Hog heaven (?)

So much has happened this summer.  I'm not even sure where I left off.  

I think you all know that Bea the American Guinea Hog had her piglets.  Eight of them.  We did not need to give iron shots, or clip needle teeth.  They chose to nest with Mama Bea instead of under the cozy (and dangerous) heat lamp.  (Heat lamps are a leading cause of barn fires).  None got crushed, because Bea carefully lowered herself each and every time to give them a chance to move.  And when she rolled her fat bulk onto her side for nursing, if a piglet squealed from underneath her, she scattered the others in order to get up and stop the squealing youngster from getting hurt.

They grew fat and sassy and at 8 weeks old they still wanted to nurse and not leave their attentive and long-suffering mama.  Watching them scamper in the pasture every afternoon was a joyful event.  They were weaned gradually, since they would be picked up in a gradual timeframe.  Two left mama one week, two the next, and so on...  She still had plenty of milk when the last two left her for their weaning area at 10 weeks old.  

All eight went to their new homes between mid- and late-July.  

Two went to Wisconsin, to a small family farm.  

Two went to our friends Michele and Damon, where those two decided to go on a 2 week long adventure.  They escaped during a thunderstorm, were given up for lost, and showed up in a neighbor's duck house 15 days after they disappeared, none-the-worse for wear.  Smart little pigs!

Two went to a small farm in Marengo.  The little gilt (female) was the one who missed her Mama the most, so much so that I called off the pick-up on a Friday thinking the little pig was sick from the 90+ degree heat.  She perked up when put back with mama, then moped again on the day she was supposed to leave with her brother.  On arriving at their new home (moping didn't work this time!), she perked up and both have been doing great.  

Two went to the petting-section of the county fair south of Milwaukee for the first week away from here, and now have settled in at their new owner's place.

Bea promptly helped the boar (Boris) to escape so that she could um....drown her sorrows?  In the mud wallow.  With a fertile male.  

We were already expecting October babies from Rose, but now I'm watching Bea to see if she's expecting piglets as well.  Sheesh!

Boris the naughty boar was bought a few weeks later by the same farmer who bought the last 2 piglets, and is happily setting up his kingdom with 3 potbelly sows.

The piggy line-up changes continue....

My daughter and her boyfriend brought a new boar prospect back from Kentucky for me, choosing the name "Batman" because he has super-powers....  Well, he held his smelly stuff and didn't stink up their car for 8 hours or so, so his super-powers relate to pooping.  But....he is already being sought-after by a couple of other breeders, because he has a great pedigree that brings great genetics to the Midwest area of Guinea Hog breeders.  I have promised him to a breeder up by Madison, after he makes some quality babies here.  Bea spoiled the timeline a bit by setting Boris free....but we'll deal with that and move on.

One replacement boar was apparently not enough....so I purchased the full brother to Boris from the friends in Michigan who bred Boris, and that young boar has a great name to match his personality:  "Officer Friendly".  Officer Friendly hears me enter the barn and starts talking.  He keeps up a running dialog until I come over to scratch him.  He plops on his rump and waits expectantly, then s-l-o-w-l-y sinks down onto his side for belly scratches.  :)  

Jeff's reaction to the name when I suggested it?  "Well, some people call cops 'pigs', so why not name a pig after a cop?"  I need to get a photo of Officer Friendly devouring a gooey frosted donut.

And....yesterday I picked up 3 pigs that were supposed to be "feeders" (destined to be pork) from friends in Wisconsin who are selling their farm, buying an RV, and packing up their whole family for a year of cross country home-schooling.  

The female hog was so nice that I asked about getting her registered so that I could use her for future breeding.  The farmer was happy to oblige, and insisted that he would not take any extra money for her (she was already priced well below the market price).  

That young girl (gilt) is named Cameo, and....as if to prove that it was the right name for her, she took note of the partially open window in her new living quarters, launched herself through it, and promptly landed for a cameo-appearance in the pen with Batman.  (Luckily no mating took place before I could scramble out there and deposit her back THROUGH the window and slam it shut!)  Maybe her name should have something to do with gymnastics....I've never seen a pig jump like that before.

That's probably enough to start your head spinning, so I'll just leave it at the hog-status for today:

Eight piglets placed, one boar sold, two pregnant mamas, two new boars growing to make their mark on AGH genetic diversity next spring, one new gilt for future breeding, two new feeders, and one feeder barrow who will leave in October for his date with destiny.  

Lots of poop for me to shovel before the snow flies, and that's just the hogs!

Other updates to come soon.... 

Laura

Boris leaves the farm

In the photo, that's Boris in the lead, with roly-poly Bea off to the left and Taffy trying to see what the hogs were so interested in....chokecherries that had fallen and provided good snacking for the hogs.  Taffy didn't understand what all the excitement was about...  

Our boar went to live with some nice new piggy ladies last night.  

He was a gorgeous specimen of his breed....except that one important male part never descended to the position it was supposed to be located.....  He never knew the difference, and continued to live a care-free and rather boisterous hog's life, always friendly and curious, and dropping to the ground in hopes of a belly rub...

