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  #1  
Old 08/07/11, 07:18 PM
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: middle tn
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weaning age

my berkshire had her first litter she had 8 and all survived they are 4 weeks old what age does everybody wean at thx jim
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  #2  
Old 08/07/11, 07:56 PM
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Location: Nampa, ID
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I wean at 3 weeks. The industry as a whole is 3-4 weeks average. Some show pig producers go up to 6 weeks. It really depends on your preference on breeding back. You can move sow breed back dates just by weaning early or late. Much past 4-6 weeks and it may be a little hard on your sow.
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  #3  
Old 08/07/11, 07:57 PM
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdadychef View Post
my berkshire had her first litter she had 8 and all survived they are 4 weeks old what age does everybody wean at thx jim
Weaning ages range from 17 days to 5 weeks.
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  #4  
Old 08/07/11, 08:09 PM
 
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We offer feed and water the from the first week and they pretty much wean themselves by 3 weeks.
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  #5  
Old 08/07/11, 08:36 PM
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Why are pigs weaned at such a young age?
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  #6  
Old 08/07/11, 08:47 PM
 
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So the sow can be bred back and have another litter.

Like I said, ours wean themselves. They could stay around longer, but they don't.
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  #7  
Old 08/07/11, 10:14 PM
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: NW OK
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I would go with 6 week of age weaning. The extra time on the sow will be good for the pigs and you will still be on track for a twice a year farrowing schedule.
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  #8  
Old 08/07/11, 10:51 PM
Sugarstone Farm
 
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I wean between 8 and 12 weeks. As long as the sow is keeping her weight there's no need to wean early, unless you want to get her bred back right away and she isn't showing heat with piglets at side.

I wish mine would wean themselves!
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  #9  
Old 08/07/11, 11:09 PM
Tim (the W of R-W Hogs)
 
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Location: north west ks
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We wean ours at 4-5 weeks, And that depends on if the piglets are eating & drinking water. I was watching our new liter of berkshires and they are drinking water and eating weeds,grass and what ever mom eats.
When a liter hits 3 wks old i put a hog panel in the pen with them that is shaped like a sqaure and it has holes in it big enough for them to get thru but not moma sow, We put ground corn and water in it so they get use to eating it and not being around moma sow when they eat.
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  #10  
Old 08/08/11, 06:13 AM
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4 weeks give or take a couple days
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  #11  
Old 08/08/11, 09:18 AM
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Always watch the piglets for at least a week after "weaning". "Weaned" does not mean eating stuff and drinking water; it means gaining weight without milk. We never remove our piglets from the sow before six weeks and never ship them, or allow them to be picked up, until they are gaining weight on their own, usually at eight weeks.
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  #12  
Old 08/08/11, 11:49 AM
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NW AR
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6-7 weeks works well for us. I guess if the sows started looking bad I might move them sooner but I have not had that problem.
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  #13  
Old 08/08/11, 12:41 PM
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: NW OK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeritagePigs View Post
Always watch the piglets for at least a week after "weaning". "Weaned" does not mean eating stuff and drinking water; it means gaining weight without milk. We never remove our piglets from the sow before six weeks and never ship them, or allow them to be picked up, until they are gaining weight on their own, usually at eight weeks.
A very good explanation Brian.
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  #14  
Old 08/08/11, 02:30 PM
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I wish I could wean earlier...

I spent most of the morning chasing piglets...got about eighty right now on the farm...little guys can really scoot...
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  #15  
Old 08/08/11, 05:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeritagePigs View Post
I wish I could wean earlier...

I spent most of the morning chasing piglets...got about eighty right now on the farm...little guys can really scoot...
I want to demand video, but I think you might be a bit on the busy side right now. lol
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  #16  
Old 08/08/11, 08:25 PM
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: middle tn
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weaning pigs

thxs everbody sow is doing really well still producing good milk the little guys have been eating food for about 2 weeks with mom and now i put food just for them also water and they go right to both placers for food i thinl around the six weeks might be good thanks for all the great response
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  #17  
Old 08/10/11, 05:22 PM
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We generally wean at about 4 to 6 weeks but it varies with the season. By adjusting weaning we can control rebreeding to some degree with most sows.
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