So how does it work and how much childcare do we provide. The sow (mum) has a gestation period of 114 days, when she ovulates she can release 20 plus eggs which can all be fertilised, then for a variety of reasons she can lose some in early pregnancy. During her pregnancy we will gradually increase her feed to get her in good condition and to increase piglet birthweight . A week before her due date she will be given her own hut to farrow ( give birth) in. Just before birth sows will make nests for themselves in the huts by neatly rearranging the straw. Birth can take from 2-4hrs and the average born alive is 11.5 although the extremes can be 1 or 20 born alive. For the first 2 days the sow will milk from all 14 teats then will only milk from those being suckled and each pig will have its own teat with the front teats being best and the back worst because her back legs are in the way. The piglet when born is around 2kg and when weaned at 5 weeks is around 11kg to achieve this growth the sow must produce huge quantities of milk for her greedy babes this is done by gradually increasing the feed from around 3-4kg a day (normal rations) to a massive 13kg a day ( like going large at Mcdonalds multiplied up) So there you have a few piglet baby facts.