pot belly pig pregnancy

Question
my pb pig bella looks very close to having her babies how can i tell when its timedo i help her or let nature take its course and can i hold or touch the babiesor will she reject them or kill them if i do these are going to be my first and last grand pigs and i am a nervous wreck what about dad do i separate them will he kill the babies   HELP!!!!!

Answer
Pot-bellied pig pregnancy is three months, three weeks, and three days. A "milk line" might form, as her teats swell in preparation to feed the babies. Often the first sign of labor is restless nest building.

If Momma is not too young she will not reject her babies, in fact, she may be very protective of them. When piglets are born they choose a teat and that is the only teat they will nurse from. You can wipe the babies off when they come out of the birth canal, but let them choose a teat on their own.

Make sure Momma pig expels the after birth. If she is stuck in active labor a long time, she may have a breech baby, and need to see a vet. If Momma pig is not acting healthy and normal a day or so after the birth, she may have an infection and need to see a vet.

Piglets need warmth, a lot of it. Temps should be about 95 degrees for newborns. Often, babies will snuggle so close to Momma in an effort to stay warm that they can be accidentally crushed. You can prevent this by setting up a "creep area", a spot heated by heat lamps but separated from the adult pigs by a barrier that only the little piglets can creep underneath. The babies will come to Momma for food and play and sleeping, then head back to the creep area to warm up when they feel chilly.

Daddy pig will not intentionally hurt the babies, but if the babies aren't kept warm enough, he could accidentally crush them when they try to snuggle too close. A bigger problem with keeping Daddy pig there is a post-birth mating that could result in a second, immediate pregnancy and more babies in less than 4 months.

If you don't already have an emergency vet to call if something goes wrong, now is the time to look for one. There is a list of vets at www.farec.org along with lots of informative articles.