Content:
The birth of piglets is an important moment in the life of a breeder. It is important to be sure that everything is going right. If difficulties arise, you need to be able to help animals. The article tells in detail about how farrowing is in a pig, and what needs to be done in order for the piglets to be born healthy and viable.
After receiving the semen, it takes on average 114 days before the piglets are born. This is how long a pregnant pig walks. In practice, this period may differ from the average. In most cases, gestational age can range from 101 to 126 days. In order for the livestock breeder to correctly anticipate how long a pig's pregnancy lasts, the most likely date of birth, you can use a special table, how long a pregnant pig walks, which is able to predict it quite accurately. In order to correctly determine this date, it is necessary to fix the time when the pig was covered with a boar. The gestation period usually does not depend on the breed of the animal: dyurka, landrace, mangalitsa or others. The date of birth can be determined by the calendar.
Sow
Since complications are possible during home farrowing, it is necessary to prepare the necessary tools and materials in advance. If possible, you need to invite a veterinarian to observe how the pig is piging.
Mating of pigs usually occurs twice in one year.
Fertilizing a sow
It is recommended to mate the pigs while they are hunting. Next, how pigs mate. The best time for fertilization begins shortly before ovulation occurs. This period lasts for two to five days. At this time, the pig behaves in a special way. This is why she is actively moving. It is not uncommon for a sow to turn the feeders over. This is not an insult, but a manifestation of activity. Sometimes you can see how during this period the animal shows aggression.
In this case, it is necessary to take into account the ratio of which measurements characterize the types of pigs in terms of productivity.
In order for crossbreeding to occur, it is necessary to choose the right animals for this. In large livestock farms, it is not uncommon for the boars used for this purpose to have a pedigree. Bad choice is not allowed here. For small farms, such a solid approach is not considered appropriate.
In practice, sows at least eight or nine months of age are best used for mating. Better to use animals that have not been sick before. Sometimes repeated mating makes sense. It is recommended to pay attention to the number of nipples in the sow. It is desirable that their number should not be less than 14.
Artificial insemination of pigs is sometimes carried out.
Insemination of sows
False pregnancy
A false pregnancy is possible. This phenomenon occurs when all signs of pregnancy are present, but the pig will not actually give birth to piglets.
An ultrasound examination and other methods of how to determine whether a pig is pregnant or not will make it possible to know for sure whether a pot belly is pregnant or not. However, you can reduce the likelihood of this situation occurring when raising pigs. To do this, it is enough to mate a sow with several boars during mating. If the pig shows aggression towards the male, then it is possible not to waste time and, with a high degree of probability, consider that fertilization was successful.
How to determine if a pig is pregnant
One of the easiest options is to just watch her behavior. One of the main signs is that the pregnant pig is not in heat. Once it can be seen that a pig has no interest in boars, there is a high probability that it is carrying piglets and breeding should be successful.
One of the most accurate ways to determine the fact of pregnancy is an ultrasound examination.
Pregnancy can be confirmed by rectal palpation.
If the animal will reproduce, then this can be seen by its behavior:
- the pig's appetite increases sharply;
- the sow now sleeps more;
- the mammary glands of the mumps swell.
Immediately before farrowing, the external genitalia swell and a clearly visible sagging of the lower back occurs. This usually occurs about five days before the piglets are born. The day before this period, colostrum begins to accumulate on the udder.
Sow and piglet care
Sow and piglet care
During pregnancy, it is enough to feed the mumps no more than once a day.
At home, farrowing of sows is often accompanied by complications.
Before farrowing, prepare the following:
- Wipes that must be sterile and clean.
- A solution of iodine, which is required for disinfection.
- Hot water will be required.
- Scissors.
- Gloves should be elbow-length.
- You will need a cord to tie the umbilical cord, it must be strong.
After the pig has found the place where it is going to give birth, it freezes, then it starts trying.
The birth of the first piglet for a sow is the most difficult in comparison with the rest. Farrowing will be long, difficult and painful. Usually a piglet goes outside within six hours.
The little ones come out one by one. The interval between their appearance is usually about 25 minutes.
If the sow is healthy, then she does not need help in pushing the piglets out. The farmer in this situation only needs to deal with the piglets.
If farrowing lasts longer than the allotted time, this means that the animal needs help. It should be understood that this situation is a serious danger. If the required assistance is not provided in time, not only the piglets, but also the sow may die.
