overbred sow? *photos added*

[spish]

one of our minipg sows is pregnant for the 2nd time this year, she had her last litter in march and looks fit to burst again. this would be her third litter..shes only three years old.

we didnt want her to have another litter but it seems by some miracle that the boar has bred her although they've been seperated since march (could she have gotten pregnant again straight after giving birth? the boar was removed the morning that the piglets were born 5 months ago though i thought gestation was only 112-115 days so that sounds to me like they've done the deed between the shed walls????)

so anyhow she's huge again much to my dismay and im wondering what i can do to help her? she seems sunken in at the hips (her pin bones are prominent) and 'thin' at the waist, ive always had problems with this sow not putting on weight hence why i no longer wished to breed from her (theres some posts from me about her somewhere)

she looks so small and fragile but with a huge pregnant belly


edited to add photos (the spotted pig is her daughter from her first litter, please excuse the water its been violent storms here for 2 weeks without a break in the weather )

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Is her pen right next to the boar? A more open weave fencing? If so, she's totally pregnant.


If not, I would have a sonogram done because 5 months is longer than a pig gestation. They are 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. It is also possible that she's lost her body conditioning with being pregnant one on top of the other so she just doesn't have the muscle strength to hold up her own stomach.

Any pictures of her?

 

[spish]

the pen that the girls are in is next to the boars pen but theres no gaps between the panels where he could get his *ahem* curly whirly through...or perhaps well....

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Yeah, I'd say he may have found a gap. L. She doesn't look too bad other wise. You don't want pots and pot crosses to get too heavy. They do better if kept a little on the lean side so you greatly lessen the chance of spinal injuries. If she turns out actually pregnant I would give her a good long break after these piglets.


And the other possibility is it was one of her sons depending on how long they were left with her.

 

[spish]

shes not actually a pot bellied pig, shes an indonesisch mini pig, so shouldnt have a hanging belly like that hence why i thought she is pregnant. http://www.google.be/search?q=indon...rce=univ&ei=ksxXTozHHo-XOouD8KoM&ved=0CDcQsAQ


.. the sons were taken away at 8 and 10 weeks

 

[spish]

well Phoebe popped on the 1st september and gave birth to 8 little darlings mum and babies are doing well though im worried about her having so many for such a little pig.

her first litter was 3, her 2nd was 5 and this time 8! she was already thin to begin with...what kind of increase of food should i be looking at....or should i just be keeping the food bowls full of pellets at all times with extra greens? (normally only refill the food bowl morning and afternoon)

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

That's a lot of babies! I would keep her food bowl full for about a week. She's going to need the energy boost and extra food for the milk and also just having it out will encourage the piglets to start eating solids sooner which will help take some of the pressure off of her.

 

[drdoolittle]

How long did you leave the litter that was born in March in with her. You may already know this, but a male pig is capable of breeding at 8 weeks old. Could one of her sons have bred her? I'm glad momma and babies are doing well.

 

[spish]

the march litter we began taking piglets away at 8 weeks but left two with her until 10 weeks (the 2 smallest, one girl one boy)

everyone is still doing well, just a little concerned still over the runt..she's just half the size of the rest of the piglets but very active so hoping she'll catch up

should i wet mommas food with warm water of milk to encourage the little ones to eat it?



a few pigtures ;-)

Little Isabel - the runt

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Honestly it's not going to stay warm for very long. With in the first week they'll figure it out and start nibbling. You can also just divide the food into 2 dishes to give the babies more of a chance to get their nose in there.