Farrowing tips part 1 - First aid kit
Piglets born in a nest made of twigs
Farrowing usually goes quite easily, but when we are dealing with Free Range pigs, and if you let them, they will farrow where they want.
They may choose some fun places. I have had them farrow on the edge of ponds, in piles of twigs that they made into a nest, out in the open under the blazing sun on the hottest day of the year …. the list goes on.
If the weather is good and the piglets are warm I don’t usually worry too much but if it’s raining you may want to get them under shelter, be that a tarp or a trailer, whatever you can come up with. You will get creative.
Usually, outdoor farrowings go without a hitch. You may still get some hypothermic piglets. I find we have fewer problems with summer farrowings.
The first 3 days are always the worse for issues and deaths.
Whatever the weather it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. A basic farrowing kit is handy.
First aid farrowing kit
The biggest killers are
hypothermia,
not getting colostrum quickly enough
the sow laying on the piglets and crushing them.
The bare minimum
Large Tote - you can quickly move a lot of piglets or keep them warm in a tote.
Old Towels - For the tote
Digital Thermometer - This is a vital part of any first aid kit, they are not expensive and you can get them online.
Vets Phone number
Good lighting or a head torch -These leave your hands free and if you are moving piglets into a tote in darkness it makes it easier.
Pig board - to keep you safe
Babies bottles or nipples for pop bottles - to bottle feed if necessary.
Supplies you will need to get from a farm store or a vet
Colostrum - I buy calf colostrum, it is not ideal but in a pinch, I have used it, you can use fresh cow, goat or sheep if you have access to it. Or ideally, milk the pig if you can.
Milk replacer - I don’t usually have this on hand but you may need some so at least find out where you can get it. I have raised piglets on raw cow’s milk and goat milk before, as well as lamb milk replacers but Wet Nurse do make a pig milk replacer.
Plastic Gloves - arm length
Meds - Penicillin, needles, syringes, hot shot. We only use penicillin if we have to assist a pig in farrowing and have to pull piglets out. A hot shot is a long tube that you put the needle on so you can inject the pig easier.
Write the dosage somewhere you can easily find it in a hurry - I have mine written on the fridge - the bottles are hard to read as we get older, I have ml/kg and also withdrawal time written on the fridge.
Add-ons and stuff you may have on hand.
Hairdryer
Hotwater bottle - You can use wine or pop bottles - fill with hot water and cover with a towel - make sure its not too hot.
Handwarmers (for you or maybe in an emergency under a towel to add additional heat to a piglet - I haven’t tried it but use what you have)
Ziplock bag - big enough for a piglet
Ice cream pail - big enough for a piglet
Note - We leave our sows alone as much as possible. Grabbing piglets and making them squeal while a sow is farrowing will upset her. You could get injured and lose all the other piglets as she tries to protect the one you are holding.
It’s a race to the gut - bugs or antibodies!
Colostrum
You want your piglets to get colostrum from their mother as soon as possible. When everything goes well you won’t believe how fast those little piglets can get on the teet and start fighting for milk - yes within minutes they can start fighting lol.
Hypothermia
The normal rectal temperature range for a piglet is 101.6–103.6°F (38.7 – 39.8 °C). Write this somewhere handy - I have it written on my fridge along with medication doses to body weight.
Sometimes a piglet will crawl away from the sow and get hypothermia. Check the corners of your pen - they always seem to get stuck in the corners. A piglet may appear dead but if it’s got hypothermia it will still be breathing and feels cold - you can rescue it. Check my post on hypothermia.
Farrowing Pens and Pig Crates
If you have a pen in a barn that you can put them in that is great, as long as it is big enough, ours vary, we have some at are 8 x 12, some 8 x 8, and we also use a 16-foot pen and 12 x 12 sheds. The pigs will take themselves off into the woods when the weather is nice and farrow there too.
We do like to separate them from the main herd to keep the - I have seen other pigs take baby pigs while a pig was farrowing and you don’t want to see that.
If you use straw I like to use a lot but piglets can get lost under it too. Also if you are using straw and heat lamps watch the sow doesn’t push the straw under the lamp and start a fire - ask me how I know!!!!
We don’t use pig crates on our farm.
Heat lamps in barns
Ok, so these are great to keep the piglets warm but I am paranoid about barn fires. There are heat mats but I haven’t tried those yet.
Camera
I use a Wyze Camera so I don’t have to go out constantly to check the pigs, there are much better cameras but for now this works ok for us.
It doesnt work well though the quonset walls since we had it re-tinned, so I am looking at alternative systems.
Teeth clipping and tail cutting
We have never done this, we haven’t found it necessary in our free-range pigs. They do it in pig barns because the pigs get born and start to tail bite.
Iron injections
We don’t inject iron, this is under the advice of our vet as our pigs get enough iron (and we have had them tested.)
Download a copy of my farrowing supply list below
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