What happens if a sow eats the placenta?
When a sow is farrowing, the farrowing assistance work of the stockperson is only considered complete once all the placentas have been delivered. Sometimes, if they are not cleaned up in time, the sow may eat the placenta. What happens if a sow eats the placenta?
1. What happens if a sow eats the placenta
A sow that eats the placenta will show a brief period of not eating, and may even eat the piglets, so after farrowing assistance is finished, the sow's placenta should be promptly removed from the pen.
2. Duration of farrowing in sows
After a sow gives birth to the first piglet, the other piglets are delivered quickly, one every 5-25 minutes, with farrowing completed in 2-4 hours, and the placenta is expelled half an hour after that. There are also个别 sows in which piglets and placentas are delivered alternately; only when all the placentas have been expelled is the farrowing process considered finished.
After the placenta is expelled, it should be promptly removed from the pen to prevent the sow from eating it, which could otherwise lead to piglet-eating; then use Lysol or potassium permanganate solution to wipe around the sow's vulva and udder to prevent vaginitis, mastitis and metritis, and at the same time clean the farrowing house, remove contaminated bedding, spread dry soil, and replace it with fresh bedding.
3. How to tell whether all the placentas have been expelled
Most piglet placentas have two openings, used to connect with the piglets in front and behind, but the last piglet has an opening at only one end, used to connect with the placenta of the piglet in front.
Farrowing in sows follows a sequence: those near the birth canal are delivered first, and those farther from the birth canal are delivered later, following the distribution order of the fetuses in the uterus, with one side delivered before the other. If the placenta delivered by the sow has only one opening, that indicates that the fetuses in one side of the uterus have been completely delivered; if two placentas with only one opening are delivered, that indicates that the sow has finished farrowing.
We can also check the umbilical cord ties on the placentas to see whether the number matches the piglets born, though in some special cases they may not match up.
For sows, the placenta can promote milk production; after farrowing it should not be given to the sow to eat directly, but it can be mixed into the feed and given to her.