Dottie’s Farrowing: New Girls On the Block

In the last piggy post, I wrote about our pig Karen’s farrowing. Unfortunately, she didn’t deliver any live piglets, but since then she’s been doing just fine.

Well, our pig Dottie was next in line, and she finally had her piglets this weekend.

Story Time

She went into labor just as Calvin had to leave for work, as expected. He at least got to see the first one before he headed out!

Dottie’s labor stalled for quite a while after the first two piglets- one live, one dead- so I started to get a little concerned. As I’ve mentioned before, piglets should generally keep popping out every 15-20 minutes after the first one is born. I knew she wasn’t done yet since I could still see/feel kicks on her belly.

Y’all, I was really, really hoping for a completely hands-off, textbook farrowing for Dottie. Leave her alone, let nature do its thing, come back to a bunch of piglets running around the barn. (HA! Why do I set myself up for disappointment?) I kept out of her pen, stayed super quiet, and watched from a distance so as to not disturb her. After two full hours went by with no more piglets, I had to get in there and make sure she was ok and there wasn’t a piglet stuck or something. But I couldn’t feel anything at all when I checked her, and she didn’t seem to be in distress, so I just let her be while I took care of my own babies up at the house.

I’m glad I went back to the barn when I did, because I got there just in time to see the next two piglets arrive. It made my heart so happy! Number three came out kicking and screaming, with black dots like her mama. (Our oldest daughter is the one who so fittingly named our sow “Dottie”, in case you were wondering.) She is one vivacious piggy.

Sorry to say, number four was another dead one. It was a very small litter, and a rather disappointing outcome overall. Dottie is a really good-sized pig- I thought for sure she’d have more than that! And yet, compared to how stressful Karen’s farrowing was, getting these two live piglets was still a much-needed win.

More Speculation

We’re going to brainstorm what could have happened with our sows during their pregnancies. It doesn’t seem right that we’re ending up with this many stillborn piglets, especially combined with how small their litters have been.

All our pigs are in very good health, we mix our own feed to ensure they’re getting the correct minerals and protein, we’ve been on top of deworming them, and they have a safe environment.

Is it the sows that have some kind of issue? Or is it our boar, Gus? Is it just a first litter thing? Who knows. I guess we’ll just have to do some research, try again, and see what we can improve on and do differently the next time. I’ll keep everyone updated if we figure anything out.

We still have one last sow, Ethel, who should be having her piglets any day now. The poor thing has that tired, uncomfortable, ready-to-pop look in her eyes that any mother can relate to. I’m holding out hope that she’ll end up being our best mama!

In the meantime, I’ll be in the barn, enjoying all the itty-bitty nose boops and snuggles I can get from these two little girls.

I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has kept up with all of our piggy adventures here on the blog! I sincerely appreciate all the comments, check-ins and well wishes.

Remember to check out Iveyshire’s Instagram account here!

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