# Heat for piglets/weaners?



## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

Those of you who raise pigs- do you keep a heat source going for piglets up to weaner stage? at what age do you eliminate supplemental heat? What kind of temps can a young pig handle?


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## TamBerk (Aug 17, 2010)

With proper bedding and shelter, you don't need a heat source. Use straw or hay and position their hut towards the southeast so it gets sunlight throughout the day. I've had sows farrow in below zero temps and the piglets have been fine. If your farrowing or raising inside that could be a different situation and a heat source might be needed.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

In cold weather, we use heat lamps for our new litters. It is better to furnish heat lamps and save pigs then to lose even one. Even with heat lamps, pigs can get chilled while being born and get caught in the afterbirth. The price of pigs now, makes them pretty expensive to lose. It depends on the weaning size, I would say anything after ten weeks and old could survive with plenty of bedding and a good shelter, but if you have below zero weather, furnish a heat lamp until it warms up.


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

We provide clean bedding and a heat lamp until they are weaned if the temp gets below freezing. We also group weaned piglets together until they are picked up by our customers; more body heat.

Once the last frost is over we only provide heat for the first two weeks or so.


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## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks everyone! I'm getting my first pigs in a few weeks- tamworths- and am getting breeding stock. Last time I had any thing to do with pigs was when I was a kid, and I dont remember much about it of other than buckets of stinky guck that got all over you when you tried to pour it... That, and trying to pet a pig, and it biting my arm and trying to eat me....

After doing as much research as possible, I decided on the tamworth breed out of the other heritage types due to it being a more manageable size, and the are supposed to have very good personalities.
Our pasture is several hundred feet from the nearest power, and that's where we are building the barn, so I won't have a way to heat easily. I'm thinking that I may have to insulate a room for farrowing, and figure a way to put in a portable kerosene heater if its too cold. We generally only hit the mid 20's, and that is for short stretches.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Might be easier just to breed for farrowing in spring and fall.


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## CK25Hulk (Jun 10, 2007)

My Tamworth gilt recently had 3 piggies on the 8th of Feb. I kept two heat lamps going unless the weather got warm over the last several days. Now she only had 3 and I didn't want to take a chance at loosing one due to cold or a simple laps of judgement on my part (could be I'm just paranoid of losing one since this is my first go around with baby pigs after getting out of goats). Most nights are in the 20-30s in Northern VA right now. Days are around 30-50. 

After the first week I dropped back to 1 heat lamp and as of a day or so ago I have left it unplugged. Mama pig does a real good job of making a nest out of hay.

Other thing about Tams is they have small litters. But not necessarily true all the time. I think a previous thread a few months ago a poster said they had 10. My usually luck I'm at the other end of the spectrum.


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## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

My boy and the two girls are both from decent size litters. I have not seen anything about tamworths having smaller litters, sure hope that's not common with them!


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## CK25Hulk (Jun 10, 2007)

I wish I had my pig raising books at the moment but they are on loan to a neighbor right now. If you do some searching you will find they have on average of 6-10 from a sow. From a gilt you might get less (which is what mine was). Here again I wish I could point out some references to back up that statement earlier in a published book. I know they exist. Here are a few online. I don't think 10 is small number but considering the other breeds capabilities I guess it is.... ???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth_(pig) 

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/bounty/170/pigs.html 

http://www.cfagrf.com/Tamworth_Pig.htm


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## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

Great links-thank you!


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

They don't need heat. We're in northern Vermont in the mountains. It gets deeply cold here, which is actually better than wet cold because it is dry and doesn't suck the heat out of you as badly. The key is to protect them from wind and provide plenty of dry bedding. They nestled down in the bedding which creates a warm micro-climate. We farrow our sows in the winter outdoors in open sheds. Lots of hay. In the warm months they farrow out in the paddocks - the easy times.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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