ORIGINAL: waiting_for_a_gift
Followup questions: 1. Are cubs born in the den?
2. When does breeding happen?
3. What is the earliest age that a sow can be bred?
I'm assuming the answer to 1. is yes. I'm also assuming that the answer to 3. would be 1+ (after their first winter).
This would lead me to conclude that the sow in the pic is at least 2 years old, hard for me to understand her being that small. Comments?
1. Are cubs born in the den? In the Northern states yes or where its cold and they hibernate.
2. When does breeding happen? Breeding begins late spring.
3. What is the earliest age that a sow can be bred? Earliest they can reproduce is 2 years old. I'm guessing the average age is between 3 to 4 years old. Sows will breed every other year.
This would lead me to conclude that the sow in the pic is at least 2 years old, hard for me to understand her being that small. Comments? Sows for the most part don't get bigger every year like the boars all do. I've shot sows that were 12 to 17 years of age and weighed 120lbs. Not all sows are small though, i've seen sows that I know were 300lbs+. You can't judge a sow by how old she is by her weight, best way is to send a tooth in and go about it that way.