A new chapter in the pig adventures

You might remember last year when AR bought a bred gilt, well he(we) enjoyed it so much that we have decided to raise pigs for show.  Since making this decision we have learned quite a lot about breeding pigs, for instance they are fed 4-7lbs of grain per day so that they don't get too fat.  Turns out that if they get too fat it can make it hard for them to get pregnant and if they do get pregnant it can make the birth difficult.  I cannot tell you how many questions we've asked over the last few days to breeders from Indiana to Texas.  I am impressed by how friendly and willing to help most seem and it really is heart warming to see  how passionate they all are about their pigs.  A great resource we have also found is showpig.com oh and WOW the AI world of pigs is amazing, people pay a small fortune for the "right" genetics.   Well, right now we're playing the waiting game since we lost our boar we will be looking to see if the sows come into heat over these next couple days.  They were AI'd last month but she was not certain if it took.  We have a line on several boars at this point and we are looking at some options for the pork side of the business too.  Ahh, so much to do, so little time.

Taking the hogs to market

There is a lot of preparation that goes into taking hogs to market, for one thing how to get them into the trailer without much fuss. For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while you may remember our adventure with this last year. This time we didn't just have one to get in but several. I was not up for that battle again, nor was dh. So this time we started working out the plan and discussing it at night before bed. For months we discussed the logistics of each idea, pigs aren't like cows and will not walk a given path without a fuss. In fact, the minute they discover that you're moving them in a certain direction they make it their business to go in the opposite one, they are smart little guys.

One night, during one of my pregnancy induced insomnia, it hit me; why not back the trailer up to the back doors and just let them walk in? It sounded so simple and logical, it was crazy enough that it might just work. Now the thing about planning is that sometimes you need to be at a site to make the plan and sometimes being there limits the possibilities that you can see. In this case it was a bit of both. In the past we had tried several different ideas to get the pigs loaded, they all failed, but we were trying to plan on site and couldn't see any other way. This time we weren't there and the possibilities seemed much better.

Like all good plans, things will need to be tweaked once you begin to implement it. So the plan was to get the trailer backed up to the doors, then distract them with food and open the trailer door inside the barn, to make for easy closing. We would lure them in with more food. Well we got out there and finally got the trailer backed up to the doors but there was no way to swing open the door inside the barn as planned. Thankfully, we took the time to walk through the plan on site rather than flying by the seat of our pants (see we're learning). Dh decided that the best coarse would be to get the center gate off and let them walk through it, not a bad idea except that get the gate on and off is difficult because it is rusted and a bit warped. It wasn't perfect but it would have to work because this was the best plan we had.

Dh pounded on the gate to get the rust loose and finally pried the gate off. We opted not to move the t-post in front of the barn door. He opened one of the barn doors and it was clear that the t-post needed to move so he pulled on it (bending the post, gosh is he strong) giving them a clear path into the trailer. I stood in the opposite space keeping them from straying and AR was at the front throwing in the day produce. As I said, it seemed so crazy it just might work, and it did. They munched happily while dh and I worked on getting the center gate back in place, it took a little effort but it went in. :) They pushed on the door for a bit and then went back to eating.

This morning the little darlings went to market and will be in their new freezer homes in 2 weeks. Now begins our search once more to find new piglets, we hope to eventually have 2 litters go to market each year but for now we keep growing and learning. The farm will be awfully quiet now that the pigs are gone.

In other news: JM is doing very well and has gotten each of his siblings wrapped around his tiny little fingers. AR is a teenager now and was blessed to have 2 celebrations for his big day. HG is counting down to her birthday this weekend, she is getting to be such a little lady. If you remember please keep my mom in your prayers as she goes in for surgery next week. She is so far away . . . it is hard not to worry. :( We hope to see her soon. Well, that's all for now, check back soon for changes and updates :)

*Photo credit: Thanks to Sugar mountain farm for a great comprehensive pork cut chart. :)

Sorry I've been so quiet

There is so much I'd like to say but can't . . . shouldn't. :( So much is going on and all I can do is ask for your continued prayers for our family.

Small farm update: Twitchy was hit by a car, Spunky was sold. The big pigs will be going to the butcher next weekend. Cows are on total lock down with hay and chickens are yet to be butchered. The trials of this summer have not been a result of the difficulties of farm life, more like the difficulties of small town living. I hope to look back on this summer (now moving merrily into Fall) and laugh but for now it seems unlikely (not impossible).

