Sows and Spring Piglets
Piglets have been popping out, scampering about and enjoying the warm days we’ve been having. They’re still getting snow to play in from each night’s fall but it quickly melts in the warm sun.
Newborn Piglets North of Ark
These piglets are new borns that were farrowed in a hay bale nest to the north of our Ark.
Outdoors: 24°F/47°F Sunny, 1″ Snow
Tiny Cottage: 66°F/62°F
Daily Spark: I may not be perfect but when I look at my children I know that I got something in my life right. -Unknown
Walter Jeffries Tinker, Tailor… A bit eclectic & a tad eccentric, polymath, quantum mechanic & Farmer. Also lucky at cards.
Cute Piglets! I’m guessing they are 2016 piglets though yes?
Yes, thanks for finding that typo in the title!
Hi Walter, question about a gilt. I have a young gilt (11 months now) that only had two babies, one dead the other she has rejected. He is still alive, we are feeding him and keeping him under a heat lamp. We have bred young before but she was bred to a brother. Is it ok to do that one time? Is this a freak thing or common? Thanks for your help:)
It’s fine to provide supportive care to get the pig to market. Just mark it as a non-breeder, as a feeder pig. I doubt genetics are the problem unless you’ve got some very poor stock. There are a number of reproductive diseases that can cause this. The likely causes of the poor litter are mycotoxins from moldy feed or disease, either bacterial or viral. Do you vaccinate? I would suggest something like FarrowSureGoldB as a good general vaccination for breeder pigs.