Farmer Focus: New crossbred gilts doing well in all weathers
Rob McGregor © Tim Scrivener I usually steer well clear of that recurring topic of agricultural conversation, the weather – unless there are exceptional circumstances, that is.
I think February is going to have to be categorised as one of those exceptions.
We’ve been getting four seasons in one day, with temperatures ranging from -5C to 15C.
See also: How separate paddocks can improve gilt performance
About the author
I’m an avid user of the BBC weather app, and its reliability is outstanding these days, which is just as well because old-school, folklore-based weather predictions haven’t stood a chance of being anything as accurate.
So, my new approach to being prepared is based on that classic piece of Wainwright wisdom: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”
I now have a wardrobe suitable for all seasons with me or close by at all times, and the stuttering start to spring we are experiencing in the East can be combated with lots of removable layers, head-to-toe waterproofs and, at times, thermals.
Hence, the back of my truck looks like a mobile jumble sale.
Such varied weather doesn’t seem to have troubled the sows, which is a great relief. Last time I wrote, I was about to have the first litters born from some new PIC crossbred F1 gilts.
Things looked good, and they soon started dropping some lovely piglet numbers, wrapping up batch one at 13.2 average born alive.
That’s only half a piglet less than the total herd average across all the sows.
Their temperament remained calm and friendly, and they are probably the easiest gilts to work with I have ever managed.
Now just days away from weaning at five weeks old, they have eaten well, produced loads of milk and managed to keep body condition much better than the pure Landrace animals they have replaced.
For the final 10 days of lactation, we do feed the suckling piglets a slowly increasing amount of creep feed, starting at just 15g a day each. That rises to 40g, making about 300g a piglet in total.
When you consider the litters’ combined weight will be in the region of 130kg at weaning, it makes you realise just how much we ask of the sows and gilts, and why good nutrition, warmth and attention to detail are so essential for man and beast.