First time farrowing

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kcshow
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First time farrowing

Post by kcshow » Sat Jul 23, 2016 9:06 am

This is our first time ever to breed any pigs. We are going to have two litters; one end of August and one late september. Can anyone give me their personal advice on do's and dont's. Vaccinations? Thanks

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carpspigs
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Re: First time farrowing

Post by carpspigs » Sat Jul 23, 2016 9:31 am

I just farrowed my second litter out my cross bread gilt it went great 8 pigs in 1hr45min. the first thing I would do is use transrite sow ultra you give one scoop a day I start it 4 days befor due. second I would feed wheat bran about 1# to 3# of feed and 2-3 table spoons of farrow pac starting 3 days befor. make sure you don't over feed 4-5 # a day thoughout gustation.after you are done farrowing give as much feed as she needs to have enough milk I give 3#+1# for each pig.

SPRINGBRANCH
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Re: First time farrowing

Post by SPRINGBRANCH » Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:34 am

the last 3 weeks i would not feed more than 3lbs a day. i 2nd the transrite. i use Lindner Priority one starting 3 days before farrowing as well, it helps them from getting constipated and helps appetite. after farrowing i give the sow dex along with an antibiotic to get them feeling good and start eating.

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Re: First time farrowing

Post by Windfall Farm » Sat Jul 23, 2016 7:57 pm

Before I even begin I'll be totally honest with you piglet mortality compared to any other livestock is by far the highest especially in the first 3 days of life if she has 11 and you loose 3 your doing good, As Springbranch stated no more then 3 lbs a day toward the end,newborn piglets need to stay in a heat controlled environment around 95 degrees at birth and the first week after (dropping 5 degrees every week after)consider a farrowing crate especially if this is a gilt having her first litter at least for the first 3 to 4 days after she farrows(newborns aren't very aware of their surroundings aka they don't know enough to get out of the way when she lays down could end up with dead piglets )build a small heat box about 3 ×3 drill a hole in the top to hang a heat lamp, keep it 2 to 3 ft from the crate,the heat box also helps to keep newborns away from her when shes not laying down and nursing so their less likely to get stepped on,also during labor it's a good idea to have a bottle of oxytocin on hand only if her labor stalls (if she goes a while between piglets like 45min.to an hour, you give her 1 cc every half hour in her vulva to progress labor ,the piglets will also need iron shots at 2 days of age ,hope this helps good luck on your future litters

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Re: First time farrowing

Post by mtbkmom » Fri Jul 29, 2016 11:25 pm

I am going to disagree with one crucial point: never feed less than 4 lbs when approaching farrowing. During gestation you feed to maintain a BCS of about 2.5. Weeks before farrowing the sow needs to have adequate calories on board so she has enough energy to push. Labor is work and you cannot limit their energy source. Kansas state has some articles about this. They in fact recommend increasing their feed up to 6-8 lbs days 100-112 just be sure of the importance of getting the sow ready. If the condition has been maintained all along, then the babies should be average but if on the bigger side she should have enough energy to push them out. Also pre planning is important. Ask the boarsman what the average litter size from the boar you are looking at is. If he can't give you an answer I use another boar. Also the sow/gilt for me has got to have an adequate vulva and it needs to be tilting down...not flipping up at the tip. Just another opinion.
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."--I Am Second.

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Re: First time farrowing

Post by joelt » Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:12 am

We just farrowed our first litter April 1st. We exercised the gilt on a regular basis. The last week we made sure it was daily for 20 to 30 minutes. She took a long time to farrow. About 8 hours total. Couple piglets needed a little help at the pelvis area. Like moving legs and some extra lube. But she farrowed 9 out of 10 alive and had the stamina to go the distance. Note first piglet was still born and really big. Even though she had too much body condition, I think the exercise made all the difference.

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Re: First time farrowing

Post by ddwil » Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:35 pm

I am only two and a half weeks out from breeding and am needing to know if, one do I still have time for a pre breeding vaccination?, and two what exact vaccination(s) do I need to give the gilt and does it come in a one shot, combo bottle? Thank you

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