The thought is repulsive, a pig eating her own babies, yikes! But, does it happen? Do sows eat their own piglets, if so, how often and why? Sows will eat dead (stillborn or crushed) piglets, this is normal. Certain nervous sows will “savage” piglets, meaning attack live and otherwise healthy piglets, hurting them or killing…
When you are thinking about getting into breeding your own pigs, you’ll have have tons of questions and notice a lot of options. Here are the basics of what you need to know. Pig breeding question Quick answer How often can pigs breed/give birth? every 5-6 months When can pigs breed? year round When will…
Breeding closely related pigs together (parent to offspring, siblings or grandparent to offspring) is an option that comes up for many folks with small herds of pigs. Especially if you have an unusual set of genetics that you are working with! Is breeding closely related pigs a good idea, bad idea or it really doesn’t…
One of the biggest challenges of getting into raising your own pigs is learning to tell the right time to breed them. When is the time to breed your pigs and how can you tell? Most breeding stock pigs (both boars and gilts) are ready to breed when they are 8 months old and weigh…
Wondering if artificial insemination is a good choice for your farm? Good news-it’s easy and you have a ton of choices of boars! And the best part? Depending upon which boar you choose, it can be very economical, as well! The cost to inseminate a pig currently ranges from $25-250 per dose. Each pig needs…
Choosing breeding stock is exciting and a time that will hopefully mark the start of a new successful business for you and your farm! You’re bound to have a lot of choices and questions, let’s get going! Choose breeding stock pigs by defining what you want (your priority), listing out any thing you do not…
Thinking of getting into raising your own piglets, but not sure of where to start? Let me help you with the basics. Breeding age pigs are called boar (male), sow (female that has given birth) and gilt (female that has not given birth). Farrowing (birth) happens 114 days after breeding. Raising your own piglets is…
Giving your sow or gilt (a female pig that has not been a mom yet) a happy life before she has her babies will be better for all, her, the babies and you. Pigs are very capable animals, if given the opportunity they will get what they need. Before a sow has babies she needs…
Expecting piglets is so exciting! The little guys are so cute and amazingly capable in the first few hours of life. The first few days are a critical period in the life of the sow and her new piglets, they bond with their mom and get off to a running start, or not! A sow…