Intended to breed register-able American Guinea Hog piglets for our farm, he was not going to ever fulfill that destiny here because of the physical nature of his problem.  

However, he could be used for breeding piglets which would never be registered, even better if he was bred to a sow of a different breed, and the buyer of 2 of Miss Bea's piglets saw him and wanted him for breeding her potbelly sows.  The buyer was made fully aware of his less-than-perfect condition and wanted him anyway.  

(Miss Bea and Rosie themselves may be pregnant with his offspring, as we speak....and those potential piglets will never be registered, but should be gorgeous unregistered babies none-the-less)

Happy ending for Mr. Boris (aka John Hamhock), because if he stayed here, the only thing left for him was....a one-way ticket to becoming little white-paper-wrapped packages in our freezer.

Happy ending for us, because the original purchase price was essentially paid back by his new owner, and we will pick up his full brother (one year younger, same parents) in a few weeks to take his place as head-hog in the breeding program....

 

Laura

Update on Bessie

Finally today, 36 hours after Bessie needed late-night, emergency vet treatment for foolishly eating more than 50 pounds of grain and feed when she broke into the barn, she looks and seems better.  

Yesterday, her sides were lookied as if she was 9 months pregnant

Yesterday, she lay around and munched hay, but only a few mouthfuls and only the good alfalfa.

Yesterday, she grazed some grass and then lay around some more.

Yesterday, she left trails of muckiness wherever she went, the aftereffect of the mineral oil and other liquid that the vet had me pour down the tube and into her stomach while he restrained her.

Yesterday, her bony ribcage was almost masked by the bulk of her swollen belly.

Yesterday, she kicked at her stomach now and then with her back leg, or butted herself in the side with her head.

Yesterday, she still stood with a slightly glassy-eyed look and just wasn't herself.  And I watched her for signs of bloat, just in case....

Today, she is eating grass hay, in addition to the alfalfa hay.

Today, she is vigorously swishing flies away with her tail, and tossing her head.

Today....her sides are the way they are supposed to look.  Slightly bony, ribs showing, like the old dairy cow that she is.

Today, I'm feeling that she will be OK.  :)

The vet should be here later to write up transport papers on a hog that will go to Wisconsin, and undoubtedly he'll want to check on his patient.  I hope he sees the progress that I'm seeing, and lets me know that she should be just fine.

Getting an official diagnosis would be a good thing for more reasons than what seems obvious.

Yes, we will still have our milk cow.  

Even more so, she should be pregnant from the artificial insemination 2 weeks ago.  If all is well, she won't lose the embryo/calf and the pregnancy should continue without incident. 

Hopefully, if she makes a full recovery, she will continue to be productive for us and live to be 15, or 18 years old.  Who knows.  

I'm learning more and more that there's no sure thing in the caring for livestock, no matter how careful you are, they can still do stupid things and cause unexpected trouble.  (That should come as no great surprise!) 

She's a healthy old girl, if she would just stay where she belongs.  

Two nights ago, as the vet was instructing me to pour the mineral oil and magnesium water into the funnel, which poured down the tube and into her belly, I said "It would be really great if I could say 'Now she's learned her lesson and she won't do that again'".  Before I even finished chuckling as I said it, the vet and I both shook our heads and agreed that, if she had the chance, she'd eat another barrel full of grain without stopping to think twice.  Sigh...

Laura

Bessie

Waiting for the sleepy vet to come out on an emergency visit.  Miss Bessie the cow let herself into the barn sometime after 8:30 this evening, and knocked over a metal trash can to get at the "sweet feed" inside, despite the bungee cord that was supposed to hold the lid on, despite having grazed and munched hay all day long....    

She ate about 50 pounds of that feed, at least a full bag's worth, which includes pellets/grain/molasses, and she is now expanding up like a balloon (think....Harry Potter's aunt, when she floats away into the sky.  Well, not quite that bad...).  She won't eat any baking soda (not that I blame her on that one)

No normal gut-noises, no systemic burping or chewing of the cud, and she looks like she did before her calf was born.  But bloat can be life-threatening if not treated.

Luckily, around 10:30 pm, I heard a quacking duckling that didn't get inside the barn with the others.  Going out to see what the ruckus was about, I discovered Miss Bessie munching on straw bales that she'd tumbled all around her.  

Since then, I've kept an eye on her and her symptoms, and finally called the vet when I found a drawing online of "mild bloat", "moderate bloat", and "severe bloat".  If I had any doubt before, that is what proved to me that I needed to rouse the poor vet out of bed.  :(

She isn't lying down in agony so I'm trying not to panic...  I've never seen bloat in a cow before, and it's always unsettling when the new situation occurs and I don't know what to watch for.

I was feeling so proud of the new arrangement inside the barn, too....all the feed barrels in a row, labeled, up on pallets to keep the bottom of the barrels off of the moist concrete.   

I always double-check that door that allows us to go through to the cow area...but I didn't bolt it shut tonight.

I guess there's more to do, to avoid this unexpected turn of events in the future.  The learning curve continues, hopefully with our adventurous milk cow still part of the picture....  

 

Laura