Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

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Charliepig
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Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Charliepig » Tue Aug 09, 2016 2:31 pm

Why is farrowing showpigs so much more difficult than commercial hogs? I've noticed they don't seem to have the will or desire to pop pigs out like commercial sows. I've had a few litters so far, first pig to come out got hung up on 2 of them. They come up and get stuck in the pelvic opening with their shoulders or their rear end. Nothing like reaching in and feeling them a couple inches in and they won't come out. Noticed several come up "upside down"- head first but feet facing upward on the sow so they can't make it through. Most recent litter was small and all pigs had to be pulled. From the first to the last. Litter was 115 days. Honestly, my sows probably were overfed a bit. 5 lbs a day instead of 4 as my target. Pig size is highly varied though. Some 3 lb but seems like a big 4 lb is first up and gets stuck. Did not feed any calcium supplement or farrowing additives. Should I have? Should I induce early? Should I feed gestating sows once per day or split and feed twice? I can't think all of my herd of different breeds and genetics is flawed females. Has to be mainly feed intake and large pigs is my issue? Have 13 alive of 21 total in 3 litters and only 7 of the 21 were delivered without help. Is this just the way it goes? Pulling 2/3 of your pigs? Thanks for any positive input. As you can probably tell, I'm venting and disappointed in myself and herd and looking for help.

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SwineGuy89
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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by SwineGuy89 » Tue Aug 09, 2016 3:32 pm

What age did you breed these show gilts?
It's not all about being the heaviest muscled hog, Its about balance.

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Charliepig » Tue Aug 09, 2016 3:57 pm

8 months at least. Most recent one was an early August gilt, bred in mid April, and was 1 year and 3 days old when she farrowed. January born gilts will breed back to farrow next January.

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Charliepig » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:00 pm

Breed at 300+ lbs

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Windfall Farm » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:40 pm

Charlie, sometimes you have to take this risk to get the perfect show hog and breed to these heavy muscled heavy boned gilts,but that's probably your problem right there too much bone not enough room to pass the piglets thru the pelvic region,it's not always best to breed to these gilts that came right out of the show ring a lot of them may have been jacked up on show feed which doesn't really help the issue either they don't get enough time to soften back down to their natural forms before having a litter,you'd be better off planning a litter or 2 solely for replacement gilts long wide in the feet and legs,deep bodied and maternal (you can always breed these gilts to the big boned boars to get that mass but you won't have as many labor and delivery issues, like I said you can still breed to these big boned gilts but that's the risk you take if you do

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Mightymac » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:09 am

What's your guys thoughts on breeding a cross gilt to a cross boar or should she be bred to a pure bred for her 1st litter?

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by HogDoc » Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:51 am

Pelvis anatomy is one big factor. When you tilt the pelvis to give that "jet level" appearance you effectively reduce the pelvic opening.

Just do this to illustrate it yourself. Touch your thumbs and pointer fingers to make a circle then hold it in front of you and move the thumbs so they are level with your pointer fingers (cranked up tail head) Then move your thumbs down to illustrate more normal anatomy and compare the effective size of the opening.

Another factor is litter size. In general the fewer pigs in a litter the bigger the individual pigs will be.

Over feeding / over conditioned sows take great 'loading her in the crate" marketing pictures and over conditioned bred gilts sell but your sows should be a lot closer to a BCS 2 than the BCS 4s you see on people's Facebook pages.

Age and gilt size are also important. Younger gilts tend to have fewer pigs in their first litter resulting in bigger pigs and more trouble farrowing.

The choice of boar is a much less important factor.
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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by mtbkmom » Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:58 am

I really just could not skinny up one of my berk gilts. She has been on 4 lbs/day since 14 Feb. Her score is probably 2.75-3.0. She does have a nice tilt downward with her vulva. She does have a lot of width...true chest floor. She is due to farrow this Fri/Sat. Not letting her go past day 115.

Early on with getting her conditioned for breeding....14 Feb to Mid April, would it have been OK to decrease to 3 lbs/day and still have her robust enough to cycle? After breeding and into gestation...feeding less than 4 lbs/day....what are your thoughts?
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."--I Am Second.

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Re: Why is farrowing showpigs so difficult

Post by Charliepig » Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:58 pm

Thanks HogDoc for the reply. I appreciate your comments here on the site.

Your comparison about the pelvic opening is what I think the problem is. Seems like they are almost having to go around a corner coming out of the uterus into the canal. Probably a new post coming to address this, but who is deciding these builds are what we should desire? Some kid out of one of the livestock schools that thinks a high tail set is neat? I'll start a new thread as I'm sure there are many opinions on this.

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