Adventures in Farrowing
by Natalie S. Knudsen of Hartsville, TN
Now that your gilts or sows are bred and are working their way through 114 days of gestation, it’s time to get ready for farrowing.
There are numerous options for farrowing sows ranging from free-range to pens to crates – each has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Your choice will be based on your weather and unique farm situation but the primary consideration must be the safety of the people caring for the sow and her piglets.
Left to their own devices in an open field, pasture or woodlot, sows will build a giant nest on the ground – think bird nest, only large enough for a 300- 400lb bird. They diligently carry grass, sticks, weeds and build up a circular nest approximately 2ft tall.
When farrowing time arrives, they enter the nest and give birth. The nest keeps the piglets close to the sow, provides some climate control and helps prevent predators from attacking the piglets while the sow is farrowing. Obviously this is not an option where cold, wet weather is common. It is also incredibly dangerous to approach a sow in her nest. In her eyes, you are a predator and she will charge and attack you.
Moving toward more confinement and easier care of the sow and her litter, is pen farrowing. A week or so before her farrowing date, the sow should be placed in the pen – 8ft x 4ft is a good size. Bed the pen heavily with straw, this provides warmth for the piglets and allows the sow to build a nest if she desires.
With pen farrowing, it is a good idea to build a triangular area across one corner of the pen with boards starting at 10in off the floor. This corner provides a place to hang a heat lamp, a safe resting place, and creep feeding area for the piglets away from the sow.
If you are using a heat lamp in any farrowing system, be sure the sow cannot reach the bulb, lamp or electric cord. Being curious animals, many sows have died by chewing through an electric cord.
A farrowing crate provides the most restraint for the sow and most safety for the human. The sow enters the crate from the rear and is – theoretically – unable to turn around. There are always sows that master the trick of flipping over and greeting you in the morning. Sows housed in farrowing crates are turned out twice daily onto a feed floor or lot for feed, water and a bit of exercise.
There are two areas the length of the crate, and approximately 18-24 inches wide on each side for the piglets to move away from the sow, run around and provide a place for a heat lamp or heated pad for additional heat.
No matter what farrowing option you choose, you need to be aware of these facts:
- Piglets weigh approximately 1.5-3.0 lbs at birth
- Piglets cannot maintain their body temperature until they are 3-5 days old
- Piglets are born with enough fat energy to survive for one day
- Piglets are born without any antibody protection
- Piglets should be up and nursing within 15 minutes of birth to receive vital colostrum
Once farrowing begins, a piglet should be born every 15-20 minutes, anything longer is cause for concern. Every sow reacts differently to the farrowing process, some remain calm while others experience an intense hormone storm and become violent.
There is no way to identify which sow will become violent until you are in the moment. These sows can leap up and attack a human in the pen without warning, for this reason farrowing crates offer a great deal of protection.
We have had a few sows that were extremely docile until they farrowed and then they attacked and killed their piglets as they were born. If you encounter a sow killing her piglets, you need to carefully remove them as soon as they are born. Place them in a box, laundry basket or rubber water trough lined with a couple of towels and cover it to keep the piglets warm.
Once the sow has finished farrowing, she will likely relax and calm down. After an hour or two, you can carefully introduce the piglets one a time. Placing them along her udder works best as they are hungry and the sow naturally wants to nurse them. Do your best to keep them away from her head.
I understand the psychological and physiological benefits for people and pigs using pen farrowing. But never enter the pen of a farrowing sow without some form of protection – preferably a large handheld herding panel – and the ability to escape over the pen if needed.
When the sow has finished farrowing and passed the afterbirth, she will begin “talking” to her piglets and feeding them in earnest. Once piglets have dried off and nursed they are sturdy creatures. Keeping them warm and away from drafts that can chill them are priorities.
About 12 hours after a sow has farrowed, she can be turned out for feed and water if confined. Getting a sow started back on feed after farrowing can be hard. If a sow refuses to eat – they often just want to return to their litter – we mix water and a raw egg in her dry ground feed to make a mash or slurry.
It is important for lactating sows to have plenty of fresh, clean water. If you are mixing your own feed ration, adding a little vegetable oil to the feed also supplies the sow with additional energy to lactate and feed her growing pigs.
Lactation Ration
- 74% corn
- 9% soybean meal
- 7% oats
- 7% alfalfa pellets
- 3% soybean oil
- 1.5 % calcium
- 2-5% packaged swine premix (based on label recommendations)
When the piglets are about a week old, they will mimic their mother and try to eat with her – some sows tolerate this and others do not. This is a good time to introduce a pelleted creep feed. Start by adding a handful of pellets to a flat pan in a protected area away from the sow.
We use a modified A-frame building for farrowing. My husband designed and built our current units. Each building or hut holds one sow; it has front and rear doors for easy access and allows room for the sow to turn around. The front door opens to a small feeding area. Interior rails running the length provide a safe place for piglets. It’s tough for a 400-pound sow to lower herself to the ground without laying on a piglet when there are 10 semi-mobile piglets racing around and under her. The insulated and hinged lid provides access for hanging a heat lamp, checking on the sow and piglets, and can be propped up for ventilation.
Overall dimensions:
- 8ft long
- 6ft wide at lower edge
- 3ft 6in wide at top
- 4ft sidewall
- 5ft 6in height at top of peak
- Solid wood floor
- Skids for moving
Pig Tale: A Chester White gilt that caught my eye at a breed conference show was my birthday present from my husband when I was 20 – and I was thrilled with the gift!
