[SallyintNorth]

Thanks for that, Tamsaddle.  I initially thought, "Meg'd just toss that about like a toy" but then read on that you can screw it to the floor.  I might think about that for next time - if there is a next time 

[Bionic]

Tamsaddle the little piggies look very comfortable 

[cuckoo]

Thanks for all the replies - Tamsaddle - your pictures look very interesting - will show OH and see if he can rig something up - will need to get electricity to paddock though??.  No more piggies lost - but onion a bit off her food tonight so will check her again before I go to bed.

Sally - as to whether I would make a creep area in the future - I will try to - but a barriar is no good without a heat source - as the piglets went towards warmth ie mum as there is was external heat source.  I will investigate getting electicity upto the paddock.  The investment will be worth it if it prevents squishing

[SallyintNorth]

Sally - as to whether I would make a creep area in the future - I will try to - but a barriar is no good without a heat source - as the piglets went towards warmth ie mum as there is was external heat source.  I will investigate getting electicity upto the paddock.  The investment will be worth it if it prevents squishing

Well, if electricity is a problem, we can use lots of straw and a hot water bottle.  And try to farrow only when it's not extremely cold outside! 

Meg mostly did not have the piglets sleeping against her, she had them in the piggy straw beehive, which she pre-warmed with her breath. 

[Bionic]

Meg mostly did not have the piglets sleeping against her, she had them in the piggy straw beehive, which she pre-warmed with her breath.

Mum is sooo clever 

[Berkshire Boy]

I don't wish to upset anyone but don't you think its going a bit far hot water bottles etc. They are pigs and they will look after their young as best they can and the odd squished one is unfortunate but that is life.
What is the next step, bring them indoors and farrow in front of the aga.

[robert waddell]

tamsaddle that is good innovation
berkshire boy  to lose one or two is to be expected  to leave it to there own devices in accommodation and circumstances that we have provided is unacceptable

[Berkshire Boy]

Sorry Robert but that is crap, I don't leave my sows to their own devices but I also don't run around tucking hot water bottles under their pillows

[robert waddell]

i never said i use hot water bottles or pillows    i have to watch what i write now or i will be accused of abusing members again
a sod it  it is surprising the amount of pig keepers that expect a multiple birth with no casualty's in an ark
when did a pig ever make an ark in the wild
some pigs manage fine others  dependant on the ambient temp the piglets get chilled when born and are then lethargic      when in attendance the first thing to do clear its mouth of glut dry it off get it warmer under the heat lamp then get it on to mother to feed    it is amazing how some piglets that are more dead than alive when born    with a bit of attention are fighting fit by the time the last one emerges     but you already know that

[Tamsaddle]

I would second that.    We managed to save the last-born Tamworth and Saddleback piglets last year, despite coming out very late on in the birth, being very floppy, motionless, covered in gloop and reluctant to breathe until coaxed and coaxed and coaxed into doing so.   Both turned into fine, big pigs who were slaughtered recently and just as good a weight as the others.   Would have been a great pity to have lost them, both for the pleasure of their lives, and for the worthwhile meat they have produced - Tamsaddle

[SallyintNorth]

It was me that mentioned hot water bottles.  Someone said they couldn't get electricity to their outdoor farrowing area, so couldn't set up a heat lamp.  I said you could always use a hot water bottle under plenty of straw to make the creep area warm.

There's a spectrum of outspoken at one and and tactful and diplomatic at another.  Sometimes I wish I was nearer robert's end - and sometimes I wish he were nearer mine!     (Love ya robert - don't you go changing. )

I guess where I am coming from is, if you don't have the right facilities you better get creative and come up with something - because those livestock depend on you; we've taken them out of the wild and domesticated them and now it's up to us to make sure they have their basic needs met.

[robert waddell]

any breeder can do what they want with there pigs        you may get away with minimalistic input but there comes a time when you have drastic losses  then you have to rethink what you are doing     you have also to concider the welfare code for keeping animals and if you could be breaching it
a week piglet can be placed in a box with a hot water bottle or gel pad we have done it saved some lost some 

[cuckoo]

I posted the original post - once it was apparent the pigs were going to farrow imminently they were regularly checked - I  narrowly missed the first farrowing and was in attendance at the second farrowing where there were two still borns - I tried all the things I knew to revive them - rubbed them vigously with straw, cleared the airway, breathed into them and swung them (gently!), held them to my body to warm them but there was no sign of life from them moment they were born except their hearts were beating a little but that gradually stopped.

I dont have a sod it attitude to my pigs - I posted on here as I want to learn more - I didn't think of a hot water bottle and I think the wooden structure with the heat lamp is a really good idea so thank you all who have replied.

All piglets thriving - cleaned out the stables today and they made their first steps into the outside - you should have heard mum when one disappeared out under the fence and she couldnt follow him - will be keeping them in stable until they are a bit bigger - which wont be long as it is amazing how fast they grow.

[Berkshire Boy]

Blimey Robert that's a big jump from saying I don't use hot water bottles to suggesting welfare code is being broken.
I don't believe in heat lamps etc as a matter of course,I use them if there is a problem but luckily that is rarely.
I am present at the farrowing 90% of the time but usually not needed much, just love being there watching.
Maybe I'm just lucky that it seems to go well and any squashed ones seem to be within 24 hours when I'm not around.
My point was that humans domesticate animals and then make them soft with over fussing, its like dogs that people put coats on,its a dog for gods sake it has a bl**dy coat of its own.

[robert waddell]

agree with you on the coats i have also seen Shetland pony's with jackets on in a shed wtf
with pigs if left to there own with suitable matterial  they will nest even the commercial pigs will nest  it is just that these pigs are domesticated and taken out there  zone
once we have used a hot water bottle but given the choice would you lie on a cold stone floor or on a hot water bottle   
we are present at farowing as well but do use heat lamps  well it is Scotland  damp and as cold as a witches tit
the lamps are essential in the creep area to provide a safe warm environment just what is the point of having pigs spending a fortune on feeding and bedding to get no return because of flatpacks
yes it is very interesting watching piglets from being almost at deaths door to feeding and getting fatter to fighting with there siblings in just a few hours as well