Piggy Co-Parenting

The theory earlier this year was that we would turn our heritage Kunekune sows in with our black and white boar Chester so that piglets would be born before lambing…but it didn’t quite happen that way.

As the due dates came closer, we brought a large black sow with white markings into the barn. She had a nice pen all full of fresh straw, and she was happy to be nesty…but no babies. Where were the babies! Then Clara, a brown sow with black spots, sneakily had her litter out in the pen. Kara hollered for help when she found them, we scooped up the babies and brought our homemade piggy transport sled, which is pulled by the ATV, and loaded Clara up and headed for the barn.

The new family happily settled down in their straw-filled abode next to the first pig, and after a few days that black one FINALLY had her litter. It didn’t take long for the little piglets to grow chubby and round with their mothers’ rich milk.

As the family groups grew stable and it was time to clean out their pens, Kara decided to put them together into a larger pen. After just a few hierarchical kerfuffles, they settled into the new routine—sometimes staking out their own corners, sometimes snuggling together.

Heritage Kunekune pigs (a breed originally from New Zealand) are remarkably more laid back than the standard feeder hogs we used to raise. Grandpa called them “barnyard alligators,” and we were nipped at more than once. When picking up piglets at a breeder’s farm, the huge sow nearly cleared the top of the fence, teeth gnashing like a scene from a horror film. We swore we were never going to birth our own pigs! We stuck to that plan until we switched to kune pigs.

Smaller, with shorter snouts that help them graze rather than root, their amicable personality means that not only do we birth our own on the farm, but the process requires no confinement of the sow. With standard meat hogs, often sows are placed into a confining “crate” that keeps her from moving. For an angry sow, this can be vital as she can easily kill a person who is trying to help her, and the crate is also designed to help keep her from laying on and crushing her babies.

We’ve only had a Kunekune sow be a bit snarky during labor on occasion but offering a beer or two poured into a dish has her blissfully snoring and forgetting all about biting (we learned this is an English trick). Kara builds a boarded off corner in the pen with a heat lamp to place the tiny babies, who can’t move out of the way of momma easily at first. Kara lives in the barn for a while, taking the babies out of the corner box to feed, then putting them back, until they are strong enough on their own and she can take down the box. The piglets learn to head to the corner and the light to snooze in peace, then come out when they are hungry.

Mingling the sows and litters together allow them to share a larger pen as the babies grow, and the little ones run about like they are in a racing rink. The mommas now enjoy each other’s company, snuggling together in the straw. Perhaps they even take turns watching the “kids,” like human parents do.

Unlike sheep, which are very protective of who nurses off their udders, pigs seem less picky. Perhaps that’s because they have many more babies at once than sheep do, and keeping track of all of them is less of a priority. Kara has noticed that the boy piglets will feed off either mother, while the girl piglets tend to stick only to their mom. Interesting!

At weaning, the sows will return to an outdoor pen to rest and recover, while the babies will stay in the barn a bit longer until they are bigger and can have their own outdoor house. Kara will keep them in big enough groups to keep each other warm, snuggly in their south-facing house. There will be so many good things for them to eat coming up—bean and zucchini plants we pull from the garden, underripe or blemished winter squashes, turnips, apples, and so much more.

The little chunkers of piglets are so cute to watch as they explore their world. They will grow up to have many adventures on the farm! A third sow just had her litter, which she loves, and there is one white sow to go. Here’s to a happy autumn of healthy piglets! See you down on the farm sometime.