Tahiti gave birth to her piglets last night and has turned out to be the worst kind of mother. She had killed three by the time I even got to the barn. It was terrible. I managed to calm her so the babies could drink and we sat like that for a while but the moment I left the pen she reared up and killed two more. In all she killed five.
Molly was roaring from the other side and all her babies were screaming too.
In the end I gave up trying and shuffled the others into their creep and lifted them out to safety.
Now I have seven newborn piglets sleeping in the CloakRoom. In the absence of anything else I am feeding them tiny amounts of cows colostrum with an eye dropper. This morning I will find some sow replacer. They will be fed every two hours for the first few days and then every three to four hours after that. If all goes well and usually it does not.
You need to remember that hand rearing piglets is very hard, they do not do well as a rule. Some of them probably will not make it. Especially as they are starting on cows milk which is hard to digest but at least it is raw milk. And some may have internal injuries from their mothers attack, I don’t know. But they certainly would not have lived long with their mother hunting them down and killing them. It was awful.
Enough of that. We are focusing on raising this little brood now.
Let’s have a look at a good mother pig – while I get busy with the feeding. (I hope I can find some sow replacer close by so at least I know they are getting the right food).
Molly has recovered well and is being a good Mum though I hope there were no injuries in there from last nights disaster. I have not looked yet as it is still dark and they need peace now.
Naturally Tahiti will not be bred again and will leave the farm.
I can hear those piglets banging around in their emergency cardboard box. I hope they sleep soon – poor wee things. Next feed in 30 minutes! I need to get organised and set alarms on my phone.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
116 responses to “A disaster for Tahiti”
I am so sorry. Sending positive energy to you and the wee babes.
oh my gosh- how horrible….so very sad for all.
So sorry to hear this. The pig farrowing thing is difficult, and one I have never been brave enough to try, although it was tempting. I’ll keep to my sheep and goats. Fingers crossed for you and the little ones. Glad you were able to get sow replacer so quickly.
Such a shame, Celi. If there’s one place on The Prairies that will give them the best chance for survival, it’s with you on the farmy. Good luck!
What a nightmare! Breathing a sigh of relief that you and the remaining seven are okay. I will keep my positive thoughts bent toward strength for the littles and peace for the farmy. ❤
how disastrous, for them, and for you and such a whole lot of extra work which I know you won’t shirk and yet, sighing, here in Ecuador.
Ecuador is a pretty good place to be sighing, Joss! c
Oh my goodness, how horrible. I wonder why she did that, is it common? Could the newborn piglets not go wth the other Mum who had piglets recently? You are a very strong woman to deal with this. Nature can be so awful sometimes. Sending you hugs Celi.❤️❤️❤️
It is not uncommon sadly, and the last three I have heard of lately have been herefords – making me wonder.. c
This gives me shivers…do you remember the post when Tahiti was trying to climb up on the pen and you told her she should have been a boy?
Oh yes, thats right – she has always been a bit wild – c
A terrible turn of events when her sister has become such an excellent mother! I just checked back to your posts about Charlotte’s aggressive behavior, almost exactly 3 years ago, and it does seem curious that two of the same breed would become so dangerous after birthing. Could it be hormonal? Or some environmental factor, e.g., the agribusiness farm next door with all the chemicals? I do sincerely hope you are able to get enough rest in between everything else to function until the next helper arrives. I agree with those who said to try the old-fashioned beer treatment until she settles down and do have one or two yourself!
So sorry to hear this, Celi – and can imagine how shocking it was to see this behavior from Tahiti, especially when things have gone so well with Molly. I haven’t read every one of the previous comments, but too wonder if this is, if not typical, at least not uncommon for pigs? Or hormonal in nature? I remember years ago when I whelped my one and only litter of purebred dogs, my girl was very confused as the puppies began coming, and after she was done she was decidedly NOT enamored of them. I gave her a shot of oxytocin, but it took a full 24 hours before she took to them. It was only her obedience to us that she allowed them to nurse – we put her in a down-stay and put the puppies on her to nurse. She growled the whole time they nursed. She would clean them if we held them to her, but she didn’t want to be near them that first night. We left them in the whelping box and slept on the floor nearby, with her – if we’d slept in our bedroom she would have been on the bed with us instead of with her babies. By the next night, however, we had to drag her out of the whelping box to eat, go potty, etc. And she would barely go outside before she was rushing back to the door to get back to them. All this a long-winded way of wondering if something similar could be going on with Tahiti? Maybe some oxytocin injections to kick in those maternal hormones? She must have wondered what was going on, and may even have been frightened of them. Of course, I’ve never kept a pig and know nothing of pig psychology or how they think. I do hope the 7 little survivors make it – if they don’t, I know it won’t be for lack of trying on your part. Good luck to you, and know we are all behind you.
Maureen
Yes, dogs are much more clever than pigs. Tahiti was frightened of them, she associated them with her pain – they were her enemies. But I could not risk losing more to that kind of death. I decided to take them out – sad but the decision is made now. It was the middle of the night too, no vets to come out with a shot, just me by myself and a pig picking up tiny new born piglets and throwing them at the wall, smashing others underfoot, barely born. I calmed her and tried and tried, for hours I tried but to no avail, the moment I took my eyes off her she was at it again. Thank you for your comment though and I am glad your dog gave you a happy ending.
You said that Tahiti hunted her piglets down. Before I had assumed that when piglets died it was because their mother accidentally landed on them, as it were. Does this mean that in Tahiti’s case it was intentional? Is that very common?
Yes it was intentional. It is not common but not rare. The sow associates her pain with the piglets so she kills them. Some even eat the piglets. It is very nasty. A sow can accidentally lie on her piglets but she is a bad mother – a good mother will not even lay down unless her piglets are all clear. They also will not even get up if the piglets are around their feet. I never keep a sow that is not a good mother. It is hard I know but the farm only holds gentle creatures, I am too small to manage nasty animals.
I am totally with you on this. I am slowly weeding out my small flock of sheep to only have friendly ones. I have neither the room nor equipment to handle the wild/feral ones. It’s only me here, and having stock that isn’t wild with fear every time you step into the shed to feed them is a must.
Maureen
Thank you Maureen – I also feel that we should be breeding the good gentle animals – like in the old days – and fear and aggression is not good in a small holding. I do agree. c
Oh I see. I never thought of her associating the piglets with her pain. It is all very complex. I can completely see why you would not keep Tahiti now. It’s a sad business, but ultimately the trust is gone between so many. I hope the other little piglets all do well.
Sorry to be so late! I’ve been up to my eyeballs lately! I wish so much I was there to help. Regular feeding for orphans is what I do. For some reason I have patience with that, but patience for little else in life! I am sending positive energy your way… mostly for the strength to carry out this burdensome task.
Boo hasn’t gotten to play nanny for a long time. I’m very behind on reading, I hope all goes well for you and the new piglets.