Oct 8, 2026 12:30 AM
https://www.sciencenorway.no/culture-foo...lk/2718018
EXCERPT: Their udders are different from those of cows and goats, where milk accumulates and needs to be emptied. Instead, a sow releases her milk in short bursts. Only a few seconds pass between the moment she calls her piglets over and the milk becoming available.
“It's only during this short period that you can get milk from the teats, whereas cows and goats can be milked more or less at any time,” says Inger Lise Andersen. She is a professor of ethology and animal welfare at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).
A pig’s teats are also difficult to get hold of, and the piglets have to work very hard to get the milk out. The meat industry wants large pigs with plenty of meat that can be sold to consumers.
That makes it important for pigs to grow as large as possible. The more milk the piglets drink, the more they grow... (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: Their udders are different from those of cows and goats, where milk accumulates and needs to be emptied. Instead, a sow releases her milk in short bursts. Only a few seconds pass between the moment she calls her piglets over and the milk becoming available.
“It's only during this short period that you can get milk from the teats, whereas cows and goats can be milked more or less at any time,” says Inger Lise Andersen. She is a professor of ethology and animal welfare at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).
A pig’s teats are also difficult to get hold of, and the piglets have to work very hard to get the milk out. The meat industry wants large pigs with plenty of meat that can be sold to consumers.
That makes it important for pigs to grow as large as possible. The more milk the piglets drink, the more they grow... (MORE - details)