Tough Little Beasts!

Hi there, just a quick one this week, an update on the piglets.

Despite the harsh conditions four of them made it, having endured ice, rain, and snow in temperatures down to 7°. An emotional rollercoaster and the ultimate in remembering your mistakes. When your sow farrows in a nest in the middle of your field there is very little that can be done. She won’t move and I didn’t even want to try as I felt it wasn’t the time for extra stress. I brought in extra bedding and kept feed down to make her as comfortable as possible, including banking the hay up very thickly to the North and North East of her to keep the wind off. Yes, there were losses, keenly felt by us and i’m sure by Ruby; but farming is hard and I have to stay positive.

The weather has now changed for the better, today is going to be 66°, and they are climatized to the cold. Now a week old they are mobile enough that Ruby led them up to the pig house on top of the hill displacing the soon to farrow Genevie. Genevie’s date is March 22nd and we WILL be getting her in the farrowing shed around the 16th. I’m not going through this again!