Pigs doing well

[BMav]

OK I've had the pigs just over a month and they are almost 3 times the size of when I bought them. Back when they were small enough to squeeze through a square of hog fencing. My question is, I have a male and a female. 1/2 cross Yorkshires and 1/2 cross Berkshires. They both look good, but the female is a little lighter in weight. Is this normal for the females to be smaller? The male eats, well, like a pig. The female eats but spends a lot of time rooting. They have been wormed and get a somewhat constant supply of garlic powder in their "treats". No worms in the poo, I've been checking.

I'll snap some photos tomorrow.

Thanks

B

[gerold]

Originally Posted by BMav

OK I've had the pigs just over a month and they are almost 3 times the size of when I bought them. Back when they were small enough to squeeze through a square of hog fencing. My question is, I have a male and a female. 1/2 cross Yorkshires and 1/2 cross Berkshires. They both look good, but the female is a little lighter in weight. Is this normal for the females to be smaller? The male eats, well, like a pig. The female eats but spends a lot of time rooting. They have been wormed and get a somewhat constant supply of garlic powder in their "treats". No worms in the poo, I've been checking.

I'll snap some photos tomorrow.

Thanks

B

Normal for the female to be a bit smaller. Just make sure the male doesn't hog all the food. Looking forward to the photos.

[highlands]

Originally Posted by BMav

They both look good, but the female is a little lighter in weight. Is this normal for the females to be smaller?

Yes, that is perfectly normal although occasionally a female will be the large one in a litter.

As a general rule boars are about 10% faster growing than barrows who are about 10% faster growing than gilts. The boars also tend to be more efficient at converting feed to meat. Gilts and barrows tend to produce more fat than boars.

[BMav]

BB & Q.