In this situation, you need to do the following:
- A glove is put on the hand, which must be thoroughly lubricated with petroleum jelly.
- Then you need to penetrate the sow's vagina with your hand.Slowly moving it forward, you need to penetrate deeper and deeper, until you can touch the pig.
- Then you need to freeze, gradually waiting for an effort.
- During its onset, it is necessary to gradually move the piglet outward along the uterus, helping to give birth.
This requires:
- Immediately after birth, wipe each cub thoroughly with a clean, dry towel.
- In this case, they must be carefully examined, freeing the nose and mouth from mucus.
- After that, you need to pay attention to the umbilical cord. It needs to be cut. In this case, it makes no sense to leave too large a segment. It is generally believed that cutting the umbilical cord is necessary at a distance of two centimeters. The end of the umbilical cord must be tied tightly with a prepared cord. Then the place. Where it was cut, you need to treat it with iodine solution.
In the first day of life, piglets need to give them injections, with the help of which the body will replenish the iron supply. If you don’t worry about this, then the cubs can develop iron deficiency anemia.
Thus, a powerful support is provided to increase the immunity and vitality of the new generation. This can be done even as long as the piglets have not finished hatching. This can help make pushing for the sow less tiring and painful.
Babies will freeze immediately after birth. To protect them from the cold, you need to place them under the light of an infrared lamp. In addition, it is important that the piglets are born in a warm room.
Newborn pig
After farrowing for five days, the pig may have a discharge called lochia. At first, their shade is reddish. It turns brown over time. Then the selection gradually loses color and becomes transparent. They soon disappear.
When childbirth ends, rest and water is essential for the sow in the early hours.
In this case, it is recommended to give her food that are high-energy, after dissolving them in water. For this purpose, you can dissolve sugar in water and give the sow to drink the liquid. Soon she will be on her feet.
Common problems, diseases in sows
Sometimes the sow, after farrowing, does not allow the cubs to approach her. The first reaction is often that the farmer himself feeds her piglets, fearing that they will get sick and die. A more reasonable line of behavior is to try to understand the reasons for this phenomenon.
In some cases, any touch of the nipples is painful for the sow at this time. Piglets usually squeeze their nipples with their canine teeth when feeding on their mother, which in some cases causes pain to the mother. To get rid of this problem, it is enough to file the fangs. At the same time, the piglets will stop hurting the sow, she will relax, and the cubs will get the opportunity to feed her.
Usually, refusal to eat is associated with fatigue from childbirth. As soon as the pig regains its strength, it will begin to eat normally. If this does not happen, the reason may be that there is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, you must contact your veterinarian.
A common cause of mastitis is a violation of the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the sow. If you do not take measures to treat it, mastitis can become irreversible. In this case, one of the consequences is the cessation of the excretion of breast milk. However, if you take the necessary measures, recovery will come no later than a week later.
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Treatment for mastitis is as follows:
- Immediately after the detection of the disease, it is necessary to move the sow to a clean pen, while it must first not only be cleaned, but also disinfected.
- Prepare a generous, dry and warm bedding and create conditions.
- The diet should be changed during treatment. Juicy feed must be removed from it.
- Treatment takes place through intramuscular injections. At the same time, antibiotics are administered to fight the disease.
For this purpose, streptomycin, or penicillin is usually used, the dosage is usually from 200 to 250 thousand units dissolved in a half-percent solution of Novocaine.
Features of pregnancy of Vietnamese pigs
In this breed, pigs mature earlier than in most species. To do this, they must be three and a half months old.
For mating, a single pig and a boar of this breed are left together for one or two days.
Experts believe that in order to inseminate a pig, it is necessary to be covered by three different good boars. It is believed that in this case the offspring will be more viable.
Sows usually have only 12 teats, and they are capable of giving birth to up to 18 piglets. This is how many piglets a pig is carrying. Therefore, it is important that the farmer brings the piglets to the sow so that none of them go hungry. At first, the cubs should eat at least once every three hours. Farrowing Vietnamese pigs for the first time requires special attention, at this time you need to get up very early.
The farmer needs to know how pigs are farrowing and what to do about it. In order to breed pigs, it is important that the piglets are born healthy.
A sow cannot become pregnant until the age of five months, after puberty is complete. How long does a pregnant pig walk? The animal bears for about four months. But gestation can last with slight fluctuations from 110 to 120 days. Young sows carry a little less fruit, as do early-maturing pigs.