[waterboy]

Hi all,

  The 6 piglets are growing great and the bad weather hasn't seemed to bother them one bit, they've learnt when meal times are and are getting more curious by the day
 I was wondering about weaning although its not an issue yet, Ive read a few different things (as normal) and wanted to find out what people thought I'm in no rush to put Manda(the pig) with the boar as it was her first litter and would like to give her some time to fully recover. I heard that you could leave the piglets with mum until she gets fed up with them around 12 weeks plus and would this be good for the sow and the piglets?

thanks Rob

[JulieS]

Personally I like to keep Mum and piglets together until both are ready.  With most of mine this is around 8 to 10 weeks. 

I'm sure others will be along to share their experiences too.

[Mr Pig]

Frankly, my advice would be to make arrangements where one of you stays with the pigs while the other goes to the daughter - tough but you can't take responsibility for a sow and litter and then abandon them to someone calling in once a day. How will they cope if there's a change in the weather and there's extreme snow or the water freezes up?You cannot leave pigs just to fend for themselves so i think you need to reappraise your situation.

[oaklandspigs]

Mr. P - you have jumped a topic! - think your post is for "when & how to wean".

[oaklandspigs]

Waterboy,

We wean at anytime from 6-12 weeks dependant on
Condition of piglets
Condition of sow
Need to get sow back in pig

With a small strong litter which have been fed well by the sow, you can wean earlier.
With a larger litter generally it is better to leave until later.

But alongside this you need to be watching the sow.

If the sow is badly losing condition (despite extra rations), then we would generally wean earlier if we can, then give the sow a month off to recover condition. Some sows put everything into their young, and feeding extra just means she puts more into them.

If she is coping well, and you are on no hurry, then it is fine to leave the piglets in there - but do monitor her condition to ensure they are not sucking the life out of her.  If she starts to go thin, then I would suggest if the piglets are fine that you wean.

If you have some smaller ones in the litter you can also half wean, leaving the weaker ones with mum longer.  This reduces pressure on her, and gives the smaller piglets better access to milk, so they tend to come on stronger.

As with all things piggie, there are no set formulas, just watch condition of sow and piglets and you'll be fine !

[waterboy]

Thanks for the advice all the piglets are growing at the same rate and are equal in size, mum seems in good condition at the moment so i shall see how they get on and keep an eye on Manda's condition
Rob

[oaklandspigs]

Thanks for the advice all the piglets are growing at the same rate and are equal in size, mum seems in good condition at the moment so i shall see how they get on and keep an eye on Manda's condition
Rob

Great to hear, she will naturally wean then when she gets fed up.  In the wild, wild boarv typicalyl wean at about 16 weeks.  We find 12-16 weeks and mum is refusing/dried up/kicking them off !