Breeding Tams

[that's*satyrical]

We have a breeding pair of Tam's born early March. I have kept them together based on advice gained from this site. Well I noticed the female has a bigger belly than the male, just rounder & hangs down lower & her teats look like they are getting larger. Is this pretty much normal or is it possible she is pregnant already? I was told they pretty much wouldn't breed until she was ready even if I left them together. If she is pregnant I just want to know what I need to do to keep her & the babies healthy. Thanks!!!!

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Hmmm... Born in March would make her 7 mths old? I would doubt, if pregnant, that she was that far along already. We just had piglets born to gilts that were 11 1/2mths old so bred at 7 1/2 mths - that is the earliest we have ever had them produce here.

A more reasonable explanation may be that she is hogging all the food so getting fatter! Watch them for a while when you feed them. Is she pushing him out of the way? Are you feeding them in separate bowls/piles?

IF she is pregnant, don't worry about it. We do not feed our gilts/sows any more feed until they actually farrow. Feeding them extra before they farrow can cause larger piglets which can potentially get stuck. Once they farrow then we up the feed considerably depending on number of piglets to feed - cab be 3-4 times the amount, more if we see them losing too much condition.

Liz

 

[that's*satyrical]

Thanks I just wanted to make sure if there was anything special I needed to do that it got done just in case. What kind of area do you offer for farrowing?

 

[Cornish Heritage]

What kind of area do you offer for farrowing?

It all depends on the pasture the expectant sow is in. 4 of our pastures have access to the barn. Our barn is fenced & gated inside into smaller sections. We try to bring the expectant sows into these pastures but that is not always possible. Even when we do, some of them prefer to farrow in a Porta Hut. Here's a pic I took yesterday of two of our first time mama's job sharing.

One farrowed on Oct 8th & although she had access to the barn & woods she chose the Porta Hut. There is something about these huts - not sure if it their shape but they seem to be more comfortable & warmer. Knowing the other gilt was due around the same time we brought another PortaHut up right beside the other one. One other gilt in the pasture had some out in the field & some up in the barn but would not settle to feed them so Pixie & Connie adopted them and Pip went back to be rebred. (Gilts can be unpredictable. Sometimes they are excellent mothers, other times they do not settle. We do give them a second chance & most time they do great the second time around.)

We use hay for bedding & eating. A sow getting ready to farrow will make a nest but even if she is not pregnant she will rearrange any hay in there to be comfortable.

The Porta Huts are 5' x 7'. The barn areas are larger. We have a couple sows that will NOT farrow in anything - they like the woods & that can be risky. We lost a litter about 3 weeks ago - PortaHuts were in the pasture but Molly headed into the woods. Unfortunately it chose to thunderstorm at that time & all but two drowned!

SO sorry I have no definitive answer for you. Until your gilt has had her first litter you will really not have any idea what to expect. I know lots of folks like to be there at the birth but you need to be careful. We do not fuss over our farrowing sows - just leave them to it. They do no need the extra stress - they will sense it if you are nervous. Of course if she seems to be alright with you being there then that is fine but make sure you have an escape route in case she gets barky & wants you out of there. Our Large Blacks are very calm during the birthing process so we do not have to worry but I know that not all breeds are like that.

One thing we do not do is shut them in anywhere. Some sows will eat right up to the birth, some will go off their food just before. Most of ours want their food!

Hope this helps.

Liz