They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Hogs. My strength is coming from hogs.
Loading black pigs in a trailer, in the dark before dawn, and one went on a little run in the dark, in the rain, in the mud, is not a good idea. Add in the sow started giving birth and Pig-farmer had to leave to deliver the three fat hogs to the processor, pick up meat from the last hog, deliver 1/2 a hog of pork to a friend, and brought home the other 1/2 a hog of pork to put in the freezer. I said to myself, I’m glad this day is almost over! Then, I looked at the clock and it read 10:15 A.M.!! By the time Pig-farmer was home with the pork, I delivered five piglets. All are thriving so far. Whew!
Well, hello friends.
I am in for a relaxing cup of coffee. The coffee I grabbed and gulped earlier while on the run between pig deliveries has worn off. Pig-farmer is on nursery duty now. We are up to six babies.
Here is a sweet picture of Baby Pig #1.
No, those hairy legs aren’t mine. Baby is nestled up between Bernice’s front legs. She is a big sow now, Bernice. There was a long wait between the first and second piglets. I was getting nervous. Pig-farmer was on the phone with me and nervous. Over an hour later, a scrappy little girl came along. Not too much later, a large girl came along with a mighty grunt from Bernice. ‘Yowsa!’ I said and gave Bernice a gentile scratch along her cheek. I think that one had the runway blocked … the others started coming along more quickly.
More on hogs and their amazing strength later. I just made my coffee and am ready to enjoy it.
Just Make the Coffee 
OH WELL DONE!! Now tell me.. how long do you keep breeding Bernice? When will she be TOO big? Though this is probably not the time for that discussion with the dear thing popping out piglets for you .. c
Pig-farmer is on nursery duty now! I will have to ask him about her production future and get back with you. I believe 3 years is a pretty good run with two litters a year. Sometimes, you will see their litter size start dropping and that’s a sign.
hmm, this is what i thought, my hereford breeder breeds them three TIMES then sells the sow and that sounded a bit short.. Poppy is showing all the signs now, so we will breed her in january, (I don’t have a heated room for farrowing).. does january sound about right to you?
Yes, January sounds good. 3 mos, 3 wks, 3 days until farrowing. You would have late spring piglets! Wonderful!
Only 3 times for breeding? Oh, that does seem short to me, too.
I checked with Larry aka Pig-farmer. He hopes for 3-4 years of good quality litters and milk production.
OK, thank you.. good to know.. good for Poppy to know too!! c
“had the runway blocked” made me laugh! You have such a busy life – no wonder you thought it was the end of the day at 10:15 in the morning!
I’m glad you laughed. 🙂 Bernice did not.
I’ll bet Bernice could have used a cup of coffee!!
LOL! I bet you are right!
What if the runway was really blocked? Would you have to reach in there?
YES! That is why I was getting nervous! I feared one might be breach….
What good information and congrats to Bernice!!
I hope today’s cool weather doesn’t bother them too much. We are using heat lamps.
The runway—what a nice way to describe it! Glad all the babies made it safely and that you got your coffee. Yowsa–you deserve it!!!
I’ll be posting a piglet update; hopefully today.
That was a long day! I’m glad you made it to the coffee pot. 😉 You did quite well on nursery duty.
What a wonderful post. I love baby pigs!!!
Linda
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Thanks! Wish you were close enough to see them in person. 🙂