Pot-bellied pig pregnancy

Question
QUESTION: Our potbellied pig had babies on easter morning, and now she is building a nest. The male was with her when she gave birth. Is it possible that they could have bred after she gave birth?

ANSWER: Yes, it is possible. A sow can get pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth, if she is with an intact male. Gestation is three months, three weeks, and three days.

Male piglets are able to impregnate females when they are as young as 8 or 9 weeks of age. A female can, in theory, have up to 3 litters a year with as many as 8 piglets. That's a lot of piglets!

Get the males neutered ASAP, it will take about 30 days for existing sperm to expire or exit the system. After that, the male can be safely kept with the female without risk of pregnancy.

It can be difficult to find a vet who sees pot-bellied pigs. Male pot-bellied pigs are anatomically different from their cousins the farm hogs and a different neutering technique is necessary. There's a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs here http://www.petpigs.com/vet_list/map.html



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QUESTION: we took the males to get neutered when they were a few weeks old. I found a vet who showed us how to do the farmer method. We used a scapel to slice, then pull out the testes until they snapped, then put some superglue on and they were set to go. What makes their anatomy different then the larger pigs?

Answer
The difference is the external inguinal ring in pot-bellied pigs often needs a stitch or two (or in your case, a glue) to close it, after the testicles are removed. In farm hogs this step is not necessary, so it's usually skipped, but it's practically mandatory on pot-bellied pigs, because if the intestines fall out through the open ring it results in a painful death.