[Darren & Felicia Krock]

From Hobby Farms September/October issue 2012 – These words do not reflect the staff or membership of LBPBU

Question: I’m new to keeping pigs but would like to breed my sows. I don’t want to use farrowing crates but have heard the sow can accidentally step or lie on and kill the piglets. What are my options for creating a safe and humane environment?

Answer as given in magazine:

There are upsides and downsides to both farrowing crates and bedding pens. The habitat you choose depends on your situation. A farrowing crate is a good way to manage a sow three to five days prior to farrowing and for a week or more following. The crate minimizes the risk of the sow crushing the piglets, as the piglets have an alley on either side of the crate that’s too small to fit the sow and allows them to enter and exit with ease. The sow can’t turn around in the crate, but she can move forward and backward and lie down. The piglets suckle when the sow lies down. Another benefit to using a farrowing crate is to curb cannibalism. A stressed sow or one getting low-quality rations or little protein in its diet might eat some of its piglets, and the crate prevents the sow from turning around to where the new piglets are being born.

Crates allow you to observe the sow during farrowing too, and if you need to handle the piglets, they are easy to locate. Farrowing crates are clean and can be set up with heat lamps or in climate-controlled rooms. Also, all of the sows on your farm can be kept near one another in crates, whereas putting a sow in an isolated pen might increase stress.

If you have only one sow or you don’t want to use a crate, a bedded pen is a suitable alternative. The pen should be draft-free and at least 6 square feet in size. Clean and disinfect the pen before the pig enters. Bed the pen with straw for the sow to make a nest. The sow will root the straw into a circular pattern and farrow there. The problem with a nest is that the sow might not see a piglet in the bedding, so you should monitor piglets closely and provide a separate area with a heat lamp and a rubber mat under it. Place pipe roll bars (heavy duty PVC is OK) 10 to 12 inches away from the walls and 8 to 12 inches above the floor of the pen to provide an escape route for the piglets if the sow lays down quickly. Always make sure the top of the straw is dry. Clean the pen and change bedding daily, removing all manure and wet straw.

Have a place far away from the piglets, such as a gate where the sow can stick its head out to drink and eat – inquisitive piglets can fall in the water and drown.

If a piglet in a bedded pen needs to be handled, it can be hard to catch. An alternative is to go in when the piglet is nursing and remove it then. Some sows are happy to let you do this, but others are not, so proceed with caution.
-Carolyn L. Stull, PhD, animal welfare specialist University of California Veterinary Medicine Extension.

My opinion: This seems to be written by someone who is more used to a CAFO barn set up rather than a natural state of pasture-based swine. We have never used a farrowing crate for our animals to farrow. I can say that they were used in the Purdue Project. The imported semen was far too valuable to lose any of the piglets to crushing. It also helped them monitor the piglets as stated above. But outside the strict project protocols, I would not use them. I do like the suggestion of a 6 square foot pen with the bumpers to allow piglets to get away from mama. Some form of this is used by Kelly Luzier in her farrowing pen. She managed to create the bumpers with wood boards and the farrowing stall is larger. I do something similar but only in one corner of the pen using a gate or raised pallet. This provides the escape for the piglets. In the winter months, this allows me to use a heat lamp without the risk of mama hitting it and creating a fire hazard. We do feed and water the mama in the same pen as the piglets. Usually by day 2 or 3, the piglets are checking out what mama is eating and trying it for themselves.

If she is a new mama, we will allow a more experienced sow to stay with her. I have seen bounds form between sows that resembles best friends who do everything together. I have had sows who refused to farrow without their bestie with them. Sometimes this can be troublesome, but mostly it works out very well on my farm. The more experienced sow will help soothe the nerves of the less experienced one. When the piglets begin to come, the experienced sow has been observed calling the piglets to her so mama can stay in her trance and deliver all the piglets safely.

