Pig Farrowing Calculator

How to Use This Calculator

Select the date your sow was bred or artificially inseminated. Choose your breed from the dropdown for a slightly more precise estimate — most breeds farrow right at 114 days, though Berkshire, Tamworth, and Large Black run about a day longer on average. Click Calculate Due Date to see the expected farrowing date, the full normal range, and a milestone timeline covering pregnancy checkpoints and farrowing prep.

Pig gestation is one of the more consistent among livestock species, so a known breeding date usually gives a reliable estimate within a day or two.

Farrowing Crate Setup

Move the sow to the farrowing crate about 3–5 days before her expected farrowing date so she has time to settle into the new environment before labor.

• The crate should confine the sow's body movement, reducing the risk of her accidentally lying on and crushing piglets — a leading cause of piglet mortality in loose-housed systems
• Provide a piglet creep area along the sides of the crate, outside the sow's reach, where piglets can nurse and retreat safely
• Add a heat lamp or heating pad in the creep area only — sows prefer cooler temperatures (60–70°F) while newborn piglets need warmth (85–90°F) for their first days
• Use clean, dry bedding and ensure the sow has continuous access to water — she'll need significantly more during farrowing and lactation
• Clean and disinfect the crate before move-in to reduce disease exposure to the newborn litter

Signs of Farrowing

• Udder development: the udder fills and enlarges starting 2–3 days before farrowing.
• Milk let-down: being able to hand-express milk is one of the most reliable short-term predictors, typically appearing 12–24 hours before farrowing.
• Nest-building behavior: even sows in a crate will paw at and arrange bedding, a strong instinctive behavior right before labor.
• Vulva swelling and reddening.
• Reduced appetite in the final 12–24 hours.
• Restlessness — repeated standing and lying, tail twitching, and general agitation as contractions begin.

Piglet Care Immediately After Birth

• Dry each piglet with a clean towel right after birth — chilling is a leading cause of early piglet loss, especially in cold weather.
• Ensure nursing within the first few hours. Colostrum intake in this window is critical; assist weak piglets onto a teat if needed.
• Dip or spray the navel with iodine to reduce infection risk.
• Clip needle teeth if your operation practices this, to reduce injury to the sow's udder and littermates.
• Iron injection around day 2–3 of life — piglets are born with very low iron reserves and sow milk is a poor iron source, so an injection prevents anemia during rapid early growth.
• Tail docking, where practiced, is typically done in the first few days of life alongside needle teeth clipping, using a clean, sharp tool or cautery method to minimize bleeding and infection risk.
• Consider cross-fostering for large litters — moving piglets between sows to balance litter size against available functional teats.
• Monitor for the runt or weakest piglets in the first 24–48 hours, since they're at the highest risk of failing to nurse adequately.

Why Colostrum Matters

Piglets are born with almost no antibody protection of their own — the pig placenta blocks most maternal antibodies from crossing before birth, so colostrum is essentially their entire source of passive immunity. The gut's ability to absorb those antibodies drops sharply after around 12 hours and largely closes by 24–36 hours, which is why getting every piglet nursing within 6 hours of birth at the very latest — sooner is always better — is one of the single most important things you can do for litter survival. Piglets that miss this window face substantially higher risk of scours and other early disease.

Creep Feeding Schedule

Starting creep feed early gets piglets accustomed to solid food before the nutritional stress of weaning, which reduces the typical post-weaning growth dip and digestive upset.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & References

• USDA — Swine production data
• Penn State Extension — Swine reproduction and farrowing management
• Merck Veterinary Manual — Porcine reproduction and neonatal care

Related Calculators

Related Reading