Preparing a pig for childbirth at home, farrowing calendar and a table by insemination date
For breeding strong offspring, they choose not young animals, but adult females weighing 100 kg, although a pig can go on a spree as early as 5-6 months. After the first mating, fertilization does not always occur, but if pregnancy has occurred, the animal does not allow the male to approach itself, loses its previous mobility, becomes calmer, and gains weight faster. So that giving birth to a pig does not provoke complications, the owner needs to study in advance how to feed the animal, how to provide assistance, and control the development of the offspring.
Preparing for farrowing
With the implementation of the recommendations, the relief from the burden passes normally. To eliminate the minimum risk to the health of the female and calves after conception:
- the animal must be examined;
- do analyzes;
- conduct ultrasound.
Complications during childbirth occur when the owner does not understand the physiology of the animal. Late help is usually considered the cause of severe consequences in a pig.
Date calculation and calendar
After insemination, the female gives birth after 114-118 days, but only a quarter of the animals have cubs exactly on time, and a third - earlier than this time. The duration of pregnancy is affected by:
- Pig age.
- Number of offspring.
- A kind of female.
- Conditions of detention.
To determine the timing of childbirth, a table of farrowing of animals of a large, bacon, greasy direction is compiled. The calendar helps you know the resolution date based on the appearance of the salient features. The female is recommended to be kept separately from other animals.
On the left is the number of insemination, for example May 16, which means that in the column “month” we are looking for 05 and at the intersection we display the date 1.09.
Pigsty preparation
In the room in which the childbirth will take place, the temperature should be maintained at 18-24 ° C, and care must be taken to protect against drafts. All unnecessary things are taken out of the pigsty, the room is disinfected with a disinfectant solution, the ceiling and walls are whitewashed and ventilated to let in fresh air. In the heat, spray with cool water. The floor is covered with dry straw and hay.
Required inventory
When preparing for the farrowing of an animal, you need to stock up on sterile gloves, scissors, a piece of clean materials and threads.
Before childbirth, potassium permanganate is diluted to obtain a light purple solution, you will need liquid iodine.
In the cool season, a place is allocated for piglets. To prevent the calves from freezing, they turn on infrared lamps, the temperature is maintained at 28-29 ° C.
How the farrowing process goes
Having created optimal conditions for the female and offspring, you need to prepare to provide assistance to the mother, monitor the behavior of the animal.
Signs of the onset of labor
Before the release of the burden, the pig lies almost all the time, gets up only occasionally. A few days before farrowing, a lethargic and calm animal begins to rush about, rake the bedding, but then the behavior changes, and the pig again fits into rest.
It is not difficult to determine the approach of birth in a piggy female by several signs:
- The belly begins to sink.
- The udder grows in volume, acquires a loose structure.
- When pressed, liquid colostrum drips onto the nipple.
- A cork comes out of the uterus.
The day before the onset of labor, the pig behaves strangely, makes a kind of nest from hay, gets nervous, breathes often. If you closely monitor all the signs, you can know the exact time of delivery.
How is the first farrowing going
When the animal begins to worry, the presence of the owner can calm it down, sometimes the help of a veterinarian is required. When the pig gives birth, it turns on its side. Weak, infrequent contractions become more frequent, strong and painful. Between the birth of the first and second cubs, the break rarely exceeds 5 minutes, then the process slows down, the interval extends to 30. With weak attempts, the female is watered with water, gently massaging her stomach.
In a mumps giving birth for the first time, piglets hatch in 7 hours, but sometimes the process takes much longer. Brings an animal from 6 to 8 cubs.
How to properly deliver
Before farrowing, you need to wash your hands, treat with a disinfectant to the elbow, put on an apron and gloves. If the bubble does not burst while passing through the birth canal of the pig, the person will have to break it, otherwise the piglet will die. When the cub is not breathing, the chest is massaged and immersed in water heated to 45 ° C, the mouth is opened and blown into it.
At home, newborn piglets are wiped with a diaper, mucus is extracted from the ears, mouth, and nose with a soft tissue. The umbilical cord is pulled with a thread and cut off, the wound is smeared with brilliant green or treated with liquid iodine. Piglets are placed in a heated nest. It will take 20-30 minutes to receive a baby.
If the fetus does not pass quickly enough through the birth canal, the process may take 7-8 hours. To speed up farrowing, a hand in a sterile glove is inserted into the female's vagina, the baby is groped and withdrawn from the uterus with the onset of contractions. The baby's bladder is burst, the body is wiped dry, the umbilical cord is tied and cut off. When at the end of childbirth the placenta does not leave the pig, an urgent need to call a veterinarian.
Possible problems
At the first farrowing, it is recommended to carefully monitor the condition of the female, slowing down or accelerating labor activity often leads to the appearance of dead offspring, to the death of the pig.
Large piglets
Sometimes during the first pregnancy, the female bears cubs with a large weight and cannot give birth on her own for a long time. In this case, the help of a veterinarian is required.
Incorrect location
Babies die in the womb of a pregnant pig, causing severe inflammation in her or, passing through the birth canal, are injured and die.
If the female's farrowing is progressing normally, but the owner discovers that the cub is not positioned correctly, a veterinarian must be urgently called to save the offspring and the pig.
Stillborn babies
Sometimes a previously dead fetus gets stuck in the birth canal. It must be removed, otherwise the female will develop inflammation, which will end in sepsis, the death of the animal.
Prolonged labor
If farrowing lasts more than 11 hours, veterinarian assistance is required, as it is possible to lose both mumps and pups.The reasons for the prolonged labor include the incorrect location of the fetus and its delay in the pathways, weakness of the muscles of the peritoneum in the pig.
What to do after giving birth
When the discharge of the placenta ends, and the offspring is cleared of mucus and sent to a cozy nest, the back of the body of the female is washed with warm soapy liquid, wiped dry, and the sow is allowed to rest. Regardless of how many piglets are born, you need to make sure that the animal feeds everyone with colostrum. You can not let the female feast on the placenta, she can begin to eat offspring.
Sow feeding
The mother's diet should be balanced. Milk production decreases, its quality decreases if the animal does not receive adequate nutrition.
The pig's menu should include:
- at least 10 kg of green feed;
- half of this amount of grain mixtures;
- hay and fresh grass (at least 1.5 thousand g).
The animal needs vitamins, minerals, because it spends its energy on the production of milk, which is necessary for the growth and development of healthy offspring. For the first time after giving birth, the female is fed after 9-10 hours, given to drink sweet water. If the mumps has no appetite, which may indicate health problems, a veterinarian should be invited. So that the female does not crush small and tender piglets, changing position, they must be constantly monitored.
If the pig lies on its stomach, refuses to feed the litter, it is usually given a laxative to drink.
Piglet care
After the end of childbirth, you must immediately remove the afterbirth, do not let the pig eat it. The reddish discharge from the female disappears after a week. In the first days of life, cubs eat fatty and nutritious colostrum, which strengthens the immune system. To prevent babies from piercing the glands of their mother, their fangs are cut off. The tail of the piglets is shortened, left in length up to 4 cm.
The litter of pigs are kept in a nest heated by infrared lamps. To prevent the aggressive female from feasting on her cubs, a ring is fixed to the face. If possible, the babies are isolated in a separate place, they are allowed to the pig only for feeding. When the piglets are 3 weeks old, they suggest trying the hay. Two-month-old young animals are given the same as adult animals, but the grass and straw are crushed.
