How many offspring are there in a litter?
A litter is the live birth of multiple offspring at one time in animals from the same mother and usually from one set of parents, particularly from three to eight offspring.
When do guinea pigs have their first litter?
Female guinea pigs begin a new estrous cycle shortly after giving birth. The guinea pig gestation period is 59 to 72 days. The litter size ranges from 1 to 8 pups, but a litter of 2 to 4 is more common.
What does litter mean in terms of animals?
A litter is the live birth of multiple offspring at one time in animals from the same mother and usually from one set of parents, particularly from three to eight offspring. The word is most often used for the offspring of mammals, but can be used for any animal that gives birth to multiple young.
When does a congenital defect in a pig occur?
Where nutrition or intoxication is involved, the condition appears in the litters of sows of all ages, when genetic mechanisms are involved the condition occurs in successive litters from the same or related parents and where infection is the cause, the condition occurs once only in the litters of non-immune sows of all ages.
What causes a pig to have a small litter?
Small litters caused by nutritional factors, mycotoxins, semen quality and management factors are not transmissible, but the problem may recur when successive batches of sows are subjected to the same conditions. Breed factors are hereditary.
What happens when you breed father to daughter pigs?
Inbreeding does one thing, intensifies the traits of the stock by limiting the gene pool. Both GOOD and BAD traits are intensified. If you do breed father to daughter, choose the very best daughter from the litter, and cull ANY undesirable trait.
What should litter parity be for a pig?
An average herd parity of 2.5 to 3.0, with over 45 percent of the sows in parity three to six is optimal for overall productivity. The parity distribution that optimizes litter size varies with genotype, management and facility type. 2. Genetics
Female guinea pigs begin a new estrous cycle shortly after giving birth. The guinea pig gestation period is 59 to 72 days. The litter size ranges from 1 to 8 pups, but a litter of 2 to 4 is more common.
