Pig Pregnancy and Farrowing

Ok, if you didn't read the breeding blog I will inform you real quick. You might find parts where I tell you about my gilts and sows. Which they are Blue Butt and Yorkshire. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at Mudrun9380@aol.com or leave a comment. Thanks

Pregnancy-
Ok, so the job has been done, your girl has been serviced by the boar you have chosen. Now is she pregnant or not?! Well, you can use a boar to just tease her to see if she comes into heat approximately 18-24 days after her last service. If she comes back into heat have her serviced again. If she does not come back into heat then you now have a pregnant pig. If you can't get her to a teaser boar then you should call and make an appointment with the vet to have her ultra-sound about 36-48 days after the last service date. Or you can do what many owners do, wait 21 days and see if she comes into heat if not we assume they are pregnant. Either way you will have to make sure she is getting the right nutrition she needs to keep a healthy body.
Now the long journey comes. 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Or 115 days. A sow or gilt can have up to 14 piglets. There has been sows that have farrowed more then 14 but it is very unlikely to have a sow that will farrow that many. Most will farrow between 7-10.
A month before her farrowing date you will want to get her dewormed. And if you choose to use a farrowing box you should have this built and ready. I prefer to let her do things natural. But, I observe very closely at farrowing. So, she does not lay on any of her babies or step on them. Plus, I block off a section of her hut for the babies where they can get under a heat lamp without momma laying or stepping on them. Her last week of pregnancy I like to give her a extra pound of food a day. During her pregnancy she will gain weight just like any other mammal. She might not look very big but you must take inconsideration her rib cage is large so for the first three months the piglets sit high in her stomach. For the first probably 100 days you won't see much of a change except for weight gain. Tho after her 100 days you will see physical changes along with behavior changes. Every gilt is different but I will give you an idea with the help of my two gilts Thelma and Babe.
Here is a good time line of a gilts pregnancy. The things to look for and the things to do to prepare for her farrowing.
Three weeks before she is due to farrow you should start to see the gilts teats protrude. The closer you get the more they will protrude and her mammary glands will begin to form. You will also feel the glands. Thelma's teats were huge. But, Babe's didn't look like had any change.
At about 105-109 days you will want to introduce your gilt to her farrowing crate.
.From 110 days (some days earlier) you may notice your gilt slacking on her food and being lazy. Thelma did this. She would only eat a quarter of food here and a quarter there.. Babe ate normal if not more all the way up to the day of farrowing. If your gilt slows down on her eating's don't be too alarmed. Be alarmed when she stops drinking. Contact your vet. If you feel she is not drinking you can give her a bucket full of water with a little bit of corn syrup or maple syrup. And then sit for about 30 minutes and watch her. She should urinate a couple times. As the time gets closer she might show signs of constipation. I like to use mineral oil.( I use this for kittens, puppies, pigs and my own kids.)
Most of the time the gilts belly will slope upwards as it goes towards her rear. But, the further along she gets her belly will level out.
Their vulva might start swelling around day 108. Here is a picture of one gilt's vulva on day 112.

You need to understand the more you go out and check on your gilt the longer she will take. If you can view from a distance that would work best. Let her be comfortable with little interruptions as possible. You will want to check on her a couple times a day, from a distance remember. The reason to leaving her alone is that if she is in labor and you keep irritating her, you are prolonging her delivery. The first baby takes the longest to get out because it is making enough room for the rest to come out. So, by prolonging her you might be prolonging the baby in the birth canal and it might end up suffocating.
If you can squeeze a teat and a drop of liquid comes out, well that is a good indicator that within the next 12 hours your gilt will be farrowing.
Some gilts/sows will farrow standing up. Some will back up into a corner. And others will
lay down. It will all depend on your pig!

Labor Signs-
Nesting- 1-3 days until farrowing
liquid from teat- 3-12 hours until farrowing
Teats large and firm- 3-12 hours until farrowing
Swollen vulva- 1-4 days until farrowing
Panting, heavy breathing- Labor has begun
Walking back and forth or in circles- Labor has begun
Discharge from vulva- Labor has started

Little green balls come from vulva- Delivery is in progress

Some gilts will go in circles or pace. As for mine neither one did any of that. They laid there! So, each and every gilt or sow and pregnancy is different.

Ok, so your gilt is laying down and she has had little green pellets come out of her vulva or just some discharge. And you see her stretch all four legs out straight. It might look like she is holding her breath. Which she is. It's a contraction. Some will grunt others will be very quiet when they farrow. My girls love it when i sit and talk in a soft voice. And Babe loves to be petted during. Tho, Thelma does not like to be touched at all. She has pushed and pushed and now you see something coming out what the hell do you do?! It's simple. Get a towel and make sure the babies air way is cleared. I like to just clean off the baby completely and set it in a box with some towels. Make sure you have your note book to write down times, sex and description of each baby. This is a good time if you can to notch their ears, castrate, doc tails and cut their tusks. If not you can do that later (1-4 days). Castration you can do any time really. Delivery can take between an hour to six hours. Thelma took six hours to deliver. Her first came at 3pm and then her second came around 5pm and there after they were up to an half hour between. Babe on the other hand delivered all her's within an hour and a half. And she had 12 and Thelma had 8. If you find a baby which is not breathing try to revive it. Rubbing it with a towel, blowing in it's mouth. There might be a good chance the first born will be still born. If not consider yourself lucky. There you have it. Your gilt has delivered you have introduced her to her babies. Now what? Well, make sure all babies are getting milk. Some gilts will accidently step on a baby or two until they get use to it.

To inform some. Gilts and Sows can become very aggressive towards you or anyone so please keep small kids away. In all the years I have been around pigs there is one thing I have noticed that never gets told to new people. Sometimes a baby might come up missing. It's normal. the mother may have sensed something wrong or the baby might have died. She is trying to do what they do in nature and that is get rid of anything that could bring in prey. Including after birth. She will eat it.

Here is a list you should have when farrowing

Pair of scissors- to cut umbilical cord

iodine or benedine- to dip tails, umbilical cord

towels- and lots of them

Note pad- To write down sex, time, description

ear notch- explains itself

clippers- for tail and tusks and can be used for castration

Thread- to tie umbilical cord if needed

Box- to put the babies in while the gilt is farrowing so she doesn't have to worry!

Cola- Something for you to drink and probably a good book.