In full disclosure, I do have two farrowing pens. They are used for vetting the pigs. One of the most joyous and frustrating times is when the vet comes out to ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. The girls do not care for their bellies being pushed around and that cold stuff that not even human mamas care for. This helps prevent them from moving too much and keeps our vet safe. Not that there has ever been an issue with the swine (the horses on the other hand are a totally different story.) I do not always use the pens, but in the case of ultrasounds, it is beneficial.

One concern I have is that straw is suggested to bed the pens. Some farms use this, but I have another opinion. I prefer grass hay, not alfalfa. Straw is wheat chaff that has been baled. Wheat is a hollow stem plant that harbors little mold that can decimate a sow and her litter. The mold I am referring to is vomitoxin. A pig has less that 0.001% tolerance to vomitoxin. Most of the time, things go well, but if the wheat season has been especially wet, vomitoxin is high. In my experience, I had a sow who was an excellent mama and farrowed large litters give birth to a litter and within one week, the piglets were all dead and mama never farrowed again. The piglets became listless and did not thrive. Thanks to our local vet, we were able to determine that the culprit was the straw and that the vomitoxin was high that year. Any farmer who harvests wheat will know their vomitoxin level. It is given to the farmer when he takes his wheat in to the granary. Sometimes it isn’t given, but you should be able to contact the granary yourself for a general assessment of the levels. My feed mill posts a notice where I collect my feed.

I will continue with natural farrowing. The preferred way is allowing the sow to choose her nesting area in the pasture. Usually she will go off on her own and create her nest out of grasses she has pulled and carried to her special place. I had one sow who always made her nest out of sticks. It looked like an eagle’s nest on the ground. It was quite intricate. The mama will stay with the litter for at least a day before venturing out for food and water with the herd. Some will stay with the litter for longer and only take water and food where she can find it close to the nest. I find that these piglets do fantastic in their natural habitat. The piglets stick together and stay near the nest. If a predator, say me, comes near, they may leave the nest to an alternate spot that and return when the danger has passed. I have walked right by a sow’s nest without seeing it because of the way she had it piled. I am always amazed at the ingenuity of the sows. If I have not seen a close to farrow sow in a day or two, I will go search. Most of my girls have a special spot that they go to time after time. I will first head there and then towards the areas that have natural water sources. I have one that always goes into a sycamore thicket near raspberry bushes and another that always has hers near the wood line. There are two places in the woods that hold water until the hottest part of the summer. And sometimes, I have to resort to tracking them down, whether that is by foot tracking their footprints or on horseback where I have a better view.

Choose the way to farrow that best suits your farm. There isn’t a set way to raise animals. What works best on my farm may be completely wrong for yours. The best thing I can say is to listen to your sows. They will tell you what they want to do. Provide options for them. If they choose to use the beautiful, warm nest you have created in the barn, wonderful. If they choose to go off into the pasture on their own, wonderful. If you choose to use a farrowing crate, that is entirely up to you. I have found that mama knows best.

[George & Rebecca Etrata]

Post is almost a year old but a great read. We just farrowed 3 without farrowing crates. SOW #1 a pro mother with no issues. Sows #2 and #3 are farrowing their first piglets. Sow #2 and #3 have a preexisting bond with each. I have separated them and you can see their displeasure. Piglets find gaps in the fence and at a 5 days old go between mothers. Is it okay to just give in and put the 2 younger moms together. I did have one crushed boar from 1 mother and 1 still born from the other. Same setup was used for the pro mom and she had zero piglets lost. Was the crushed pig do to inexperience or lack of using a farrowing crate?

[Duane & Kelly Luzier]

George
Yes, most definitely you can keep them together especially if they are co-mothering. That is awesome!

[Duane & Kelly Luzier]

George,
It is hard to tell on the crushed piglet. The piglet may have been weak or it may have been the inexperience of the mother. Time of year can also have a little to do with it as the piglets are seeking warmth and may be less apt to get out of mama’s way even when she does the chit chatting. ere the litter sizes comparable? More piglets means better chance of a slow run out of mamas way.

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