Pigs are like humans in many ways . Their heart , for instance , are structured in a similar manner , a fact that surprises a lot of first - time farmer : lock stare with a swine can feel eerily familiar . A pig also has the same digestive system as you and me , with identical thoracic and abdominal organs receiving , processing and annul ingested food .
pig bed dissent from humans — and most other animals , in fact — in that their mothers ’ milk alone is n’t enough to sustain new-sprung offspring . sure as shooting , piglets rush to the teats after birth to derive sustenance from sow ’s milk , without which they would surely die . But sow ’s milk lacks sufficient smoothing iron that , if not redeem in one manner or another , will cause breast feeding piggy to croak . When a piglet is stick out , it has specify amount of the mineral in its body and , unable to receive an adequate amount from mother ’s Milk River to sustain its speedy development rate , needs it from another source .
eldritch , ripe ? Is this an superintendence of female parent nature or a variation from year of cross - breeding ?
Well , neither . The low-toned Fe in a sow ’s milk is no deficiency — it ’s exactly the right amount needed by a pig bear in the natural state . A piglet ’s rootle replete awakens very too soon , causing the small oinkers to root the dirt with their infant noses . And , would n’t you know it , the amount of iron they get out of the filth when they ruin it up with their snouts is just what they need to survive and expand .
Supplemental Iron
The amount of atomic number 26 available in sow ’s Milk River might not be deficient , but neither is it enough for piglets rear on a non - soil base , such as concrete . Because many farmers , small- and large - scale of measurement , opt for this setup , the piglets they raise do n’t have access to much - needed iron until they start to creep feed at more than a calendar month old . Of course , then it ’s too late , as genus Anemia — decrease hemoglobin in the stock — becomes a job long before a shote tries out food .
granger of yesteryear figure this out and remedied the job by delivering iron to newborn pigs .
subsidiary branding iron is usable from farm supply stores in either oral or injectable form . Injections are far and away the most democratic speech method acting , with farmers commonly deliver 150 to 200 atomic number 12 of smoothing iron dextran in either a 1 or 2ml dose three to five days after birth ( it ’s not advisable to do this at nascence ) . expend a 1/2 - in 20- or 21 - gauge needle to present the shot in the neck muscle behind the ear or into the muscleman of the hind leg . It ’s sometimes necessary to repeat once after weening — watch for signs of anemia , such as slowed emergence , pale emblazon around the nozzle and sass , and , in extreme compositor’s case , rapid breathing or scouring ( diarrhea ) .
Breaking Ground
If you ’re graze bull , however , you’re able to skip all that ( unless the ground is frozen , but ideally you wo n’t have babypiglets in sub - freezing temperature ) , as piglets will get the right amount of iron from rooting around in clear , saucy grunge . But , as many farmers favour to provide an indoor environment for farrowing , this ideal scenario is n’t always plausible .
On our farm , sows farrow in a dirt - story b , which provides shote access to ground the right way at giving birth . But the b - floor territory , shade as it is from the sun , does n’t acquire grass and industrial plant that divulge down into a nutrient- and mineral - dense dirt . So , out of an abundance of caution and a commitment to giving our piglets the good startle , I grab a shovelful and a provender bucket , and guide out to a impertinent , unripe man of pasture . I break the grass and pile mound of lush topsoil into the bucket , which I comport back to the barn and dump unceremoniously onto the ground .
Piglets take to the dirt instantly , smearing their faces with the smoothing iron - plenteous grunge . I ’ve since read that this dirt - delivery technique was commonplace for farmers of yore , which made me feel pretty good . In most cases , doing something that ’s already been done is doing something right .
