HOW TO BREED HEALTHY PIGS
Setting up a successful breeding program for a small-scale homesteader. Mating; disease issues; sanitation; farrowing pen; infant care; self-sufficiency.
 |
[1] Lunch time! [2] Most seine breeders cut the a tips off a young pigs needle teeth.
|
MOTHER'S own livestock expert--Randy Kidd-- shares
basics of "hatching" your own swine.
RELATED CONTENT
We simply weren't able to resist printing this lighthearted submission from a young reader....
Many people interested in sustainably raised meat are concerned about the need to preserve heritage...
Where's the beef? Pork, bacon, ham _ despite 'swine' flu fears, the edible pig is everywhere...
Where's the beef? Pork, bacon, ham _ despite 'swine' flu fears, the edible pig is everywhere...
Whether you'd like to hoast a pig roast in your backyard or start catering business, this spit roas...
In last issue's article ("How to Raise Healthy Pigs",
MOTHER NO. 63, page 88) I tried to pass along all the know
how necessary to rear eating size porkers from weaned
feeder pigs. Of course, a number of folks will want to set
up a year round breeding operation. If you're thinking of
going "whole hog" with your own swine raising efforts,
however, you should know right off the bat that rearing
newborn piglets is a somewhat involved and risky
undertaking. In fact, from 30 to 40% of the baby swine born
in the hog-breeding business in this country die shortly
after birth!
But a small scale homesteader is able to provide more
conscientious caretaking than can most large enterprises,
so you should be able to save almost all your curly-tailed
youngsters ... and successfully raise an average of 16 hogs
per sow (from two litters) each year. All it takes to
achieve the goal is a lot of tender loving care and some
solid know how.
MATING THE SOW
Obviously enough, the first step toward rearing healthy
piglets is making sure the intended mother is mated! A gilt
(a young female hog) should reach sexual maturity at five
or six months of age, and be receptive for two or three
days of each subsequent 21 day cycle. You can be sure that
a sow's in estrus (heat) if the female has a swollen vulva.
She also may or may not have a slight mucuslike or bloody
vaginal discharge . . . act restless . . . urinate
frequently . . . twitch her tail . . . hold her ground when
you press down on her hindquarters . . . or try to "ride"
other sows.
You should mate gills on their first day of heat and older
"gals" on the second day. (Both young and old sows should
receive a second mating 24 hours after their first.) As for
the male partners in a porcine union, an 8- to 12-month-old
boar can usually service 12 females in pasture or be
"handmated" (matched individually in a barn) with 24 gills
or sows. A yearling (or older) boar can service 50 sows in
stalls or 35 to 40 pasturing females.
PREPARING FORTH E BIG DAY
The gestation period for your pregnant sow will be
approximately. 113 days, or as the old saying goes three
months, three weeks, and three days. But there are some
important preparations to be made before that magic moment
of birth arrives.
For one thing, you should in advance take steps to help
keep diseases from striking those fragile newborns. So be
sure to worm (for parasites) and spray (for lice) each sow
about two weeks before her due date. You should also
immunize an expectant mother against erysipelas . . . to
strengthen both the sow's and offspring's resistance to
this most common-and usually fatal swine disease. Likewise,
good sanitation is a vital part of preventive health care,
so thoroughly clean the farrowing pen (and keep it clean) .
. . and wash the pregnant porker with a mild detergent and
warm water before you pen her up for delivery.
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>
