[Ash Field Farm]

  hi one of my sows who we thouht wasnt in pig statred farrowing last night we have been checking her throught the nigt and every few hours today shes seems to be a great mother looking after them well but shes only had 4 the vet mentioned she still could have more but shes passed the after birth any advice please they are tamworth duroc x any else i need to do

on top of this i think my other sow is about to start farrowing as well as shes sudenly droped and looks like shes filling up milk wise i mean  so another sleepless night a head its looking i have been told as well that i should give them injections cant ork out y  and when should i put them back to the boar thats if i can  hire one that is or buy eventualy  all an any advice welcome  thanx

[Hilarysmum]

Hi our Hilary had only 2 the first time, second time she had 12 (always farrows in double figures now).  Is the second sow in an area where she can make a nest?

I dont know what injections you would need for healthy outdoor piglets.  Indoor pigs usually have iron injections which are superfluous to outdoor pigs who get the iron from the soil.

Sows can go back to the boar 3 days after weaning, however its normal to give them at least a further 3 week break and to catch the second season after weaning.   

Congratulations on the new births and have fun.  Its a fantastic time. 

[gavo]

Hello,
   Leave the poor blighters alone. Outdoor pigs need no injections at birth or later on. If kept indoors for any length of time give them a sod of turf (I've been in Ireland too long ! Basically a big lump of mud & grass from the garden) to root at.
We've learnt from experience that you're not really needed, Mother Nature is great at this sort of thing, so long as you have a farrowing rail and the newborns can't get lost from mum I'd get some sleep (we do).

Cheers

Gavin

[Ash Field Farm]

hey thansx all the other sow has now started farrowing in her seperate pen as well she was up to 9 when we left her to is as our way is let nature do it inless she is in distress then obviously we would help  but shes a great mum  going to check again in a bit as is been 4 hours since we last went thats when she started

[buddy]

Just to say your second sow will need more feed than your first as she has much more milk to provide, increase the amounts gradually, the girls need lots of fresh drinking water too. Watch out for sore teats and that their back ends settle down and don't look angry. Do you have a heat lamp for them should they need it, as said a rail or something similar is invaluable to keep them safe and give them access to creep. The sooner they can get their own nose in the soil the better, helps mum to get a bit of fresh air when she's rested too.

[Hilarysmum]

Wonderful news congratulations.  Get prospective buyers out to see them now, they will fall in love and pay deposits without hesitation when they see them at this cute stage.

[Ash Field Farm]

lol i might have another one to farrow first  then ill look at possably selling  some of them however i was planning to stagger the sluaghting of them to provide a constant suply as i have a big family

 how long would u keep the young boars for fattering up my plan was 7-8 months 
how long can i keep the gilts for fatterining as all the pigglets are duroc tamworth cross
 i had planned to keep the gilts for a year or so and then slaught er needed

[Hilarysmum]

Our uncastrated boars are done at around 7 months.  Although we are not always financially able to be that organised.  They have gone on to 9 months with no problems (keep them out of smelling distance of any females).  Females can go on to a year, just check with your abattoir that they can handle larger pigs. 

Make great bacon, gammons, ham.  If they are too fat ask the butcher to trim the fat then tie the crackling back on (joints).  You can use the extra fat to add to the next lot of sausages from the slim males.
 

[gavo]

Hello,
Our boars go on average to 11 months no bother (OSB's & Tams - we don't castrate them). We have gone to 13.5 months with a Tam boar with no bother (there was a bit of a mix up with his age as he was in a field with younger boars that were just as big as him). Girls we tend to take to a year and we have taken a couple to 18 months and they were just a tasty. We're lucky in as such as our Abattoir doesn't impose a weight limit - if it's smaller than a cow they'll slaughter it !

Cheers

Gavin

p.s. we do ensure (however) that the boars are kept separate from the girls from 6 months onwards.

[Hilarysmum]

"we do ensure (however) that the boars are kept separate from the girls from 6 months onwards."

Ah so you have not met any of those show jumping tamworths yet ... 

[gavo]

Not yet.....we did though encounter some in OSB form that led to some "teenage" pregnancies & farrowing (the shame!) in a group of Tam gilts. However after everything had settled the parents all still ended up in the farm shop !  And yes, a young productive boar can be eaten and have no sign of taint.

Cheers

Gavin

[Hilarysmum]

I am a great believer in not castrating, and were it not for Hilary the sex maniac would never go down that route.  I have never met boar taint.

[Ash Field Farm]

hey thansk all for the advice  my 2 sows have farrowd and finished however the other sow has shown no signs yet but iam sure she wont be long
 the first littler of 4 are now 2 weeks old they have started to eat the mums food as well they are fattering  very well
 would any one be intrested in a few piglets when they are 8 weeks old  so in 6 weeks time  let me know if your intrested

[Hilarysmum]

Congratulations, hardest part is letting them go.