The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Bodger on August 07, 2013, 06:22:16 am
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Pru the GOS is due to have her babies at the end of the month, so yesterday I set to and cleaned the pig sty out to get it ready for the patter of little trotters. I fixed a farm gate across one corner of the sty as a refuge for the piglets.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/004-1.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/004-1.jpg.html)
When the piglets are born, I'll be able to hang a heat lamp in the corner for them and there'll still be plenty of room for Pru to stretch out.
The piglets should be able to nip out through the gate to the milk bar and then back to the heat lamp.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/006-1.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/006-1.jpg.html)
The gate has been fixed pretty securely.
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb334/kcooper2011/005.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/kcooper2011/media/005.jpg.html)
As soon as the piglets are up and about, they'll be moved with Pru back into the pig ark and will be reared out free range on the grass. I've got electric lighting in the sty and plenty of headroom for myself and I thought that this arrangement was better for both parties. I didn't fancy the prospect of having to get on my hands and knees to crawl into the ark in the middle of the night if there was a problem with Pru farrowing. What do you think of the set up for the pending birth? Can you see any major faults ?
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I'd change the top gate hanger at the hinge end to face downwards - that way mum won't be able to lift the gate off it's hinges.
Otherwise looks good !
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Agree with oaklands she will have the gate off in seconds apart from that looks good, hope all goes well.
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Was just going to make same comment re top pin but otherwise looks great. :thumbsup:
when she due? :excited:
:fc: Mandy :pig:
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You can't see it in the photo but I've drilled through the top hinge and put a nail through it. :fc:
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Jealous of the birthing unit! Wish I had a barn and electric. Just reconfirming the fact that our sow Flo has been known to fling a badly fitting sheep hurdle clean off its hinges, with very little effort at all! she ripped ours down in the field and got striaght into the food barrel! :rant:
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All looks good to me John :thumbsup: . Heather Pig is due any minute here :innocent: ..... and she's in the barn stomping around as normal.....so shouldn't be toooo long now.
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OOh :excited: Our Clover's a stomper too, ripped a water pipe off wall this last time and flooded farrowing house lol.
Mandy :pig:
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I'll get a picture of the mother to be tonight and post it. :pig:
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That's the same set up we use and it'll do them fine :thumbsup: (I was going to mention about the pins too ;))
We've got a wee Kunekune sow who gets a bit anxious at farrowing time, she took the side out of the pen last time so she could come to the house and alert us to her need of attention ::)
Good luck and keep us updated with photos when the time comes ;D
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My mate Blind Pugh ( not his real name ::) ) and I have just moved Pru into her new quarters. When we went to get her she was at rest in her favourite pig pooh and urine wallow. ::) Boy oh boy did she stink :innocent: Anyway, we got her to follow us without much bother and she's now safely installed in the 'Nursery' It seems a shame that she wont be out on grass for a while but I'm much happier at the prospect of her having her piglets in the sty rather than in the ark. :fc:
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Bodger
we take our incarserated mums out for a walk round every couple of days to give them time out form their brood, they go and have a wallow munch a bit of grass and then go back quite happily to their babies, in fact Twinkle suddenly remembers about them and heads back herself!
Mandy :pig:
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Pru is definitely tame enough to do that with. I'll give that a go. She's just turned up her nose at some broccoli from the polytunnel, so she can't be a 100% happy in her new house. :fc:
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Pru is definitely tame enough to do that with. I'll give that a go. She's just turned up her nose at some broccoli from the polytunnel, so she can't be a 100% happy in her new house. :fc:
Try putting some of the straw from her old house in the new one, its all about smells i find, it will probaly not smell pru enuff for her ;D when her first due date?
mandy :pig:
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Would it not be good for her to have some regular exercise in the last few days before her piglets are born? , as in can you take her for a walk most days?
I normally make an effort to take all my goats outside in the last few days before kidding as much as before, and if they don't want to wander about they get taken around the field on a lead a few times. Sheep wander about anyway, and even for humans the advice is regular exercise to allow the baby to turn into right position.
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I normally bring mine in a week before farrowing, but I find they all want a last run around before settling down to give birth. I learned about the importance of gate pins when one flung off the gate and went walkabout just hours before farrowing!
A bit of exercise does them the world of good and helps them settle. Good luck with it all.
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In spite of the hard work that I put into readying her new nursery, she doesn't like it, so I've put her back out in the field and she'll be farrowing in her ark. :pig:
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:innocent:Woman :innocent: :roflanim:
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I use a lamb creep hurdle, which has vertical bars on the lower half to allow easy access for the piglets. I generally put a sow into her birthing quarters a month beforehand so she really settles in.
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7 - 10 days for us before farrowing generally, most of them are ready for the peace & quiet, lull before the storm so to speak. Straw from her usual house would help her settle and a radio sometimes for company (R4 is good lots of talk)
I'd be tempted to try and get her to settle in there again, thats the trouble with GOS they can be such arsy stubborn monsters ;D God luv 'em :love:
Mandy :pig: