Kerala, India
A healthy, adequately nourished sow possesses the capacity to raise a minimum of 20 piglets annually. When a sow produces more piglets than she can adequately nurse, or in the event of sow mortality, offspring can be transferred to foster mothers or raised artificially through hand feeding.
An acceptable breeding sow must possess no fewer than fourteen teats that are sufficiently elongated and slender for piglets to grasp effectively. Individual piglets establish ownership of specific teats, nursing approximately every hour. The firstborn and more vigorous piglets typically claim the anterior teats near the sow’s head, which yield the highest milk volume. With advancing age and successive litters, teats may enlarge, creating suckling difficulties for piglets. The posterior teats frequently produce reduced milk quantities. When a sow cannot adequately nourish her entire litter, she should be removed from the breeding program.
Sows are susceptible to mastitis, which can develop following teat trauma inflicted by piglet teeth. Trimming piglet teeth (see Unit 27) helps prevent teat injuries.
Piglet growth rates vary considerably within litters, with some individuals born smaller than their littermates. Competition for nursing access means smaller piglets experience reduced growth rates and may succumb. While weight variation within litters is expected, poor growth across the entire litter without obvious disease symptoms suggests inadequate maternal milk production. This condition commonly occurs in aged sows. Under these circumstances, fostering piglets by transferring them to alternative nursing sows becomes necessary.
Fostering piglets
All piglets must consume colostrum from their mother. Initial nursing occurs within the first hour post-birth. If maternal death occurs during farrowing, the litter can be transferred to another sow. Orphaned piglets should be integrated with the foster sow’s biological offspring to promote acceptance. However, a single foster mother cannot simultaneously nurse two complete litters, necessitating distribution of orphans among multiple nursing sows.
Hand rearing piglets
When sow mortality occurs without available foster mothers, artificial rearing through hand feeding becomes necessary. Hand rearing requirements include:
- · Feeding bottles with nipples that receive thorough sanitation between feeding sessions.
- · A clean, dry enclosure containing fresh bedding material for newborns, maintained in a temperature-controlled environment.
- · Consistent feeding schedules at 1 to 2 hour intervals.
- · Bovine colostrum serves as the optimal substitute for porcine colostrum, with transition to regular milk occurring after 3 to 4 days.