# Pregnant Potbelly



## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Our potbelly pig, Sally, is pregnant we think. Her teats have "swelled" but yesterday I wasn't really able to express any milk, she wasn't really liking my hands down there but she wan'ts trying to eat me either. She is 7 1/2 months old - wasn't a planned breeding... Our male potbelly is 2 years old and has been running with her since she was 8 weeks. We just moved to a new place in September so the pigs were put on the back burner (not literally...) and we have just started building pens for them.

Having NO experience raising piglets, only meat pigs, what do we expect? I was thinking about putting her in one of the horse stalls, they are 10x10 but have dirt floors. I have heat lamps, heat pads, I'm going out to buy some bags of shavings or straw (which is better?) and I just wait.

Do I need to clip the teeth? I read somewhere if there were less than 5 piglets they were okay with teeth, anymore than 5 I can clip. I also have iodine for naval dippnig - done it before with colts so not a problem. I don't have a farrowing crate but I'm not so worried about her squishing them since we will be watching her very closely. (no guarentees though, I know.)

We will be selling them. Any way to prep for sales? Do they need to be neutered/spayed to sell, shots, etc?

I know it is a lot of questions but I like to ask everything at once that way I get the answers as soon as possible. I would hate to have her birth and me not knowing what to do resulting in the death of all the piglets.

Thank you for any information!

I will get pictures of her soon but for now what signs do I watch for?


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

I also wanted to add that when I press firmly against her abdomen near her hind legs I can feel "a" baby kicking. Does that mean she is close?


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## bonnie in indiana (May 10, 2002)

They can breed at 6 weeks. It costs 50-200$ to neuter PB. Tits can be swollen for days/weeks before birth. You can find PBs on Craigs lists for free and the Sanctuaries are all full or closed. BPs are not so popular anymore. Do a search here and you will find a wealth of info.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

A 10 x 10 horse stall would be great, especially if you have stall mats. Bed it well in grass hay, like 30 to 50 pounds of hay, fluffed up. She'll build her nest in that, and it will keep her warmer than shavings or straw, and also provide food. Add more when it gets low. Letting her out a few times a day to take care of business will keep the stall cleaner. Get a chunk of hog panel and turn it upside down so the big holes are at the bottom, then bolt it to two walls, sectioning off a corner of the stall. Bed that area with shavings. Hang a heat lamp or two in there, where the sow can't get to it. Make sure the lamps are not too low or you'll get burnt shavings or singed piglets or both. Make sure the piglets know where that area is, as they really need heat when they're tiny. If you make that area big enough, then when they're a little older, you can start creep feeding them in there, where Mom can't get to the food. You can also hang a nipple waterer in there. Even a rabbit bottle will do fine. Just be sure the dam can't get to it because she'll tear it off the wall and wreck it.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Also, she should be getting about 1-1/2 times a maintenance ration at this point. After she farrows, bring her gradually up to three to four times the maintenance ration, depending on how many piglets she's feeding and her body condition. I use all-purpose hog grower, 16%, for feeding lactating sows.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

By the way, if you wind up with a surplus, potbellies are very tasty. Just make sure you neuter any boys, because they do carry taint, or at least mine did. And you can neuter them just like regular pigs. Butcher at about 8 months. You'll have a decent growth rate up to that point, and the butchering job won't be too daunting. Think of it as a really big rabbit. Make sure the babies get plenty of protein (I feed extra milk) and don't get too fat, and you'll have a wonderful dining experience.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

I never clipped teeth and never had a problem. I castrated the boys just like regular farm pigs when they were a couple weeks old and left the girls intact. No shots, no worming. My potbellies never showed any need for those things.


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## speakmanfamily (Aug 12, 2011)

Don't bother clipping the teeth! It isn't necessary and saves you some trouble 

Good luck with your pigs! You'll love them!


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## bonnie in indiana (May 10, 2002)

Oh, by the way. My babies all weigh 11.5 OZ at birth. They will fit in a hotdog bun.


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Thanks for all the information! I've put 1 mat in the stall where she is bedding down that way there is some dirt for her or the piglets to root in - I read they need Iron and dirt has it. Not really worried about them digging holes because we are concreting the stalls this summer anyways.

