[eastleicspig]

Evening all,

Recently purchased a mixed sex litter of 14 weaners

The maximum we have had in the past is 7

Our current setup is plenty for 7 adult pigs but not 14 so we built another separate pen

Question

What would be the best way to split the litter a) by sex or b) by size ?

Thanks in advance

ELP

[robert waddell]

sex

[eastleicspig]

Thanks Robert

But what's the rationale behind that?

Cheers

[robert waddell]

the females wont get pregnant  if separated              unless the males are castrated

[eastleicspig]

.....lol thanks yeah of course

[Tamsaddle]

I am not nearly as expert as Robert, but I would separate them by size to start with, to give the smaller ones a chance to catch up by feeding them a bit more every day, then switch everything around and separate them by sex at 4 months old - Tamsaddle

[princesspiggy]

Recently purchased a mixed sex litter of 14 weaners

are they not all the same litter? 
i would go for sex, especially as our boars seem to grow faster and hog the feed and therefore run to fat quicker than the gilts.

[P6te]

Until recently we had 3 gilts running with one boar. All were approx 4-5 months old at the time. The boar we are keeping for breeding, the gilts will go to slaughter.  One of the gilts recently came into season and the boar was sexually active! As pointed out in a previous thread, in the event that she is pregnant the gilt will go to slaughter well before the due date, but we didn't like the idea of potentially sending a pregnant gilt to slaughter.

I have now separated them and he is now running with an older gilt that we want him to cover as soon as he is able!

So, to get back to your original point, I'd certainly go with Roberts suggestion and we will not be mixing gilts and boars again ... unless of course that is the intent.

Hope this helps.

Pete

[eastleicspig]

 :thumbsup:Thanks all! Appreciate your advice

ELP

[eastleicspig]

I am not nearly as expert as Robert, but I would separate them by size to start with, to give the smaller ones a chance to catch up by feeding them a bit more every day, then switch everything around and separate them by sex at 4 months old - Tamsaddle

I like the logic of this approach.

What impact would this have on established hierarchies if any?

What's the worst behaviour I ought to expect/look out for ?

[Tamsaddle]

A bit of bickering and ear biting for a day, then everything settles down once top pig has established he/she is not to be messed with - Tamsaddle

[Tamsaddle]

Also the previous occupants of the arc will sometimes refuse access to newcomers, but I have never known it last more than one night, and by the second night, everyone in the pen is sleeping together like best mates forever.  So good idea to change over on a rainless day - if we ever get one!   Tamsaddle

[eastleicspig]

We have 2 arcs in the pen.

If the scenario above occurs (exclusion for the night) could we up with two social groups?

No problem with that persay but the scrapping could go on for longer

[Tamsaddle]

Whichever way you do it, everything settles down pretty quickly, at least that has always been our experience, and we quite often re-mix groups of pigs at that age, specifically so as to separate girls from the boys as from 4 months old.  Never been any problems for longer than 24 hours maximum - Tamsaddle

[eastleicspig]

Thanks all

Keep you posted ?