[gemmaspigs]

Hi

My sow is about is due to farrow around the 5th Feb, this is her second litter. She has started in the last few days to poo in her bed. I have been mucking her out twice a day as i do not want her to lye in it and get dirty. She has never done this before and i want to make her stop before the piglets arrive. Do you have any suggestions of why she may be doing this?

[Fowgill Farm]

Chances are shes just feeling big and cumbersome full of babies and can't be bothered to get up to go out especially if the weather is inclement, also while she's big and heavy is there plenty of room for her to move around in the ark because if there isn't you're gonna have squished piglets, if a building is available i always prefer to bring them in for farrowing that way theres more space for everyone including me!
Might be worth trying to get her up and making her have a walk round while you're there that way she should dung while shes out and not in her bed. My girls usually feed then go for a walk round and have a pee & poo and then head back to bed.
HTH
Mandy 

[blades]

What we have found with the odd Kune Kune is that if we use a large ark they do sometimes start to poo in it... our solution has been to either use a smaller ark or make the sleeping area smaller by lining with straw bales. Has alway worked for us !! 

[Fowgill Farm]

What we have found with the odd Kune Kune is that if we use a large ark they do sometimes start to poo in it... our solution has been to either use a smaller ark or make the sleeping area smaller by lining with straw bales. Has alway worked for us !! 

This is useful for single pigs and piglets  :)but not for a sow about to farrow she needs all the room she can get.
Mandy 

[gemmaspigs]

I think you may be right with the not wanting to go outside. There is not much in there when i do the evening feed/muck out where i think she is out quite a lot during the day. I think she is just staying in of a night. She is huge this time, i dont remember her being this big last time and she had 11! I will keep adding loads of warm straw as the weather has really changed, although she did farrow 11 in the snow last time. These are some pics of her last litter (she is in the same ark for farrowing this time  )

[Fowgill Farm]

Lovely pics Gemma. Looks like you're well organised. Good luck with farrowing being a GOS she'll probably be 4 days late mine always are!
 And they're promising some white stuff on the forecast so fingers crossed all goes well,
Mandy