Through selective breeding programs and new innovations in genotyping, the pork industry is constantly looking for ways to produce more, higher quality pork with fewer resources to keep food affordable for Canadians. Dawn Friesen is a Production Manager at Fast Genetics, a Saskatchewan-based swine genetics company. She answers the question: ‘How many litters do pigs have in a year?’
Pigs are very efficient reproducers. Female pigs are called sows and their pregnancies last just under four months – so a female pig can have 2 to 3 litters in a one year period and each litter includes 8 to 12 piglets. The sow gives birth to her piglets in a specialized pen called a farrowing pen. These are the safest place for the piglets after birth and set up so that they can’t be trampled or crushed by the sow or other pigs. Farrowing pens provide a warm, dry environment for the piglets and a temperature controlled environment for the sow to relax in.
The piglets feed off their mother for three weeks until they are old enough and big enough to be weaned from the sows milk and begin eating nutritionally balanced piglet-specific diets. They are then moved to the nursery and the sow is returned to the breeding barn where it is ready to get pregnant within five days after weaning. The cycle then begins again, meaning a single sow can have up to 36 piglets in a year!