Teats have gotten bigger but still no milk. I was rubbing her belly before dinner this evening and she sure was breathing hard. 

She is bedded down in a stall full of stringy grass hay from a 500lb bale. Don't have a heat lamp up yet but I'm putting one in tomorrow and a heat pad when they are born. Temps are currently varying at 40-50 degrees during the day and 20s at night.

I would really like to be there when she births so any signs of knowing would be greatly appreciated!


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

Our sow farrows on average about 7 piglets. We have never clipped teeth and notice no ill effects. We keep the last couple of piglets that we are putting in our freezer on her for about 4 months and she doesn't come back into heat until we pull them (this year we are just going to leave them in there and see how long it takes her to rebreed). Her teats will swell long before she is ready to farrow. We raise ours for meat (but also breed for temperment) and sell about 1/2 for meat or meat breeding stock and 1/2 for pets. Ours aren't huge (sow about 15" tall and the boar about 20") but are most certainly sweet (in flavor and temper) and tasty. We have yet to neuter a male and have had no issues with boar taint, it CAN be an issue though. Some lines are more "prone" to it than others. If you are selling however I would just charge extra to have the males neutered if a customer wants it done...that way you don't waste the money if they end up in the freezer. 
I attached a couple of pictures that were taken two days before she farrowed (yes she had REALLY cold nipples). The vulva (at least with ours) turns much brighter(?) or maybe redder is a better term, and also swells before farrowing. Her's is just getting to that point in the photos. 
We have fed our little ones exactly what momma is eating (no creep feeding) and have had no issues, however this winter with our bitter temps and the fact we had her in and outdoor enclosure we put in a heat lamp, I think it was definately a good call this year. 
We give no shots (including iron) with no issues (but our pigs are outside and allowed to root as they please - even in the dead of a Michigan winter it stays amazing warm in their hut!) We wormed when we first got them (ivermectin) and worm them all once about weaning time (sow, boar and piglets). 
Our momma has been a WONDERFUL momma and has only lost one piglet on her first farrowing (even in subzero temps!) our boar is a great "daddy" as well, being gentle with the piglets when we reunite momma, daddy and the piglets when the piglets are about 4 weeks old. 
And I agree with above poster....hay is a super idea - feed and bed at the same time


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

My potbellies definitely had boar taint, as do my Guinea Hogs. It was a real disappointment to grow up a pig and butcher it, only to discover that it was inedible. Castration costs about a buck for supplies per session. Your call, of course.

I wanted to mention that I lost almost a whole litter because they didn't have enough heat. This was in a well-bedded crate with Mom, in 70-degree weather. The brand new babies just shivered and shivered. Turns out, they were using up so much energy shivering that they rapidly starved to death. They just seemed to get skinnier by the hour, and for two or three days, every time I'd go out there, I'd find another one dead or dying. Out of a litter of 13, I think three survived. Once I figured out what was happening, I brought them inside and put them under a light. The result was immediate. They stretched out and basked in the warmth. I left them there while I installed a heat lamp, then moved them back out with Mom, under the heat lamp. I never lost another baby to what I'll call "cold starvation."


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Oh, I wanted to mention, too. There's a very experience pet pig vet here that managed to kill two little boy piglets that were taken to him for neutering. He used the preferred gas and did what he has apparently done lots of times, but both boys died from anesthesia complications. The really unfortunate part was that the first time it happened, the couple who'd bought their little darling pet pig told me of the problem. I gave them a new pig, to which they quickly became very attached. That was the second one the vet killed. How sad is that?

So far, I have yet to kill a piglet during castration, and I've castrated ones with scrotal hernias. Pigs are tough, tough, tough. They seem able to deal with almost anything, except anesthesia. Pet buyers really appreciated that I'd neutered the piglets, and were willing to pay extra because of it. So it worked out really well - the pigs were safe, the owners were happy, and I was compensated for my trouble.


