Delilah, the Berkshire gilt, moved into the completed maternity ward today. She's due to farrow from Monday onwards and as the temperature has dropped well below zero of a night, we decided it was best for her and the piglets to come in.
The creep in the corner has a heat lamp above it and will have a wooden floor to keep the piglets off the concret. It stops the sow rolling on the piglets and gives them somewhere warm and dry to sleep.
We've also put a 500w work light in on one of the rafters, so that there's plenty of light in case of emergencies. The creep can be accessed from outside the pen (to the right). There's also a shallow but long trough along the front of the pen, to prevent the piglets drowning as can happen with big outside troughs.
When she's farrowed, she and the piglets will stay in for a week or two depending on her condition and theirs before going out to the insulated pig hut until they're weaned.
but yes I agree it's pants and having just had a 'late' baby really unfair the amount of pressure you get from the midwifes etc. makes you feel like somethings wrong with you
((