What are the common signs before a sow gives birth?

Among all livestock animals in China, pigs have the largest farming scale. Pork is a type of meat with the largest annual consumption, and it is indispensable for many people at every meal. When raising pigs, we should pay attention to observing the growth status of the pigs and do a good job in management. Especially during the farrowing period of sows, we need to clearly understand the signs before a sow gives birth. So what are the signs before a sow gives birth? Now let's take a look together with the editor!

I. Signs before farrowing

The gestation period of a sow is generally about 4 months, and a sow will show many signs before farrowing. As time goes on and the fetal pigs continue to develop, the pregnant sow will first undergo many physiological changes. For example, the udder gradually swells, the birth canal becomes increasingly relaxed, and the reproductive area gradually becomes red and swollen. These are all signs before a sow gives birth. The judgment should mainly be based on time:

1. Half a month before farrowing

When a sow is half a month before farrowing, signs will begin to appear. At this time, the sow's udder will gradually swell from back to front, and there will be a relatively obvious boundary between the base of the udder and the belly. Then, one week before farrowing, the teats will begin to gradually separate to both sides in a splayed shape.

2. Five days before farrowing

Then, five days before the sow gives birth, the udder will show obvious changes, swelling rapidly and appearing red and shiny. Gently squeezing the rear udder will cause a small amount of milk to flow out.

3. Three days before farrowing

Then after another two days, when it is three days before farrowing, all of the sow's movements will become very steady and cautious. The temperature of the udder gradually rises, and the teats begin to secrete milk.

4. One day before farrowing

On the last day before farrowing, the milk secreted by the sow will become very thick, mainly yellow. The sow's vulva gradually swells, with a red-purple color, and mucus will gradually be secreted from inside the vulva. After 10 hours before farrowing, the sow frequently lies down and gets up, is restless, and the external genital area is swollen and red.

5. Two hours before farrowing

In the last two hours before farrowing, the sow shows extreme restlessness. Breathing is very rapid, it keeps walking around, and urination is relatively frequent. Light yellow mucus will flow from the vulva. When the sow lies on the ground with limbs stretched out and the straining contractions gradually become shorter, amniotic fluid flows out, and the first piglet can be delivered.

II. Duration of sow farrowing

The farrowing time of a sow is generally not very long. Under normal circumstances, the farrowing time of a sow is generally about 3-5 hours, specifically depending on the number of piglets born. Generally, the interval for the delivery of each piglet is about 10-20 minutes. If the delivery time exceeds 6-8 hours and the average interval reaches more than 40 minutes or even longer, then this situation indicates that the labor process is too long.

The above is a brief introduction to what signs a sow shows before giving birth. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!