Announcing the Second Generation Natural Farmed Pigs!

The piglets are here! Eight healthy piglets were farrowed May 16, 2012 by our sow Big Girl. (Those who have read past posts may recall that Big Girl was born here last year, on the 4th of July, in the first ever litter of NF pigs!)

Farrowing began at 1:35pm and continued all afternoon until about 7:00pm. After the first five, there was a pause of an hour or so before the other three came out. The placentas were all delivered easily and buried with a sprinkling of IMO4. No smell, no flies!

This litter has 7 females and only 1 male, so we won't have to do any castration this time. Normally, we would do this at 7-10 days old.

Big Girl, now Big Mama, is an excellent mother with her natural instincts intact and an ample milk supply. We couldn't be more pleased about that! All the piglets are thriving, even without heat lamps or creep area. There is enough room for mother and babies in the pen, and Mama is responsive to the babies so no worry about her squishing them.

 

Big Mama's appetite came back the next morning, and she is now getting extra feed to accommodate her extra nutritional and caloric needs during lactation. We divide her feed so she gets her usual amount in the mornings and an extra feeding in late afternoon. She has been sprayed with LAB a couple times to help prevent disease. We don't give inoculations, but rather, let the IMO's keep the animals healthy. The entire pen was sprinkled with IMO4 and sprayed with LAB, both before and after the birth. So far, so good. All the piggies are healthy and thriving!