In this way Clare persistently wooed her in undertones like that of the purling milk--at the cow's side, at skimmings, at butter-makings, at cheese-makings, among broody poultry, and among
farrowing pigs--as no milkmaid was ever wooed before by such a man.
Even the sows--did they droop as they neared
farrowing? Why should a woman be so different?
"With the upcoming farrowing of our mini-potbellied pig, Lady-Bug, we knew we had to build a separate enclosure for her--a farrowing pen.
We wanted to build a secure farrowing pen for Lady-Bug but weren't quite sure how to put it together."--from "Frugal Farrowing Pen"
The committee, which acknowledged the efforts farmers were already making to develop workable systems, said it favoured a move towards well-designed freefarrowing systems but suggested "their commercial development is not yet sufficiently advanced to recommend compulsory replacement of farrowing crates".
There were practical, financial and welfare challenges involved, the report, 'Opinion of Free Farrowing Systems, said, and so retailers and consumers would have to demonstrate their willingness to pay a premium for pork from early adopters.
Commonly, producers program inseminations and weaning to ensure that females start
farrowing, spontaneously or after induction, during week days.
Sow stalls for dry sow and
farrowing crates for lactating sows have been used for about the last 40 years in Taiwan.
The number of sows needed to produce 22,000 pigs from a sow herd of 1,000 sows with a decreasing
farrowing rate is shown in the following figure.
Two sows and 40 piglets perished when flames swept through the
farrowing shed at Grove Farm, Sontley, near Wrexham, just after 10pm on New Year's Day.
COUNTRYSIDE: I raised pigs for 20 years using various methods and facilities from outdoor loose
farrowing, (birthing) two times a year, to totally confined inside
farrowing, six times per year.
There is particular interest in the possible interactions between different forms of pregnancy and lactation housing, since it has been suggested that sows which have been group-housed in pregnancy may experience greater stress when confined for the first time immediately prior to
farrowing, and that this might have adverse consequences for performance (Vestergaard and Hansen, 1984).