New Tamworths (update)

[that's*satyrical]

Eeekkk. Are you sure it's safe to leave them together?? They are barely 4 months old right now & he is already mounting her!! She also is not putting up much of a fight??

 

[Cornish Heritage]

They are barely 4 months old right now & he is already mounting her!! She also is not putting up much of a fight??

Oh he will! They may well play at it but I'm sure he is not actually getting anywhere Once you start raising your own piglets you will notice that the boys start practicing at a very early age. They all stand still for each other - it's quite hilarious to watch. At least you know you have an active boar & one that is ready for action - that is a great sign By the time she is ready he will know exactly what to do.


Liz

 

[mama24]

Goats do that, too. Our little buckling started mounting his half sister when he was just a few days old! LOL

 

[that's*satyrical]

Goats do that, too. Our little buckling started mounting his half sister when he was just a few days old! LOL

True, but you definitely have to seperate the goats for a few months!!!

 

[Hillsvale]

Because they are a breeder pair & shouldn't be bred until 8 months old.

Who told you that? The boar will be ready to breed by about 6 mths old BUT you can rest assured that the gilt will not let him near her until she is ready. She will not usually come into heat until she is between 7-10mths old so you have no fear of him breeding her before that time. Some breeders let the gilt miss the first heat & breed on the second. We don't normally do that unless we do not have a boar the right size for the gilt.

You will find that they are much happier if you leave them together. Pigs are herd animals & need each others company. Right now we are running 7 boars & 17 gilts/sows here. The boars are rarely by themselves, they always have at least one sow for company. (We do not put a boar with another boar! That is asking for trouble - they each have their own pasture.) This makes them much more amiable. If a boar is by himself he has a tendency to be much more ornery & will constantly challenge the fence and if he can smell that gilt in heat he will do whatever he can to get to her.

Of course they are your pigs & you can do with them what you like but my advice would be to leave them together & let nature take its course

Liz

X2

 

[that's*satyrical]

What about when she is ready to farrow? Do we need to seperate him then or is he ok to be with her & the piglets too??

 

[Cornish Heritage]

What about when she is ready to farrow? Do we need to separate him then or is he ok to be with her & the piglets too??

We have never raised Tamworths so I have no clue about a Tamworth boar's temperament. We do NOT have to separate our Large Blacks & nor did we separate our RW's or GOS when we raised them. (All three breeds are known for their docility & laid back temperaments.) The LB boars normally are quite happy to have babies running around their legs & will sit down as gingerly as a sow so as not to squish them. Your first time round will be an experiment for you all - you & the pigs - as you get to know each other & how they react. A gilt is always a little unpredictable as just like humans becoming parents for the first time, nobody is quite sure what to do.

They only reason we separate the sows from the boars is that if we are feeding extra feed to the sows we do not want the boar to be eating all that extra & getting fat BUT our set up is a little different & we are able to keep a sow with a boar at all times as the girls farrow at different times of the year. One way to do it would be to feed them separately & then let them back together for the rest of the day. You really need to "go with the flow" & see how they get along. If he starts getting mean to the piglets then move him out.

The piglets will need a creep feed once they are 10-14 days old - some place they can eat without mum & dad stealing all their food. We have free range chickens & turkeys here so that is nearly impossible for us to achieve so we pretty much free feed both the mamas & the piglets during that time. We put a covered 2 hole feeder wherever they are and although the chickens can steal a bit when the pigs have the flaps open they are not able to lift the flaps themselves! Saying that Martin has two girls that are going to farrow very shortly & they will all be staying together as they have a huge pasture & right now we don't have a spare sow to give Martin. Martin is such a sweetheart that we would not leave him alone. He LOVES his girls. We will bring the girls out to feed them extra in the morning & then they will all go back together.

Liz

 

[that's*satyrical]

I know the Tamworths are supposed to be really good mothers as far as being careful not to lay down on & crush the piglets. I'll have to see if I can find out how they are as daddies. Thanks for the info.