given as she approaches full term.
Running out in fields is good for the sows well being and will give access to the minerals she will need.

Indications that the pig is ready to farrow
The sow will get fidgety and start nest making from around 24hours before giving birth, a teat if gently squeezed will produce a droplet of milk.
About 1 or 2 hours before giving birth there may be some discharge from the vulva and if little green pellets are passed the piglets will start to arrive within the hour.
From the first piglets arrival to the afterbirth being passed, normally takes no more than three hours, once teeth are clipped and all is clean and settled they can be left to themselves, as described in the previous blog Farrowing

page 1 getting started with pigs

page 2 How to move pigs

page 3 Farrowing