A brace of week ago , my wife and I looked at the piglets romp in the pasture and decided : It was clock time to prune . Which is to say , we ’d put off castrating the male long enough and were at danger of letting them get too strong to effectively wrangle for a deeply unenjoyable task . ( This article , by the way , is not about expurgation — it ’s about the capture that come first and dealing with what might be an aggressive sow . )
In our fistful of old age as owners of breeding hogg , we ’ve gotten pretty adroit at catching pigs . ( If you ’ve ever tried to brawl a piglet , you know how empty that claim is . ) We ’ve set up a backbreaking metal gate in the farrow b that chains to a post to divide the barn into two . Another logic gate swings closed to keep pig in the grazing land on the outside of the barn . I work up an escapism doorway in the back of the building a couple of winters ago .
Why all the gates ? Because we ’ve got a mean mom .
The Danger Of An Aggressive Sow
Now , when people say “ belligerent sow , ” they can have in mind two different thing . The first is an arguably incompetent mother prostrate to attack and kill her offspring . What you do with a hog like that is up to you , but I ’d personally be disinclined to keeping her around .
The second kind — the kind of aggressive sow we own — is a fierce guardian of her babies who present a risk only to those who stick a danger to her piglets . This kind of fast-growing sow can pluck up a barn and examine to climb a metal fencing despite her 700 - pound body when she hears her babies depart squeal at the handling of well - meaning young farmers — I lie with because I ’ve seen it , and the image is burned into my brain . Which is why , when one of our assistant block to lock the first gate the other Clarence Day and I saw our mean mama kick into the barn after us , my wife and I utilized that escape door with a pointed importunity .
I know husbandman who can grab a squealing shoat from their sow ’s teat without incident . ripe for them — I’d be minus a hand and maybe more if I tried that . But , for all the planning and worrying we have to do when it comes cut metre , I would n’t trade our mean mum for a passive pig , because that mean mama is a really smashing mother .
When Protective Pigs Are Best
If you ’re release piglets into a pasture — or your sow delivers outside — you might desire this kind of belligerent sow too . Why ? Because , while pigs are generally have it away for deterring predators with their mere presence , a field of infant pigs can examine an resistless temptation for a wily slyboots , loose andiron or other four - legged hunter . And when a thirsty piranha makes its way into the slob pasture , you do n’t want a sow that ’s impassive to a shoat being taken from her nipple — you desire a sow that tries to climb a gate to protect her baby .
In my subject field of pig breeds ( call it a hobby ) , I ’ve find that “ protective female parent ” and “ heritage breed ” lean to go together , which makes sense — pigs better accommodate to pastureneed to be capable to protect the babies they take into the grass with them . And as a steward of purebred Berkshire pigs , I ’ve been told by farmers more than once they wo n’t fire the stock because the mamas are so meanspirited . I get it — I’ve seen homicidal rage in our sow ’s eyes — but I consider this type of belligerent sow worth keeping . You just have to be careful .
Make A Plan
If you breed pigs , you ’ll call for to handle piggy , whether it ’s to shorten brute dentition , administer inoculation , castrate or just give them a once - over to ensure wellness . If you ’ve got an belligerent sow , my best advice is to plan ahead : train a organisation where you could separate your sow from her piglets , locking the mama safely by from you while you pull together up the little I for whatever task you need to perform . chain livestock gate are first-class barriers , as are wooden gates — just ensure whatever you ’re using is sound ( a Sus scrofa can lift telling weights with its beak ) and , you know , lockedbefore you get those piglets squealing .
Remember That It’s Natural
Be aware that the mean mama type of fast-growing sow is just a female pig under the influence of her naturally free post - partum hormone : She might want to kill you today , but she still hump you .
Finally , keep in head that a sow can bear a grudge . The morning following our first time shorten , I tried to pet our sow , as I did every morning , and found my baseball glove inexplicably inside her mouth . She did n’t thrust the baseball glove — it was just a warning — but I considered the lesson learned . Which I why , just the other day , when she chop at me during dawning chores , I knew what she meant : She remembered . And that ’s OK — her piglet danced around her hoof , safe in the protective shadow of their female parent .
“ honest job , mama , ” I said , as I poured a bucket of intellectual nourishment out for her .
I mean it , too .
