Heat lamp?

[tnokie]

I have a new mini gilt. She is about eight weeks old. She has been weaned since three weeks and was with other pigs. Now she is alone. I have been leaveing aheat lamp on for her in her box with a good bed of straw. How long before she can do without it in these winter temps. The week I got her it was down in the teens,now its in the thirtys at night.

[Rogo]

I use Bermuda hay for double duty -- my Potbellies free choice feed it and also bury themselves in it for warmth.

Straw/heat lamp -- can be a lethal combination. Fire.

Perhaps someone who has used a heat lamp can tell you how long to use it.

[highlands]

Well, we don't use heat lamps at all and are in the mountains of northern Vermont. No heat lamps for any size pig. Just lots of hay. They do great.

I don't like heat lamps or other heat sources around hay. Hay and straw is tinder.

If you do use heat lamps be sure to wire protect the bulb to protect from shocks, keep the cord out of her reach and make sure there is no way your structure can catch fire if the bedding starts to burn.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[HeritagePigs]

Well, here in the Ozarks it gets pretty darn cold (although my friends who moved here from Minnesota would say, "Ha! This isn't cold!")

We use heat lamps in all of our farrowing huts, sometimes two. I've found frozen piglets buried in the hay and vowed to never find that again.

I place the heat lamps in the top back corner of the hut and wire it securely with a shield over the bulb.

Young piglets do not have the fat to survive the cold; it takes a few months before they do. Small pigs, such as yours, have the same problem until they develop a layer of fat.

[rippdog]

so does that mean if i have 4, 11 week old pigs (20-25 lbs each) and have a small metal house, air tight with thick rubber flap door on one end and deep soft hay would they still need a heat lamp? Our nights are about 15 to 30 degree but the day the suns been out and warms to 40- 50 degrees. not much snow this year so far. thanks

[highlands]

We don't use any heat lamps and the young pigs still do fine outdoors in our open sheds right through the winter. The trick is wind breaks and plenty of dry bedding. We use hay. I've got a whole lot out there doing great right now and we just went through a high wind and bitter cold spell (-9°F).

I don't like the heat lamps as pigs chew on things, bulbs break and fires start. Hay and electric are not a good combination. On the other hand, I do use heat lamps for chicks but with great caution. If you do use heat lamps figure out how you're going to limit the resulting fire from burning down structures.

Frankly I wouldn't worry about your temperatures at all. Very mild and the pigs should be fine.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[Laura Workman]

I'm with HeritagePigs on this one, having lost six out of ten potbelly babies to cold before I figured out what was going on. This was in 60-degree weather, newborn piglets. It turns out those tiny ones can lose energy by shivering faster than they can gain energy by eating. They wind up starving in short order.

This is a little, eight-week old mini pig, right? All alone? I'd definitely give her a lamp. Just make sure she can't touch it or pile straw up so it will touch the lamp. I have put my lamps behind a piece of fencing, shining out toward the piglet. Right now, I have an 8-week-old Berkshire/Duroc piglet, and he's got a heat lamp. It's hung up with two separate hangers, in case one fails.

[linn]

We do use heat lamps in our farrowing houses. We have never had a fire, but have sure had frozen piglets.