When do the boys need to be moved?

[anissina]

So I went to the breeder today and there was this beautiful texel and her babies only a week old. We decided to take them and dad was still in the cage with them! So now she is most likely already pregnant again.

What age do I remove the babies? I'm pretty sure its at 3 weeks but she didn't know the exact day they were born. If i'm a few days off how dangerous is it to leave them a bit longer to be sure? There are three boars and one sow so even though mom is most likely already pregnant I don't want their sister to get pregnant. I know I have read all this some where but now I can't find it for the life of me.

[Kayleigh]

Eugh poor breeder...keeping the boar in is very bad practice.

All young boars need to be removed been 3-4 weeks old. If they are a fair size they should be fine. If they start rumbling or attempting to mount then remove them. Id put them with the adult boar for a few weeks if he will accept them. Then take two away to pair and keep one with the adult.

From the sounds of things the "breeder" was a little less thoughtful towards the pigs. Its likely the adult sow is inpig but you will need to wait and see. Ensure she gets plenty of veg and hay as she will need to condition up quickly.

Congrats on your new arrivals.

Kayleigh
Sent from my GT-I9000 using proboards

[fudgeandsmudge]

I had to move my boys at 2 and a half weeks as one of them started to try to mount their auntie who came into season. You just need to keep a close eye out. They did really well when they were moved. Cried for a whole night which was sad but they all kept each other company and got on great. As long as they are eating and drinking from the water bottle they will be fine. I would have loved to have kept mine with their mum for longer but had no choice.

[Orlaith]

I removed mine at 17 days because they were getting really frisky and I didn't want to take any risks. As said above, they cried the whole night (which was horrible) but they got over it and were great friends with each other then.