Baby update: JM is doing very well, he is much more awake and alert this week and has recovered very well from his bout of Jaundice. The local dr seems anti breastfeeding but we are taking it a day at a time. My little man nurses like a champ even though he is petite. He will go back next week for another weigh in.

Birthday season is upon us once again. AR is going to officially be a teenager next week and HG will be 7. We are all excited. We will do all that we can to make it special for them both. We are scheduled to see some friends next week so they are very excited about that too :)

GH is adjusting very nicely to JM, she loves to give him kisses and hugs. She is also acclimating to her new bed. Though she is not too thrilled about it yet.

Please keep my mom in your prayers also as she will be going in for surgery in the next two weeks. Thanks

What a day!

Well I didn't feel well this morning, the day grew progressively worse as it went on, including a delightful visit from the 2 Sheriffs who came to check out a call they received. I thought maybe I had an animal out or something of this nature, but it was much worse, someone apparently felt my children lack proper supervision and (the funny part of the allegation) I don't mow my lawn. Ok, I am guilty of at least that, I like to think of it as native . . . at least that's how I resolved it in my head when we couldn't find a riding mower that could handle the job and couldn't afford a commercial one. Now as for the proper supervision part, the officers were not too sure what more someone was expecting considering that most days a week the kids are home with both parents, there aren't a whole lot of kids these day that have the luxury of that. Since we don't own a tv it means we are "forced" to interact with them as there isn't something for them to really be glued to for long. Maybe the problem is that we spend too much time with them . . . that must be it. The silver lining of the day came a little later when we were able to sell the last of AR's piglets. He has made back more than he invested and is thrilled. Hopefully mama will be bred back soon and he will be on to his next litter. :) We may have a buyer for Eva, so we'll see how that pans out. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Spider Who?

Name this spider please, he is currently hanging outside one of our windows. Has anyone else noticed how much bigger the bugs are in the country? Seriously and what's up with this web pattern?

on a side note: The feeder pigs are finally ready to go to new homes. We have relocated them to the trailer.

Missy looks to be pregnant, we'll soon find out. Pinky and Mama do not seem to be able to get along :Read Pinky is a real . . . Pig, lol: Soon we'll know who's preggy and whose not and will have lots of bacon and pork chops, lol.

Don't forget to enter our giveaway.

Life with pigs

It's a constant adventure. We have gotten to the point where we check on them hourly. Don't get me wrong, except for the unfortunate winter potatoes and corn plants incident, they haven't done any real damage. They really should be pastured fulltime, the longer we keep pigs the more I am convinced they need wide open spaces to graze. Mama and her babies love to roam, they even like the wheat field across the street. Theyre not above eating roadkill either, apparently armadillo tastes good even with tires tracks. 1 piglet - the only boar, has a pinched nerve so he shakes his head a lot, another got stepped on by a cow and is paralyzed from the waist down, boy can she move. Mama and babies love to nurse in the open grass, the babies fight for position most of the time, lol.

Side note: IL has laid claim to miss kitty and carries her like luggage, lol.

Mama pig took the babies for a walk

For some reason Mama pig has become impossible to contain. This evening I woke dh up to do chores before going in to work and not 5 minutes later a stranger pulled up to the house. Mama had taken the babies for a walk by the highway 8| AR and DH rushed out and got them back in the corrals. Mama has trampled and dug up my garden over the past few weeks :(

Black Jack, Missy and Pinky have had to be locked down in the corrals as the dug under the fence of their old pen :( Missy seems to be the only one that minds, and has assisted Dh in finding all the weak spots. :roll eyes:

Dh is looking for a part-time 2nd job to help catch us up on bills, as am I. No leads yet. I am thankful to have my swagbucks to get amazon gift cards for books for the kids, it is a life saver with 3 kids b-days in summer and 3 in winter.

The cows decided to press their luck last night and rush Dh as he entered the gate, since it was dark their little escapade cost us part of the electric fence :( Dh worked a double shift today so we'll have to assess the damage Wednesday or Thursday.

The kids and I are having loads of fun this summer, focusing mainly on Religion, Math and Reading

It's a . . .

