Breed bigger boar to smaller sow?

[LexsPeeps]

I have 3 potbelly pigs, one is a boar who is smaller than my sows I have now. He weighs around 60 lbs and I have an oppertunity to get 2 more females BUT they are smaller than he is and are around a year old. The lady says they are Julianna/Potbelly crosses and weigh about 10-20 lbs, she never saw the parents. Would it be ok to breed them to my boar or would the babies be to big for them to carry? I understand the weight of the boar could sometimes be an issue as well. Fairly new to breeding pigs

 

[wyoDreamer]

That seems like a very big difference in sizes.
I think you are right to be concerned, however, I know nothing about breeding pigs.
You may want to post this to the sister site: Backyard Herds. I am not implying that there aren't people on BYC that know pigs, but Backyard Herds is a fun site also. The link is down at the very bottom of the page.

 

[LexsPeeps]

I posted it there as well when you google the question you get so many mixed answers, I'd feel much better making a decision talking to people on here or backyardherds

 

[RiverOtter]

I have bred mini potbellies (defined as being less than 70# full grown/3 years) for 7 years now.

Don't breed any sow who is less than 45# at over a year old. And I don't mean a pudgy 45 either, we're talking a lean, fit, svelte 45.
Tiny pigs are not the hardy, easy to breed animals their large brethren are. A gilt MUST be over a year old, and she MUST be a bare minimum of a healthy, muscled 45# or there is an incredibly high chance she will die.

To make it worse, they don't die right away. They usually live long enough to have the litter (which might be stillborn) and then they will die of internal damage, wasting away over several days or weeks.

A big part of why tiny pigs are so expensive is when I want a breeder, I will raise 2-4 sisters to a year old to choose one to breed. The others (which I did NOT make any money selling as piglets) get GIVEN away or kept as pets (adding them to my feed bill for life)
The sister that makes the cut will be a nice, healthy, fit 50 pounds or a bit more at a year, and then I usually wait another 6 months to be on the safe side before I breed her, so she'll have her first litter just a bit before she turns 2.
I'll breed this larger girl to the smallest boy I can find (My current boar is about 38# at 22 months) and my average litter size for these bitty girls is 3-5. And to be on the safe side, it's best to give her a year off before her next litter.

To compare that, my regular size potbellies (150 - 250 at 3 years) will breed at a year and one just gave me 10 piglets. And, like farm type pigs, she'll have 3 litters in 2 years and be just fine.

So, no. Your 10# new girls, while they're probably closer to 30 on a scale, are probably too small to safely breed ever to any size boar. And especially if they've been "feed limited" to "encourage" them to stay small.

 

[The Moonshiner]

You'd have to give some more info.
If you're asking about breeding a 60 lb boar to a 10-20 lb sow then of course that's crazy to think it would be a good idea. 3 to 6 times the sows size? Ya that isnt a good plan.
A few things. How old is your boar? Big difference in a 60lb 3 year old compared to a 60lb year old.
Same with the sows. At a year old they are no where near full size. Where you planning to breed now? Or willing to wait another year and see what size they are?
You'll also have to see what they actually do weigh. There's quite the difference in 10 lbs and 20 lbs plus the fact that most 10-20 lb pigs are actually 30 lbs or more.
Really no way to answer without knowing more. If your boar is actual adult size and these sows weigh a bit more then told and you're willing to wait then by next year they may be a lot closer in size and might work for you.
I personally never breed a boar to a sow that is smaller then him at time of breeding and I don't breed any young pigs. Pigs can breed really young. Males can easily at 9 weeks. Always better to wait a while so you know what size they'll really end up.
If a male is young and small he could still have the genes to be a fairly large boar so not good idea to think just because he's small now that it would be good to breed him to a small female.
From the other posters reply. There's no rule about what weight a female needs to be. I agree they need to be mature but you can't set a certain weight for all little pigs.
Sounds like with their program that they're right on track with where I would be but my pigs aren't the same.
I hate labels on little pigs so I'll just say I raise little pigs. Julianas. They are lucky to ever reach 45 lbs. Most don't get over 35 or 40 and not close to that till they're 3 years old. I can't wait till sows hit a lean 45 lbs because they never do.
And to add my pigs seem to be very hardy. They're easy keepers and I never have problems with them. Way healthier then dogs in my opinion. I've raised them for years and have never lost a sow from breeding. Never lost an adult to anything.
Have lost one very young piglet to unknown causes once and have an occasional still born. Mine have had litters from 4 to 11 piglets. Seem to average 6 to 8.
Now I'll attach a couple of my favorite piglet pics just cause piglets are too cute.

 

[Birdinhand]

I don't know about the genetics and good vs bad combinations, but my word of cation comes from breeding pigs when I was young. we really only had one option for a boar, he showed up on the back of a pick up truck and was something like 300 lbs. my dad got a little too ambitious with a young saw one year and it turned into a bit of a nightmare. she was too small to bear his weight and we probably left them together for too long but he broke her hip. I don't have weights but he was easily twice her size. she ended up having to mend her hip while pregnant, it was not a good scene. so, these were large pigs, not little, but size differential can go badly beyond a point.

 

[Birdinhand]

duplicate

 

[RiverOtter]

From the other posters reply. There's no rule about what weight a female needs to be. I agree they need to be mature but you can't set a certain weight for all little pigs.

Moonshiner is correct - my advice is not true for ALL small pigs, it was specific to those of Potbelly type, as you specified potbellies. Potbellies have different proportions of intestinal length (yes, I have butchered some and this is actually not a myth!). They were bred for this for centuries for a high-fiber diet, which is why you feed them a bit differently as well.
But sadly, this gives them less room inside (and gives them that potbellied appearance) and the smaller ones are harder to breed than other pigs.

 

[dainerra]

as a rule of thumb for breeding ANY species, it's best to not have a smaller mother and a bigger father. If there is a size discrepancy, best to have the opposite

 

[LexsPeeps]

I didn't think it would be a good idea to breed a bigger boar to a small sow, but the lady was saying it would be fine and when I googled it, some said it was okay, others said no way. I know with other animals its best to have a smaller male at full grown to breed to a female and as I'm fairly new to pigs I didn't know forsure where that stood with pigs. I really appreciate y'alls input. My boar is only a year old so he still has some growing to go, I saw his parents and his dad wasn't very large and his mom was at least twice the size of his dad. But this lady knew nothing of those 2 females background or what their parents were like. I passed on the offer as I didn't feel like it was a good idea, but still wanted to ask as I was curious to what others think about the situation.