Oestrus Cycle
The sow comes into season every fifteen to seventeen days
and the most outward sign of this is the sight of her trying
to mount her companions. However, there is another one which
experienced owners and breeders would recognise and that is
P.M.T.!
There is no doubt in my mind that many of them suffer from
this condition in the same way as their human sisters can.
If you see a sow who is being uncharacteristically quarrelsome
and feisty with her sister sows, ten to one she will be in
season the following day and trying to mate anything that
moves. I have also noticed that the ones who suffer the worst
are those that are the most sexually active when they do come
into season.
The season can last for up to forty-eight hours but the sows
are only likely to be successfully impregnated during the
actual oestrus which lasts from two to fifteen hours. This
proper name for these hours are postpartum but I like to think
of it as 'postapiggy!.'
