Breeding[1]

            The reproductive cycle of pet pigs is essentially the same as commercial swine. For the sake of completeness, reproduction in pet pigs will be briefly explained here.

Females normally start cycling at approximately 3 months of age. The absence of estrus signs in a pig over 3 months of age should be considered a possible sign of pregnancy if there was any chance of exposure to an intact male. See Chapter 8 for information on appropriate ages for sterilization procedures of gilt and young boars. Normal estrous cycle length is approximately 21 days. The estrus period typically lasts 2 days.[2] If artificial insemination is the chosen breeding method, the female should be checked for standing heat every 12 hours. And during estrus, the female can be breed as much as every 12 hours, typically this works out to 2-3 inseminations per standing estrus. If a boar is used for breeding, it should not be a boar that the female has lived with, or if it is, he should be removed approximately 2 weeks prior to expected estrus period and reintroduced a day before estrus is expected to start. Once the female is standing for the boar, and the boar has mounted, the boar should be observed/assisted to ensure intromission. The sow can come back into heat in as little as 3 days after weaning. The gestation length for a sow is approximately 114 days, as with other species, primiparous dams can be expected to farrow slightly early. Ultrasound and radiography can be used to assess fetal viability and numbers during gestation.