Weights on 3-week-old babies

[ladyveg]

I want to make sure I´m in line here. These babies had to be weaned at 2 weeks 4 days, and that is when I got them. They are now 3 weeks 2 days. There was originally a litter of 7 from a continually backbred sow (lives with a boar); one was stillborn, two died by the time they were 3 days old. Of the four remaining, the sow is only 5 oz. The three boars are 7 oz., 8 oz., and 9 oz. They are all active and eating and look proportional, but the last time I had babies this age was June of last year. Any opinions on that baby sow at only 5 oz?

[cmtigger]

It seems really tiny! I have two two day old sows who were 4 1/2 and 5oz at birth. I have a one day old who weighed 2 1/2 oz at birth (one of four between 2 1/2 to 4 oz). These were both healthy, strong sows who gave birth.

I am not sure exactly what you should do for the little sow, but I would keep a close eye on her, and feed her well- if she is acting healthy otherwise, she might just be a runt, and always be small.

[kleenmama]

She is small, but if she is active, there is not alot you can do about it. Are they all eating ok? From a litter of 7, they may never get very big.
Usually, the smaller the litter, the bigger the babies. My last litter here was 3, and the one boar was born at 6 ozs. He is now 7 weeks old and 23 ozs. He is a moose.

I have had litters that were quite a bit larger, and a couple of the runts never did get big. Just make sure they are steadily incrreasing, even if only by a little bit each week.

[ladyveg]

I´m going to do daily weights on these little buggers. The sow was up an ounce to 6 oz. on 3/21 so I´ll just keep watching her.