I've been having a small battle of wills with our older sow. I'd like her piglets to sleep in the specially built nest under the heat lamp where they won't accidentally get crushed when she wants to stand up and move around. I bed it with straw, adjust the heat lamp so it is nice and cozy, and carefully move each sleepy piglet from the shivery pile at her side. When I return to check on the gilt who is still waiting to farrow I find that the sow has removed the straw from their nest, built up her own inviting nest, and once again has a shivery pile of piglets at her side. So I step inside and move each piglet into my rebuilt nest. Soon the pigs will be old enough that crushing and cold are no longer life-threatening risks. In the meantime I have a steady occupation.
