Ethel’s Farrowing: The Final Chapter of the Piglet Saga
On September 23, 2023 by MaryThe last of our three sows, Ethel, had her piglets this week. And thank goodness for that, because the past few weeks have been tiring and disappointing.
In my last post, I wrote about Dottie and her two little piglets. Sadly, neither piglet made it through their first week.
Ethel’s Piglets
Good ol’ Ethel went into labor on Wednesday, and had the largest litter, as we suspected she might. She had an uneventful farrowing, but only two out of her five piglets were born alive- a boy and a girl. They are SO. STINKING. CUTE! They both have the red coloring like their mama, and the boy has wattles. I’m trying to not get my hopes up too much, especially after Dottie’s piglets didn’t make it, but I still really hope they survive. They’ve made it 3 full days so far.
An Answer, Maybe?
Since something clearly went very, very wrong with our breeding endeavor, I called the vet to see if he had any ideas of what might be happening. He said that, based on all the info I gave him (small litter sizes, premature labor, dead piglets, failure to thrive), the most likely answer is that the boar is closely related to the sows. The next thing to look into would be their nutrition.
As frustrating as it is, our breeders being related is a possibility. We got all of our pigs from the same place. Either the sellers weren’t honest with us, or they genuinely had no idea that they were too closely related for breeding. I like to assume the best in people, but in this case I’m really not sure.
Regarding the nutrition aspect, we mix our own bulk feed weekly to make sure they’re getting the minerals, protein, etc. they need. They also get any weeds and grass from doing yard work, as well as kitchen scraps. I guess next time we’ll try upping their feed even more during pregnancy.
The most logical action from here is to replace either our boar or the sows. I definitely want to give breeding another shot, because piglets are the most adorable thing. (And, you know, creating a self-sustaining homestead is.) But at the same time, I think I’d also be fine with just raising feeders from now on.
I will of course keep everyone posted on what we end up doing! In the meantime, please take a second to like, comment, share, all that good stuff. And be sure to check out Iveyshire on Instagram @iveyshireblog!
Farming = keep on keeping on!