[Jode]

Hi all - looking for advice from those wiser than me!

We took on a Berkshire Sow last year, 4 weeks before she farrowed (14 piglets!) and we were told she was "about 7". The farmer was quite vague about it. We tried to remate her by watching for signs of fertility and AI but it has failed as she should have produced piglets this week :-(. I don't want to run piglets through the winter again so we won't remate her until the winter, but my question is what age is too old? And this is difficult because we don't actually know how old she is! She is a lovely Sow, we are really fond of her and so are all our visitors. She's incredibly friendly and a real character so even if she's too old she will remain as a farm pet. But we were hoping to breed with another Berkshire and therefore keep a couple of gilts for future breeding.

Thoughts? Any way to tell? If we put her to a boar rather than tried AI and she didn't take would that be indicative?

[devonlady]

I'm certainly no expert on pigs but I think AI wouldn't have worked unless she was ready. Seven isn't too old for breeding and if you put her to the boar now you could sell the weaners about October .
I'm sure someone experienced will be able to advise you better.

[HappyHippy]

She's not too old to breed, but leaving a long gap between litters increases the risk of infertility (especially if she's a little porky  ) I'd use a (fit, healthy, proven) boar to be on the safe side and yes, if after being with him there were still no piglets it would be safe to assume she's infertile.
I was told that when sows get older you should keep breeding them regularly as long as they're maintaining condition.
HTH
Karen