Twelve more piglets.

 

Sunday morning the two saddleback sows still to farrow were not sleeping in their pen, as is their custom, so I went for a walk to find them. Pertunia was settled into a large grass nest, completely covered with grass with only her head visible. Perky was in attendance and must have been the one to totally cover her sister with a thick layer of grass. A quick trip to the maternity ward and four hours later the first piglet arrived. Petunia delivered twelve healthy piglets, a pretty good effort for a first litter. The boar is a registered Tamworth and his genetics are shining through, some of the piglets are black with a white saddle like their mother, others are ginger striped like a Tamworth piglet and four are ginger striped with a white saddle.  They are all lively healthy little animals and it is hard to keep track of them but I think there are two or three males and the rest females.

Safely in the nest with attendant at the ready.

A real mix of colours.

Today has bought cloudy wet weather so I have switched on the heat lamps for the piglets. It only took about thirty seconds for the first piglets to settle under the heat lamp, curl up and sleep. The heat lamp also provides a sheltered area where they are not at risk from their mother rolling on them.

The two sows feeding regime has now changed; they were on eight to nine hundred grams a day while pregnant increasing a little in the last week, now they have as much as they want, around six kilos a day. I am told they need the extra to provide lots of milk for the piglets and it makes sense, ten piglets will gain around twelve to fifteen kilograms a week in total and all that protein can only come from the mother’s milk.

On a sadder note the little runt from Pinky’s litter didn’t survive. At only 420 grams I think she was just too small. The other nine seem to be doing well and have gained around five hundred grams in three days, now weighing in at close to two kilograms. They are supposed to double their birth weight in the first week so these are on target. I don’t think I will try to weigh them again as they now wriggle and squeal way too much.