Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and about within an hour or two. She should be made to get up and move if she seems unwill-
ing. Listlessness and disinterest in the feeding activities of the piglets are red flags that
something is wrong. Monitor for any temperature spikes, which could indicate infection. The
earlier she is started on antibiotics, the more positive the outcome. Check often that her teats
are releasing milk.
The sow will need to be checked often for signs of mastitis-metritis-agalactia (MMA) syn-
drome, which is serious and needs to be dealt with immediately. Mastitis is hardened and
painful teats and can be so bad that the sow refuses to feed the babies. Metritis is an infection
of the uterus. Antibiotics will be needed to clear this up before she succumbs to toxins in the
blood. Agalactia is a lack of milk. A shot of oxytocin will help stimulate the milk production.
Do not attempt more than two injections of 1 or 2 cubic centimeters in a day.
If the sow initially shows aggression toward the piglets, pull them out of her pen, and keep
them in a warm area. Slowly reintroduce the piglets to her after she has calmed down. Her
stress level and hysteria will decrease in an hour or two, and the piglets will still be able to re-
ceive the all-important colostrum feeding up to 24 hours after the birth. Consider fostering the
pigs with another sow and hand-feeding colostrum if she seems unable to accept the litter.
Most sows are good mothers and instinctively know what to do when their piglets are born.
Any confusion or rejection is usually short term.
Some pig raisers recommend keeping the farrowing site calm and quiet before farrowing in
order to soothe the sow. You may wish to play soothing music during the farrowing. Talk
calmly to the sow. It also will help keep the sow calm if the person present has a good rela-
tionship with her. All of these suggestions can help sows be more relaxed during farrowing,
which, in turn, makes them more accepting of their piglets. These suggestions can be particu-
larly helpful with gilts when they are first-time mothers.
Feeding a nursing sow
Nursing sows need to increase their food intake to compensate for the nutrients lost when
feeding their young. You can provide the sow with a light meal soon after farrowing. Provid-
ing the sow with 3 to 4 pounds of feed plus a can of pumpkin to induce regularity is a good
idea after farrowing. You also can include any of her personal favorites, such as vegetable
scraps, to get her to eat. Then, gradually build up her diet again to her pre-farrowing meal in-
take — 7 pounds — plus 1 pound for each piglet she is nursing. This needs to be cut to ½
pound per piglet if it is a litter with fewer than ten piglets. Adding bran to the diet post-far-
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