Pigs
The new-born piglet - Jeff Griffith looks at how you can assist with what comes naturally
IT seems to always amaze people how a piglet can be born and within a very short period of time find its way to one of its mother's teat. Nature has always been an amazing thing and it is nature which helps.
The piglet is born about 115 days after conception had taken place. They are in a very weak condition. Their umbilical cords are still attached; they are wet and have little sense of coordination. But in this vulnerable state they are attracted to the sow by the body heat that she produces. This will help prevent the still wet piglet from wondering to far away.
The second thing to attract the piglet to the sow's udder is the skin texture. If the piglet wanders around the back of the sow it will feel the rough bristles and keep on moving around until it comes to the swollen and engorged udder.
The sow will usually make a soft grunting noise at farrowing time, which I am not sure attracts the newly-born piglet, but from personal experience certainly attracts it as the pig gets older.
The udder is usually very swollen with milk and has a smooth texture. Once the piglet reaches the udder it tends to start nosing and nudging mum until it finds a teat. Once it finds a teat it will latch and continually suckle.
Once the piglet has had those first few mouth fulls of milk the whole piglet's attitude will change dramatically. It will transform from a defenceless animal that ignores its litter mates to a competitive piglet who will push its fellow litter mates out of the way to get to a teat. It will suddenly become more aware of its outside world and will move from teat to teat after the best supply of milk.
When the piglet is in the sow's uterus it is protected from infections but when it is born it suddenly becomes very susceptible. The placenta in which it was encased within the uterus has been unable to pass antibodies to the piglet so it must acquire a defence system in another way.
The first milk that is produced by the sow is called "colostrum" and is produced only in the first 24 hours after farrowing. This colostrum is very rich in lactose, fats, vitamins, proteins and the very important antibodies.
It is these antibodies that are secreted within the colostrum that provide the new born piglet with its first defence mechanism. It is very important that all piglets receive this colostrum within the first 24 hours of life.
The reason for this is that the antibodies are large blood protein molecules (called immunoglobulins) which can only pass through the open lining of the pig's intestine within the first 24 hours of its life. After 24 hours the lining of the intestine start to close up, so restricting the absorption of these large antibodies.
If you have a large litter of piglets born or a farrowing that takes along time or some smaller piglets amongst a litter of large sized piglets, then the best way to ensure that all piglets receive their colostrum is to remove the larger piglets and to place them in a secure box with either a heat lamp over them or in a warm place. If you are using a heat lamp then be aware that they can get very hot underneath.
The remaining piglets can then have a suckle from the sow without any competition. The bigger piglets can be replaced after a couple of hours. This is a procedure which can be continued even after the first 24 hours of life and gives the smaller piglets a chance to catch up.
It is because of this very vulnerable early stage though that it is very important to maintain high standards of hygiene. As the piglet gets older it will become exposed to bugs and its own immune system will develop.
The size of the litter can vary from one sow's farrowing to another. I have always preferred an average size litter of good, healthy piglets to a large litter of smaller sized piglets which do not grow as fast and are more susceptible to starvation or illness. If you have a small litter of pigs born it might be a good idea to think why this could be. Was the service a good one or was the sow served at the correct time? Was the sow healthy, old or does she have a poor history of small litters? The list is endless but even the best of pigs can occasionally have a small litter.
The sow will normally let the piglets suckle about once an hour, every hour, after the first 24 hours when the colostrum has been used up. This milk let down normally only lasts about twenty seconds but the piglets will try to suckle for up to five minutes afterwards. The more forward teats on a sow produce the most milk and so the stronger, more robust piglets will suckle from these.
The smaller, weaker piglets will be pushed to the rear teats which produce less milk. This can produce some problems. If you have a second sow which gave birth at the same time then the piglets can be fostered onto another sow but this needs to be done at about twenty four hours of age and no later.
Providing an alternative milk source by providing artificial milk can also help but the easiest way is to wean the larger piglets off the sow as soon as you can so the smaller piglets no longer have any competition.
It is not very often that you have to interfere with a sow when she is farrowing. A pig that is farrowing in an ark or a warm, strawed-up pen should not be too stressed so is very unlikely to savage her youngsters. If she does, remove her piglets as soon as they are born and place them in a warm box and contact your vet who can give her an injection which will result the sow in becoming very lethargic for a few hours. The piglets can then be placed back on the sow and when she "comes around" she will accept her new family.
Problems with actually giving birth tend to be few because a sow usually produces lots of small piglets. If a piglet has not appeared in over an hour then it would be a good idea to ether give the sow an injection of oxytocin (a natural hormone, available from your vet, to help with uterine contractions) or to give her an internal examination.
To do this your hands and arms must be scrupulously clean. Apply a lubricant and slowly insert your hand. Most piglets will be positioned just inside the pelvis area, but some might be a bit deeper. Feel for a leg or the piglets head; and correct the position. The piglet should either come forwards in a nose dive position or can be pulled out backwards, feet first.
When retrieving a piglet try not to pull it out but to rely on the sows contractions. When the sow pushes, then gently pull. Do not use any unnecessary force. If you are in doubt then contact a vet or an expert.
Some times piglets can be born dead and this can be caused by a number of factors. Sometimes piglets are born partially developed in a mummified conditioned. This has been caused when a piglet has died inside the womb in mid to late pregnancy. The moisture from the piglet will slowly be re-absorbed through the uterus so when it is born it can sometimes have a rather sinister appearance. This normally happens in larger litters.
Farrowing time can be one of the most rewarding times in keeping pigs. The sight of a row of newly-born piglets all suckling while mum produces soft, gentle grunts is an experience not easily forgotten.
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