The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: old bird on November 23, 2011, 09:33:02 pm
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My farm help wasn't able to bring my pregnant gilt in today so I went when I came home to bring her in and oops, she's just farrowed a few days early. Healthy suckling piglets but one dead - cannot tell if she laid on it. How do I get her to come in with them?!
I collected the piglets and put them in a straw-filled wheelbarrow to lead her in but she showed no interest. I guess her instinct is to stay at the ark she farrowed in. I've put them back as she obviously hasn't bonded with them long enough and they need their colostrum. However, it's a cold night, no farrowing rails and used ground so staying otu is not an option.
Any ideas?
Old Bird
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Did you manage to get her in?
Shake a bucket of food - she'll probably follow that.
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Nope. She'll come out but will return to the ark. I'm up early to try again!!
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Good luck :) Can you shut her in, with the piglets wheelbarrowed in to join her, until she settles in the new spot?
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If she's not moving when you move the piglets and rattle a bucket of food, she's probably being maternal to the point of stubborness ::) Not wanting to move the piglets til they are big enough.
If you're happy that she's well and they are all doing well I'd be tempted to leave her where she is for a couple of days til she comes round.
Hope all goes well :wave:
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Hi Old Bird, I fear I could be for the same fate as you, my sow is still a few weeks away yet but my cow shed still has pigs in that are going off on Monday but my Boar is there as well so will have to play musical pigs before I can get her in there, and clean and bedding etc.. she has a 2 arks to choose from at the moment where she is but her grunts and the way she looks at me tells me she has had enough and wants the comfort of the cow shed, I will really have to get cracking next week once the finishers have left for the abattoir, as soon as your sow is ready I would move her, if her bond to good with the piglets I would leave her be until she is ready. :wave:
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i would get all the piglets to where you want them. THen pick one up, it will probably scream like mad but this should make mum come running!!! Make sure you are ready to run like the wind as she will be on you in seconds!!!!
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My KK did this and farrowed outside right down the bottom of the field over a ditch. She wasn't interested in following either so we put the babies in a cat carrier (all we had and it was getting dark) and took them up to the pen she was meant to be in .... she stayed by her nest. We ended up picking up one of the babies so it squeeled and she in turn bolted up the field to protect her babies and we got her inside the pen. Prob not the best way to do things but by the time we got her in it was pitch black and we were using the flash from our phone to see hehe
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Thanks all - I picked the babies up to get them to scream - amazingly they didn't let rip like piglets normally do - only a few hours old I guess. However this morning food won over family and Gloucester Old Spot trailed the plastic trough up to the barn, bless her, babies as good as fogotten all for a few apples. I then collected them and all are happily reunited and settled. By the way I crossed her with a Saddleback and all 7 of the piglets are Saddleback markings, not a spotty pig in sight.
Yes, it has been muscial stables - and now to buy another ark! Gee I can't wait til lambing!!!
:pig:
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Excellent ;D
Yes, Sally's Meg is an OSB but she was crossed with a saddleback (in his absence :)) and the piglets are saddlebacked not spotty.
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I was told (probably by someone on here ;) :D) that the colour coding in the Saddleback is dominant, and that if you had a litter of first cross Saddlebacks that had colouring and marking other than Saddleback then the Saddleback wasn't purebred.
As jaykay says, all Meg's, to Deerpark's Saddleback, are peas-in-a-pod Saddleback. :thumbsup: Blewett Prefect 86!
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i would get all the piglets to where you want them. THen pick one up, it will probably scream like mad but this should make mum come running!!! Make sure you are ready to run like the wind as she will be on you in seconds!!!!
lol ... very true...and even the dogs hide behind u... :wave:
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i would get all the piglets to where you want them. THen pick one up, it will probably scream like mad but this should make mum come running!!! Make sure you are ready to run like the wind as she will be on you in seconds!!!!
lol ... very true...and even the dogs hide behind u... :wave:
Wanna see something funny?
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=252559798123195&saved#!/video/video.php?v=252559798123195 (https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=252559798123195&saved#!/video/video.php?v=252559798123195)
Stoopid man! ::) :love:
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well dorothy runs faster that! lol
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well dorothy runs faster that! lol
Aye, he's a lucky man... ::)
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not much of a chase you should see iron age pigs have a go even when it is not there pigletts that are treading air :farmer:
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Thanks all - I picked the babies up to get them to scream - amazingly they didn't let rip like piglets normally do - only a few hours old I guess. However this morning food won over family and Gloucester Old Spot trailed the plastic trough up to the barn, bless her, babies as good as fogotten all for a few apples. I then collected them and all are happily reunited and settled. By the way I crossed her with a Saddleback and all 7 of the piglets are Saddleback markings, not a spotty pig in sight.
Yes, it has been muscial stables - and now to buy another ark! Gee I can't wait til lambing!!!
:pig:
Take a plastic 44 gallon drum kand cut it length ways in half...... put a wire around the top of the drum and lead that to your bike...... Get a fork with 4 prongs and a long 6' - 8' foot handle. Lift the piglets one by one in to the drum not disturbing her too much...... and then tow the drum to her new destination. She will come tothe sound of her piglets. You might have to wait a minute until they beign to miss her and find the discomfort of the drum instead of her warmth. they will begin to grunt and squeal.....She will get up and you need to be read to tow..... she will follow.... Once in the new hut she should stay there.... make sure there is straw in the hut to keep her and her piglets warm and comfortable.