The Korpikarju farm currently has 150 wild boar in an area of 2ha.
Some wild boar sows prefer to farrow in booths made of mesh steel and plywood.
rainy autumn days. It does not, however, seem to bother the animals. Reinikainen says, “We try to keep the pigs in as natu- ral conditions as possible.” That means that wild boar are allowed to be outdoors in pret- ty much the same conditions as they would be in the wild. However, small booths made of mesh steel and plywood are available for farrowing. Some sows use booths, whereas oth- ers prefer to farrow in a more natural nest, which they make by using round bales spread out in the enclosure. Currently there are 12 sows on the Korpikarju farm. The mat- ing season lasts from October to December; the gestation pe- riod is 115 days. The sows farrow once a year in spring, at the turn of March to April, and litter size is usually four to six pig- lets. The piglets drink milk with their mothers until autumn. In captivity, wild boar can live for a long time; Reinikainen
A wild boar is leaner than a normal pig.
says his oldest sows are 12 years old, adding that they are listed to be replaced soon.
Keeping all piglets alive after farrowing The first goal is to keep all piglets alive after farrowing. That requires the farm manager’s skill. Reinikainen says, “If one of the sows farrows before the most dominant sow does, it of- ten happens that those piglets get eaten when they are allowed to run free.” However, once the leader of the herd has had her piglets, the other sows are left in peace as the most dominant sow is busy taking care of her own offspring. On the whole, the sows do not need a lot of assistance during farrowing. Normally the piglets will all be born at roughly the same time. The care of wild boar is quite simple, as the animals live free
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 1, 2021
www.pigprogress.net/ worldofpigs
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