[amandac]

I have a sow with 10 piglets (8 weeks old) who is not eating very much and spending the day in her ark. The piglets are due to be weaned this weekend. I am wondering whether the piglets have been eating more of her food than I suspected (on top of their own feed) and she is run down/weak. What can I feed her to try and encourage her to eat?

[SophieYorkshire]

Has she still got plenty of milk and allowing them access to it? You could wean immediately by now if you think they're draining her energy.

Take her a watering can full of water to keep her hydrated and try something a bit tastier to get her up and about - a wet feed of nuts with glucose/electrolytes won't harm. I'll get shot down (but we all do what needs doing with sick animals) - try a spoon of jam or some mashed banana etc in her food, pigs love sweet things!

Don't let her lie for extended periods, get her up and massage the sides she's been laid on (hard) and look at how she's moving. Is her wee and poo looking okay etc?

[Marches Farmer]

Eight weeks is the latest I wean piglets.  They should be getting a fair proportion of their feed in the form of 16% sow & weaner nuts by now.  I feed a farrowed sow 1.3 to 1.8 kg per day, depending on condtion, plus 0.5 kg per day per piglet, so on this basis a sow with a litter of 10 would get 6.3 to 6.8 kg per day.

[HappyHippy]

Ditto both the above. We find that ripe, juicy melon usually tempts their appetite 
If you haven't already, I'd check her temperature to rule out infection - just to be on the safe side.
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