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

I would agree with Laura about the castration.....do it yourself (Or better yet have an experienced farm neighbor do it for you) if you choose to go that way. My suggestion? If you are planning on eating any leave at least one intact. If you find your line carries the boar taint - you'll know to castrate any you are going to eat. If it does not - you've saved yourself time, money and hassle and saved the pigs some trauma  
Also remember not all pigs make good mothers. You may loose the entire litter no matter what you do. My sow farrows in the dead of Michigan winters (Jan/Feb) and is the most excellent mother you could hope for, attentive, protective (but not TOO protective that I can't check out the cuties) and has a good milk supply. Yours is young and often this can contribute to low survival rates in the piglets. I just say this so if you DO plan on breeding her in the future and she does lousy this time, don't beat yourself up about it (it could happen to any producer) and don't count her out as a breeder yet. (However if she were to loose a second litter or have very high mortality I would either rethink keeping her as a breeder or re-evaluate your management practices.)


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

Oh and watch that heat pad!!! I had a friend recently that had one in the house and almost lost her house!! A heat lamp can more easily be protected from the sow and piglets (IMO).


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Would a box with a big hole cut about 8 inches from the bottom work? I have blankets and a pillow I was going to put in it because the heat lamp and my extra dry grass hay is going to freak me out. I think she may go soon!

We have just a bit milk and green oozing out from her vulva. I turned her out this morning to clean her pen and she is wandering around the place, sticking close to all the hay bales. I haven't seen her nest at all? That may be because she is locked in a stall though the past 3 days?


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Looking at her I'm wondering if the green is diarrhea? Here are pictures from today.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

LHRanch said:


> Would a box with a big hole cut about 8 inches from the bottom work? I have blankets and a pillow I was going to put in it because the heat lamp and my extra dry grass hay is going to freak me out.


That's why I suggested bedding the area where the heat lamp is (which the mom can't reach) with shavings. They'll pile up less. If you hang the lamp around 16 inches above the bedding, you'll be fine. Just be sure to hang it not only by cord and clamp, but also tie some string around the hanger and secure that to something high. As you know, the last thing you want is that lamp hitting the ground.

Your sow will tear up a box and blankets and especially a pillow in about three seconds.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Looks like diarrhea to me. Definitely not discharge from the vulva. And actually, her udder doesn't look as full and her vulva doesn't look as puffy and loose as I'd expect just before farrowing. I bet you've got a couple days.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

I just thought of something else. You said a box with a hole cut 8 inches from the bottom. One thing you really, really have to make sure of, is that wherever your piglets are safe and warm is at least as easy to get into as it is to get out of. You could have piglets leaving that box full of blankets to go potty, and then not being able to get back in, whereupon they will chill and die. Also, don't expect them to use a ramp. If you set up a ramp, they'll stuff themselves into the corner where the ramp enters the shelter, be unable to climb up there, chill and die. This is the voice of experience. My piglets found more ways to die young than any other animal in my considerable experience. Do not let your sow make "compost" for the piglets. Keep the bedding fluffly for at least the first week, until the pigs are sleek and quick. Piglets without another heat source will burrow into warm "compost", then mom will lay down and wonder in an offhand way what that muffled shrieking is. You'll find out when you clean the pen.  I could go on, but I'll stop here.

Fear of the learning curve is why I decided to start with cheap and readily available potbellies rather than expensive and rare Guinea Hogs. The fear was well-founded, and the decision was good.


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

So this morning I was only able to get 1 drop of milk out of only one teat, now (6 hours later) I can easily express milk out of ALL of them. She has also gotten a bit redder in the back.

She has been nesting now for 3 days (doing my research I finally found out what this exactly was) and in the past hour she has been breathing extremely hard and even having possible contractions? She lays on her sides and pushes about 25 times per minute. Then she goes quiet. Then she gets up, walks in a circle around her nest and re makes it and does it all over again.

I broke the heat lamp this morning (no where near her pen) so all I have is a heat pad and a outside 60 watt bulb above her until one is brought home tonight. 

Based on what I have written should I expect babies soon?


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

Once you see the milk line (notice how there's a 'band' above the teats?), she's pretty close!

Have fun!!!


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Also forgot to add that when she walks around she is peeing/pooping in every corner. When she walks into her nest liquid starts running and/or dripping out.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

You said the light bulb was "above her." Do you have a separate area for the piglets, like I described above? Also, does she still have diarrhea? It's kind of hard to tell whether you're talking about labor contractions or intestinal cramping from your descriptions.


