David Pecinovsky, age 8, of Decatur, I11., for his question:

HOW MANY BABIES CAN A HOG HAVE?

A female hog is called a sow. A sow may be mated when it is about eight months old and it will carry its young about 114 days before giving birth to them. Sows usually give birth to eight to 12 pigs at a time, but the number may range up to 27 or more.

Pig is a hog usually less than 10 weeks old. Pigs weigh about two and a half pounds at birth, and usually double their weight the first week. When fully grown, a male (called a boar) will weigh from 350 to 500 pounds and a sow will average 300 to 450 pounds.

Farrow means to give birth to pigs. A few days before a sow farrows, the farmer washes it and places it in a clean pen. The farmer must take special care to prevent the sow from crushing its young when it lies down. Some farmers use farrowing stalls that confine each sow to a small space, but allow the pigs to move about.

Most feed companies make sow's milk substitutes. These feeds make it possible to take the pigs from their mothers at three to five weeks instead of waiting six to eight weeks. Sows that wean their pigs early can have five litters in two years. But most sows have two litters a year. A litter is the group of pigs a sow gives birth to at one time.