Piglets arriving now!

[Stonehead]

It's sleeting down, so Daisy decided it was time to farrow. She's our newest addition to the herd and as she's from champion lines (and in pig to a champion boar), we have high hopes for her.

We're up to eight piglets so far, and I have to head back out in a moment. But all are strong and doing well.

[snapdragon]

hope they all do well Stoney - what a time to choose!!!

[Mare Owner]

Congratulations! Hope all continues to go well! :)

[mauzi]

Congratulations Stonehead - let us know how she goes. She is a really beautiful sow so I can well imagine you are very excited. Funny isn't it that it doesn't matter how many births you see it is always just as exciting.

We have a litter due in about a week as well and then another a few days after that. We already have orders for as many as we can spare so that is really exciting for us as well.

Let us know how "Daisy" goes.

[glenniedragon]

They look good Stoney, fingers crossed for the next couple of days, more snow on its way by the look of it, stay warm (piglets and you!)

kind thoughts
Deb

[The Hopefuls]

congratulations on your little piglets , they look very yummy!

[Stonehead]

It turns out there are nine - I found one fast asleep under the others when I did my final count last night.



Number three just after being farrowed last night.


Daisy and her litter this morning.

[Annpan]

Wonderful... I must say Daisy looks pooped!!! I hope that heat lamp is keeping them all toastie... the temperature here is dropping fast, I guess it is there too.

How are all the other piglets and mums doing?

I love to hear your piggie based tales

[Stonehead]

I love to hear your piggie based tales

We've been out tagging weaners yesterday and today. We did four in the mud, slush and wind yesterday (the two from Dolores's litter, plus the two smallest boars from Doris). It was a very, very mucky job.

First, I had to chase and catch the piglet in calf deep mud. Then I havd to hold it one-handed, while using the other hand to notch the ears in the right number pattern.

Then I'd pass the notcher to the Other Half to dip in antiseptic, while she passed me the iodine spray to squirt on the ear notches.

While I was doing that, she'd insert the two halves of the ear tag into the tagging pliers, dip that into antiseptic and pass it to me in exchange for the iodine.

Then I'd clip the tag into the left ear. It takes a lot of force, in two stages. First, to pierce the ear cartilage. Second, to clip the halves together. This is all one-handed as I was still holding the piglet.

I'd swap the tagging pliers for the iodine and spray around the hole through which the tag passed.

Finally, I'd release the piglet, scrape off any dung that had fallen on my overalls or inside my boots, and then catch another piglet.

A further complication was that I had to catch the right pig. Boars get done first, then gilts (that's the pedigree system, not sexism!). I prefer to tag the birth-notified piglets first, while the pedigree ones are done last.

By the time we'd done four yesterday, we were well chilled and darkness had fallen so we left the other nine for today.

The piglets co-operated more today. As we've had about five inches of snow, they didn't come out of their hut so I was able to sit on the straw just inside the entrance and catch them easily.

On the downside, piglet squeals are much, much more intense inside a hut!

Still, they're all done now and their birth-notifications have gone through. I have two gilts selected for consideration for registering in the handbook, but I'll let the buyer decide which one he wants when he comes over tomorrow. (I can register her online while he's here and then transfer ownership to him, also online. It makes life a lot easier.)

We have 29 pigs at the moment, but will drop back to 21 by the end of the weekend and still have three weaner boars to sell. (Nine weeks old, £45 each, Berkshires, Aberdeenshire.)

Halfpint and Sleepy, Doris's two smallest boars, are being spoiled at the moment. They're growing well, but we decided they'd do better without having to compete for feed.

They've come into a spare pen in the byre, where they contentedly burrow into a pile of straw under a heat lamp (necessary as there's only two of them in a stone building). The lamp is fairly high up and is just enough to keep them warm.

They're loving having their own bed and breakfast!

Is that enough of a piggy tale?

[Green Rosie]

New Year ..... New Life .....Wonderful

[mauzi]

Stoney I did have a good laugh at your fun in the mud. Could relate to that one. Congratulations on your new additions. [/b]

[Cassiepod]

A great piggy tale indeed. Glad to hear the bad weather wasn't a problem for mum and piglets.