jhm47
True BYH Addict
Whatever.
Question about nipping baby teeth---UPDATE---I am so proud of myself!
- Thread starter drdoolittle
- Start date
Hillsvale
Loving the herd life
everyone has an opinion... everyone is allowed an opinion, doesn't make any one person right or wrong.... its what works for each persons farm.
Lets not get this post shut down.
Lets not get this post shut down.
Royd Wood
New Member
Why would it get shut down as its running a normal healthy course, as you say 'everyone has an opinion'Hillsvale said:
We dont do teeth or tails here but my dad did and it may well have something to do with breeds. My heritage LBs, Hamps and Tams get a little rough at feeding time otherwise no probs, but I remember my dads would be very nasty at feeding time and in general. We run a very different operation than my father but he made money
Our piglets are fine and so far no bites but to be fair with litters of 6 and 5 its not overcrowded around the sow.
Hillsvale
Loving the herd life
Many a post has turned bad with a "whatever" post, its somewhat antagonistic to the person who felt the "whatever" was for them. I was simply pointing out that one person decides to clip and others don't (I don't) if it works for their farm its right for them... there are nicer ways to respond I guess it what I was trying to get across.Royd Wood said:Why would it get shut down as its running a normal healthy course, as you say 'everyone has an opinion'Hillsvale said:
We dont do teeth or tails here but my dad did and it may well have something to do with breeds. My heritage LBs, Hamps and Tams get a little rough at feeding time otherwise no probs, but I remember my dads would be very nasty at feeding time and in general. We run a very different operation than my father but he made money
Our piglets are fine and so far no bites but to be fair with litters of 6 and 5 its not overcrowded around the sow.
animalfarm
Chillin' with the herd
I can see it both ways. I didn't clip the teeth (large blacks). For the most part there wasn't any problem, but in the first week, there were some "nicks" on the piglets. I treated them and they healed quickly. However, one small nick on a shoulder, wasn't spotted and it healed very slowly and there was a lot of potential for a problem to develop. I don't feel the need to clip for this reason, but I would sure be diligent about close inspections daily. If I had a lot of litters at once, I would have to reconsider.
Also, as the litter (12 piglets) approached 3-4 weeks of age, they were getting pretty big and pretty rough on mamma's teats. She was hung like an oversized Jersey milk cow x 12 , and some of her teats were getting sliced and chewed from the jockeying for position. She still has groves in the hind udders from this. I had to wean them at just over 4 weeks as they were to large to feed and mamma was getting too thin. I also didn't want to risk any more damage to mamma as the piglets were only getting bigger and rougher.
From my exerience, I will clip the teeth of large litters from now on. I will probably experiment with leaving them alone if there is a small number of piglets.
My pigs are pasture pigs as well. The only over crowding is from the size of the litter nursing on mom and that is a very real problem in itself.
Also, as the litter (12 piglets) approached 3-4 weeks of age, they were getting pretty big and pretty rough on mamma's teats. She was hung like an oversized Jersey milk cow x 12 , and some of her teats were getting sliced and chewed from the jockeying for position. She still has groves in the hind udders from this. I had to wean them at just over 4 weeks as they were to large to feed and mamma was getting too thin. I also didn't want to risk any more damage to mamma as the piglets were only getting bigger and rougher.
From my exerience, I will clip the teeth of large litters from now on. I will probably experiment with leaving them alone if there is a small number of piglets.
My pigs are pasture pigs as well. The only over crowding is from the size of the litter nursing on mom and that is a very real problem in itself.
Cornish Heritage
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LOL! I loved the statement "oversized Jersy Milk cow." Hah! We have one that is like that now. She only has 7 on her but those piglets (LB's) are the biggest I have seen in a LONG time. We are having to feed Penny extra grain just to keep her weight up.
