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How to keep your sow healthy during farrowing

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Hitting the ground running for farrowing season!

Yes! Its show pig farrowing season. We generally have three seasons that we farrow, early winter for 4-H piglets, spring for customers that want to raise pigs for their own meat and fall for us to raise for customers. January farrowing is without a doubt our busiest because we have such a high demand. I go over our breeding cycle more in the Livestock Breeding Guide.

Let’s Get Acquainted 

There are a lot of steps on a farm that happen before farrowing, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of piglets being due any day to write and document this post.

I usually know when a sow or gilt are due within a few days. Their gestation period in 3 months, 3 weeks, and three days and it’s a fairly accurate measurement. I have a chart that make gestation easy to track.

Farrowing Definition

Is it time to farrow?

When she is getting close, she will start to “bag up” or “rail up”. This means that milk is starting to fill up her teats. A gilt (or first-time mom) can rail up sometimes three weeks before she is due. However, I sow often won’t rail up until just a few days before farrowing. If you can get milk out of her teat she is probably 12-24 away from farrowing.

railed up sow
When a sow is railed up with milk

Once I know a sow is ready to farrow, I will put her in a small pen by herself that has good lighting (sow like to farrow in the middle of the night). This pen will already be prepped with fresh straw (we have found we lose less piglets from being smashed in straw). I will hang a heat lamp, but not turn it on until she is at least in active labor if I catch it. I like to make sure that they have a clean water and feed bowl, with fresh water and feed. If I have time, I will add milk or warm water to her feed before and after farrowing for easier digestion and milk production. Some people will add molasses to their water for that extra sugar boost.

Having a farrowing kit is super important. My kit includes (but sometimes changes):

Some of the larger items I keep on a shelf and the rest of my first aid supplies are in a toolbox like this one.

To see everything that I keep in my toolbox, read “Why you need a livestock first aid toolbox“.

Swine pregnancy checker that we use

Is it time?

You’ll know when she starts to get restless, sometimes stops eating, and starts making a nest. She will lay on one side and then stand up and flop down hard on the other side. This is to help move the babies in both horns of her uterus that splits and goes along each side of her belly. If you aren’t using a farrowing crate, this is one thing you must be careful of. Because once she starts having babies, they can easily get squished from her movements. She will start passing fluid and mucus from her vulva, breathing hard and contracting.

What do I do this all these piglets?

At this point the babies should start passing out the birth canal within about an hour. As each piglet comes out wipe it down well with a towel and help it to find the sows teat to nurse. I must say though, this process is always our goal especially in the winter, but many times we go to feed in the morning and there is a perfectly healthy, dry litter in the pen.

If any of the piglets have a very long umbilical cord that is dragging, go ahead and snip it to about an inch long to reduce bacterial infections. I also like to process the piglets within 48 hours which is why I keep from of the products that I do in my farrowing kit, but I will go over all of those in my next post about piglets.

Complications

Stuck Piglets –

It you feel like there is a stuck piglet, such as stalled labor, bright blood, hard pushing with no progress, or you can see the piglet stuck at her vulva, you will need physically adjust the piglet.

  1. Wash or sanitize hands well and glove up (if you have them)
  2. Lubricate your hand and arm well
  3. Enter the vulva slowly with your fingers all together like a beak
  4. Move slowly to not tear the uterus
  5. Visualize the anatomy of the reproductive track to help navigate
  6. When your fingers touch something hard, this is a piglet
  7. Gently use your fingers to turn the piglet or get a grip on a limb
  8. Carefully try to pull the piglet out
  9. Anytime that you must enter the sow with your hand, you should administer antibiotics!
Stalled labor

Administer 1-2 ml of oxytocin

Heavy bleeding

This can be a major concern. However, if I see something that concerns me, I will administer 1-2 ml of oxytocin to cause the uterus to contract and slow bleeding. If there is an extremely large amount of blood always call a vet.

Disclaimer

Any time that there are complications that make you feel out of your element, or you do not have the proper supplies for, make sure that you contact a vet.

Leaving the sow be after farrowing

Once everything has settled, I make sure that she has passed 2 placentas. I check all the piglets and make sure they are nursing. Turn on their heat lamp, preferably where the sow can’t get to it and leave them be for a while. As mentioned before, I like to process piglets (shots and castrating) within 48 hours. Some people have different preferences and many options work fine. But I do feel that everyone needs a minute to settle before the work starts again.

Animal health guide

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