Science: Pigs Without Moms

An infant piglet's life is confused and dangerous, and mom is usually to blame. Some sows eat their young, and many roll on them or trample them to death. Another bad habit of sows is producing more pigs than they can feed properly. The average sow has only eight or ten teats (some of which may not be functioning), and she often farrows as many as 16 pigs. The runts and laggards that don't connect with a functional teat during their early mealtimes are gone pigs. Hunger makes them too weak to compete in later battles.

These difficulties pain hog-raisers as well...

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