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mmorris3191
Member
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Posted: Fri Oct 27th, 2006 12:52 am |
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 I have 2 sows, a York and a Spot, due to farrow on January 5th. This will be my first time farrowing at home, so I have my fingers crossed and my hopes up. Both are parity 2 sows, and are currently at a healthy weight. I have them on a shell corn diet, trying to keep them from getting too heavy, but I am concerned that the the developing piglets aren't getting enough nutrition for maximum development. Both sows were HUGE with their summer litters, and I think they would have done better if they weren't so fat. I ended up losing half of each litter to being dead at birth, stepped on, or laid on. Smaller sows on my friend's farm in similar huts did much better, so I suspect their size played a role. They were nursed down pretty thin, but rebounded well. These sows are eating more now than a month ago and seem not to be satisfied. My questions are:
What percent protein diet should I be feeding?
If I supplement with sow pellets, can I overdo it?
What about feeding them something "fill them up" so they don't overeat and gain extra weight?
This will be my first time farrowing pigs for my daughter to show, so I am trying to balance a healthy diet for my sows with my desire to have the best piglets possible when they are born. Any info on feed, sow weight management, and the needs of developing piglets would be greatly appreciated.
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weirhogs
Member
| Joined: | Wed Feb 22nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 24 |
| Mana: |    |
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Posted: Fri Nov 10th, 2006 09:19 pm |
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Generally speaking, a large coffee can of feed morning and night will sustain them through the majority of the pregnancy. Make sure they have plenty of water. We use a sow ration that is 12-14% protein. You don't want too high of protein for breeding animals, the high protein (hot feed) is hard on their livers. Also, we found out a few years ago after almost losing a sow, to add 1-2ounces of epsom salt to their feed for about 1-2 weeks before their farrowing date, and a few weeks after farrowing to prevent constipation. They can get bound up in there and actually die from it. The epsom salt is an easy thing to do, to help keep every thing running smoothly. Once they farrow, you need to increase the feed to allow for the milk production which takes a lot out of them.
I hope this helps you, and good luck with your project. It is a lot of work raising your own.
RW
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