Archived News

9th October 2009

Prudence still hadn’t settled down by 2am so I took myself off to bed and left her making a nest of straw in her maternity suite, well that’s a barn in pig language.  By first light Prudence had produced a fantastic litter of 14 piglets, all warm, clean, dry.

Once again the piglets display a wonderful array of colours, influenced by the different breeds of their parents and grandparents.  Some of the pink piglets are like Gloucester Old Spot but have barely any spots, whilst others have been smothered in spots as if they’ve pinched them from their brothers and sisters.

Prudence is free to move about the barn as she pleases, making these first few days quite risky for the litter.  Without a farrowing crate to confine the sow she can easily squash a piglet as she lays down, or may accidentally tread on one as she stands.  I am concerned about the runt of the litter who is wafer thin and being pushed off the teat by bigger, bolder siblings.