Today we had two gilts give birth.
The first gilt had a quick and easy delivery.
She began her litter with a blue butt gilt at 1:45 pm, exactly 26 hours after her induction injection.
She farrowed 9 piglets quickly after that. She was finished just over an hour later.
The second gilt didn’t give birth to her first piglet until 36 hours post induction.
She had a more difficult birth, taking 4 hours to deliver 6 piglets.
We lost 1 runt piglet out of the first litter, but all 14 others are doing well.
Out of 14 total, there are 7 boars (boys) and 7 gilts (girls).
We tie off and cut the umbilical cords, just to help keep things clean. The dogs think umbilical cords are excellent treats.
At 3 days old, we give an iron injection to each baby. This prevents many health problems for newborn piglets. We also clip needle teeth and trim and dip umbilical stumps.
Other things happening around the farm:
Dr Vet Sonya 