[darkbrowneggs]

I used to rear a couple of weaners every other year for the deep freeze, but a young and enthusiatic friend - with no real knowledge, but lots and lots of enthusiasum bought (in my opinion) far too many berkshire gilts and now they are beginning to produce piglet there are masses of them


She phoned me the other day to say some of the youngsters are 'disappearing'  When there are lots its easy to miscount and at first that is exactly what she thought was happening, but a careful tally at the weekend showed that eleven have gone missing. 


My thought were they had got out through the fencing somehow and got lost then died, but they are running with the mothers, so wouldn't they call them back.  I have never 'bred' pigs so don't know how they behave.


The next thought was could they be being stolen.  She says she hasn't seen any signs of this, but the piglets are - she says, not to big to pick up, but a struggle.  Surely they would squeal, and the mothers defend them


They must be far too big for foxes and too quick for badgers


Any thoughts anyone?

[bigchicken]

There has been a run on burn treatment at your local chemist, folks have been getting burned fingers from eating suckling pig before it has cooled enough lol. Heard a storey once about a lurched that would bring a piglet home every other day from the nearest pig farm to the owners delight. Two legged vermin is my guess.

[Bionic]

Could mum be eating them herself?

[shygirl]

how old are they? foxes can take newborns but weaners would be tricky for anything to catch imo.

[darkbrowneggs]

I have given it a lot of thought and emailed her tonight.  I wonder if they went missing when younger, and its only now it has been noticed which would then lead me to suspect the sow, plus (though I am not certain) she may have put two sows in an enclosure with their joint piglets - which if this is the case I would guess could have resulted in some of the piglets being killed then either eaten by the other sows and piglets, or carried off by foxes.


If this is not the case, and it is larger ones going - about the size i would think of as weaners, then I have to suspect two legged marauders, unless some of the pig breeders on here can think of anything else - other than the Big Black Cat theory.

[HappyHippy]

If they've gone as older piglets I'd be thinking theft or escape (but if they were escaping, you'd think they'd all be at it) time to tighten up security just in case.
Karen x