Not sure whether you have ever considered this but sometimes we have 2 pigs that will farrow close together in dates. When that happens, after a few days, if they are not already in the same pasture, we will put them together to let the sows job share. This really helps the sows - they don't care which piglets drink off of them & the piglets don't care who they drink from as long as they have milk.
I know everyone has a different opinion & I respect that but just remember that even though there may be a risk from a piglet bite to another piglet getting infected there is also a risk of infection if you clip their teeth too. Everything has risk - just depends on which one you choose to take
Liz
Not sure whether you have ever considered this but sometimes we have 2 pigs that will farrow close together in dates. When that happens, after a few days, if they are not already in the same pasture, we will put them together to let the sows job share. This really helps the sows - they don't care which piglets drink off of them & the piglets don't care who they drink from as long as they have milk.
I know everyone has a different opinion & I respect that but just remember that even though there may be a risk from a piglet bite to another piglet getting infected there is also a risk of infection if you clip their teeth too. Everything has risk - just depends on which one you choose to take
Liz
animalfarm
Chillin' with the herd
In my post I stated that I wouldn't clip based on nips as I keep a close eye on them. I will clip for a large litter next time because there was just too much damage to the sow and she would be rendered useless if that happened much more. It would also be bad news if her udders became infected. If you saw the extent of the damage, you would understand. I just have the one sow at this point, so job sharing isn't an option and I still wouldn't take the chance again. Its a matter of weighing risks and in this particular case, the risk not to clip is higher then the risk to clip. I am not willing to sacrifice the sow; her welfare is just as important as the piglets.
Cornish Heritage
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Gosh I apologize if I upset you - that certainly wasn't my intention. Sometimes you just can't convey friendliness in emails - I was not trying to get at anyone.
All the best,
Liz
All the best,
Liz
Royd Wood
New Member
You most certainly didn't upset anyone and cant see jhm being upset
So I've bragged on here that I dont clip teeth but am about to pull boar tusks from 11 day old purebred Large Blacks as both males are now sold and they want em tuskless
Any advice please - like what age ?????????
Congratulations to Dr Doolittle for doing the clipping deed and hope they are all fine.
So I've bragged on here that I dont clip teeth but am about to pull boar tusks from 11 day old purebred Large Blacks as both males are now sold and they want em tuskless
Any advice please - like what age ?????????
Congratulations to Dr Doolittle for doing the clipping deed and hope they are all fine.
Cornish Heritage
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Oh my goodness! Why do they want them tuskless? Don't the tusks grow back? I always thought they did but maybe I am wrong?!
I'm sorry but I just don't get folks sometimes. The whole idea of raising heritage breeds is that they are heritage breeds - i.e. VERY different from the commercial breeds out there. Yes you do have to have to respect these large boars but if raised correctly they are gentle giants.
As I write this I am trying to think how in the world you will remove these tusks. Our son has taken them out of a skull/jaw before & there is more of the tusk inside than what you can see on the outside. PLUS they curve up - they are NOT straight. If you snap 'em off then you will still have left two thirds of the tusk inside. Curious to see how this goes. We have sold a lot of Large Blacks but have never been asked to do this. In fact when folks come to look at pigs we do show them the big boars tusks but also show them how they just roll over for a belly scratch.
Please let us know how you get on with this,
Liz
I'm sorry but I just don't get folks sometimes. The whole idea of raising heritage breeds is that they are heritage breeds - i.e. VERY different from the commercial breeds out there. Yes you do have to have to respect these large boars but if raised correctly they are gentle giants.
As I write this I am trying to think how in the world you will remove these tusks. Our son has taken them out of a skull/jaw before & there is more of the tusk inside than what you can see on the outside. PLUS they curve up - they are NOT straight. If you snap 'em off then you will still have left two thirds of the tusk inside. Curious to see how this goes. We have sold a lot of Large Blacks but have never been asked to do this. In fact when folks come to look at pigs we do show them the big boars tusks but also show them how they just roll over for a belly scratch.
Please let us know how you get on with this,
Liz
