Getting Prepaired for some Pigs

Fire-Man · #1 03/26/13, 07:48 AM

I posted this in the pig section but have not gotten any replies. Thanks for your Help!

"I think My sow is pregnant(a first for me since my early childhood). Its been about 5 weeks since she was in heat and the Boar was trying to breed her. I never seen it happen, but figured it did. These hogs are no where close to electricity. I do have two stalls. How should I prep the stall? Should I close her up in the stall when she is about due to keep the other hogs away? I have heard of "things" that can be made/used to keep the sow from laying on the pigs---Should I get/build something? I remember my Dad just closing her up in a stall for a few days but that was 50 years ago. I do remember the sows laying on one sometimes and I do remember seeing a sow eat one/some(remember the bad things as a child). Thanks"

Delinda · #2 03/26/13, 08:00 AM

We always did put our sows up in large individual stalls a few days before giving birth. We put heavy 2x6 boards around the inside of the stall, raised off the ground about 5 to 6 inches and off set from the wall about the same distance. The little piglets could escape from mamma that way and she could not lay on them. It worked well for us.

Ironbutt · #3 03/26/13, 08:39 AM

The gestation period for a sow or gilt is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Are your pigs pasture raised if so just let her build a nest in her pen and not worry about it. You can help in the nest building with straw or have a shelter for her to have her pigs in.
Lots of info on the internet .
If she is a good mother you will not have problems with mashed pigs, but if this is her first time farrowing you may have some layed on. Usually after farrowing a mother will eat the afterbirth and any dead pigs which is natual as the pigs in the wild did this to prevent the smell from attracting predators. It won't hurt her if she does this. Or you can take the afterbirth and premies or layed on pigs and bury them or compost them.
Build a pen close to electricity to train the pigs to a hot fence after they are trained you can move them to a pasture with a solar powered electric fence charger if it has a battery back up. The inital training will instill a fear of the fence so the less voltage fence won't be tested as bad, but still jolt them enough to re-enforce that remembered fear. Just remember a hungry pig will always be looking food if its not in the pen the hunger will drive it to look food even if its through the hot wire. But a contended fed pig will be happy and respect the fence. I raise pasture pigs on grass not dirt which means I feed less grain or commercial feed. I have paddocks of 100x100 with brassica's, oats, rye & clover growing in them so they graze this along with twice a week feeding by me of homemade feed with minerals. My feed bill runs about 100.00 a month for 16 pigs. This cost doesn't include my seed and tractor use bill to grow the paddocks. When one is grazed down to about 3-4 inches I move them to the next paddock.

FarmboyBill · #4 03/26/13, 09:01 AM

Dad built stalls around 10ftsq. Hogs always laid on some. Get on U TUBE and hit Preparing for pigs, in the search bar, and see what comes up.

FarmboyBill · #5 03/26/13, 09:02 AM

My bro had a 1/2 doz farrowing metal crates he offered to give me, after he had had hhis last hog, BUT BY THEN< I decided I was too old to fool with full grown sows, and pigs and didnt take them

Fire-Man · #6 03/26/13, 09:57 AM

Thanks for the replies. I do have a solar fence charger. This will be her first litter as well as mine since childhood. I am not sure she is pregnant, but her tits have enlarge some in the last couple weeks----I do not know if that is a indication or not.