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Yes there is a seperate area for the piglets. Her stools are also back to normal, I think it could have been from the food scraps this morning.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

Please expand on how you neuter one with a hernia?? I neutered one and ended up it had a hernia but I couldnt tell untill he was open already. He healed but he had the hernia. I wish I could figure out how to get that right so I can do it again!


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

*We have 3 boys and 3 girls!​*
There were seven total and the runt died. She was the first born but before I could get to her quick enough Sally's back foot kicked her head so hard it sent her across the stall.  She was the prettiest too, the only one with pink on her little body.

The other survivers are all black, 2 with little white stripes on their heads. Since the heat lamp broke we have 2 100 Watt bulbs with a red infrared heat lamp on it's way - hoping it to be here in about 30-40 minutes. They are all sleeping right now but they shiver every couple seconds... even under the lamp + heat pad. Is this normal? It's about 30 degrees outside right now and will drown to 20 tonight. I will be with them most of tonight to hope and help them make it thru.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

The heat lamp, presumably 250 watts, will help with the shivering. Drop it as close as you need to so they stop shivering. Also, does the heat pad have bedding on top of it? If you can put some deep shavings or maybe some hay (if it's not too close to the lamp), that will break the drafts somewhat and keep them warmer. In fact, maybe pile hay around the heated area so they can dig into it and get out of the draft. They need to be able to get in and out of their area, but that shivering is a killer. Maybe two heat lamps, focusing on the same spot or close? Whatever it takes, get them warm. Lowe's and Home Depot carry decent heat lamps for around $12, and $9 for the bulbs. I keep spares of both on hand.


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

The heat lamp arrived and it was almost an immediate drop in the shivering. It is about 14 inches away from them and they are bedded in a blanket with wood shavings, mom has shavings + grass hay. They still shiver a little but not so much now and they've all gotten up, ran to her and nursed and a few have figured out that when they are done they can go back while the others sit there and sream or they walk circles around her trying to find the entrance. 

Sally, mom, has gotten up, eaten, peed, drank a bunch of water and continued eating after about 4 hours of laying there. I'm pretty sure she has passed all the afterbirth, it came out in four globs, about one per hour.

Is it better for them to get too hot than too cold? I think that when they'd get too hot they would move away from the heat or are they not yet that smart?


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

They'll move away from the heat, though if the lamp's really close they might get a light burn before they figure it out. It sure won't kill them, though, the way shivering will. You should bring the lamp(s) low enough that they don't shiver at all when they're right directly under the lamp. Pretend they're baby chicks. They need that kind of warmth when they're tiny.

I'd put the ones that haven't figured it out back under the light once they've finished nursing. I'd do that a couple of times, to make sure they figure out where it's warm.

It helps to keep in mind that these are tropical animals. The adults have had time to adjust to our climate, but those babies are little hothouse flowers, and will die if you don't provide them with a hothouse. Sure, some folks will get lucky and have some survivors, but if you want most or all to survive, you need to keep them warm. I've heard lots of people say their sow built herself a nice nest outside, disappeared into it, and came out with three or four babies a couple days later. That's dandy, but if my sows were any indication, I'd be willing to bet that their sow had more than three or four babies, and they died from cold or one of a dozen other problems. 

My potbelly sows had between six (first litter) and 13 piglets in a litter.


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

Okay so I've been doing everything right so far...

Another question I had was how long will she act like she is having contractions? The afterbirth passed about an hour and a half ago but she still paws, circles, pushes, and "shakes." When I rub her she calms down but as soon as I stop she goes back at it.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

She'll continue to rearrange her nest for days. I don't know what you mean by "pushes" and "shakes."


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## LHRanch (Feb 5, 2013)

By pushing I mean just like she did when she delivered the others, she rolls on her back, take a breath and literally pushes. She has stopped this and now does it less frequently but still shakes. Defining shakes I mean she looks like she is cold also, like she is shivering. When I put a lamp over her she gets up and goes to her water bowl to drink.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

shivering is normal even in humans. Birthing is quite a shock to the system.


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