Interactive lesson

Farrowing and piglets, step by step

Interactive lesson: heat and service, 114 days of pregnancy, the farrowing pen, farrowing, the first 24 hours, piglets and weaning.

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The whole lesson as text

1. Heat and service

Heat lasts 2–3 days and comes back every 21 days, so you have to catch it in time.

Signs of heat — The vulva is red and swollen 1–2 days before. The sow is restless, eats less, grunts and mounts other pigs.
Standing reflex — Press both hands on her back. If she stands rigid with her ears pricked, that's the right moment.
Serve twice — The first service roughly 12–24 hours after she starts standing still, the second 12–24 hours after the first. Carry a board and have an escape route.
Return check — Write down the date. Roughly 18–24 days after service, look for signs of heat every day. If there are none, she is probably pregnant.

Why: Serving before the sow stands still leaves her empty, and you lose three weeks. A commercial gilt is first served at roughly 7–8 months and 120–140 kg, at her second or third heat.

AI is the safest route for a small homestead, not least because of African swine fever: no strange pigs come in and yours don't go out.
A boar and a sow in heat are unpredictable. Keep children away, and stay on the other side of the partition.

2. Pregnancy

A sow carries for "three months, three weeks and three days": exactly 114 days.

114 days — Work out the farrowing date from the service date. Check for a return again 6 weeks after service; the vet can confirm by ultrasound scan.
Full, not fat — Roughly 2–2.5 kg of ration with roughly 13 % protein, plus grazing, lucerne hay, roots and plenty of water.
The last 3–4 weeks — The piglets grow fast now, so raise the ration by roughly 0.5 kg.
Exercise, no fighting — A sow that moves about on a run farrows more easily. Separate her from aggressive pigs and don't transport her unless you must.

Why: A fat sow farrows with difficulty, eats poorly in lactation and crushes piglets more often. A thin one has little milk and comes into heat late.

An abortion, or heat coming back late (roughly 25–35 days after service), is a reason to call the vet: some diseases are notifiable.
Quick rule: service date + 3 months + 3 weeks + 3 days.