Baby #7 is a BOY :) Our pattern continues, lol :) We are all really thrilled, though I will need to work on getting boy things again as our last boy just turned 5 last week :)

In other news the meat sale was a hit, 4/5 feeder pigs were sold and 1/2 calves were sold as of this post :) Mama sow and babies are all doing well, they have migrated to the big barn with the cows. Jack and the girls are restless, they long for the freedom mama and the piglets have, we will be evaluating the housing this week.

The storm brought many branches and limbs down, rendering the electric fence useless. We are workingto get it back up.

Got Beef?

We picked up the beef from Quinn today, there were 5 boxes, very small compared to most but he was a really little bull. His hanging weight was 313lbs and excluding organs and soup bones we got 232lbs of meat, not bad. I was amused to see the bull fries (I had not thought about it as part of the order), I have no desire to eat it so the dog, cat and/or pigs will have the pleasure, the same with the heart and tongue - which is really long. I am really impressed with the number of steaks that 1 bull (even a small one) gives.

I know most people don't like to name their animals if they will eat them but we do believe that every life has purpose and we raise our animals the best, most natural way we can so that they provide the most nutritional benefit. We have had Quinn since he was a tiny little thing and watched him grow into a strong, ornery bull, he had a great life and we will miss him.

On a side note, Missy will be skipping her trip to the butcher this month as we were not able to get her loaded last night :( I figure there must be a good reason so I will hold off a couple months and see what comes of Pinky's impending pregnancy.

They're here!!! *GRAPHIC BIRTH PICS*

The piglets are here! YAY! A few hours ago AR went to check on mama and she still hadn't given birth, about 30 minutes after that when he went back she had delivered 2, he ran to get the camera and he went in to witness the miracle. It was a wonderful experience and he was mesmerized. He didn't want to miss a single second of it. She delivered 5 the 1st hour and 4 in the next. AR was thrilled to be there to assist when #7 was born in her bag and he got her out. He took some awesome pics and was able to capture one birth in 4 shots and 1 birth on video (he falls out of focus few times). Enjoy.

Mama takes a stroll

DH went to milk when he realized that mama sow was missing, she had busted through the fence and pushed open the barn door and took off. He went ahead and got Mag in the stanchion and hooked up to the milking machine and went looking for her. Well in true pig form she had parked herself in the shade of some trees nicely hidden by lots of tall brush. Or as the rest of us know it, behind the chicken coop. We have the beefies grazing down that area so it is behind the electric fence and cannot be accessed by vehicle. She had no interest in food, she was panting heavily and pacing a bit. She even snapped at Dh as he tried to approach. Deciding that she was not going anywhere we opted to leave her for the time. DH got back to Mag and went to the store.

He ran into the wife of the other pig guy in town and told her the situation. Not 10 minutes later they were at our house and the men went to see her. About 30 minutes later Dh returned to the house to report that Mama was back in her barn, though she is now in Mag's section. Channeling their inner Pa Ingalls, the charged at her hollering and she came running home. We have put hay down for her and hosed her down to keep her cool and just to be safe wedged some wood to keep the barn door shut in a slightly open position so that the air can flow through. As a side note, DH also reported that Jack finally may have bred Pinky, I'll spare you the details, lol ;) Please pray that mama will have a safe delivery and a healthy litter :)

Weaner pigs and a mama sow

We got 5 (1 is still waiting to be delivered) weaner pigs and a soon to be mama sow. She is due any day now and my oldest is in his glee as he is the owner of the sow. She is HUGE!!! She seems so very uncomfortable, but I don't imagine being pregnant with multiples is very comfortable. Jack is very eager to meet her and missy and pinky are set to meet the butcher next month. (If you are going to want pork, please email me or send a message via our facebook group). Piglets will be available for sale in a few weeks once they are weaned.

The beefies broke the fence by the pasture as they decided to sample the grass on the other side. Thankfully only 2 got out, pickle and notch. They are now on lock down with the bale of hay, hopefully dolly and blackbird will give them a good talking to.

The kids are so excited and we are really thankful that we were able to get them a piano last week. Makes piano lessons a bit easier to practice. Of course now I hear it all day long but that's the point right? :)

The garden appears to be coming in very nicely, pray that we get a bountiful harvest from our small attempt. We have been diligently watering and hilling and trying to weed (this one is still not our strong suit). The corn appears to be coming up in 3 out of 4 rows we planted (we did a very tiny plot). The strawberries are starting to come in, the blueberries are looking good, so are the grapes, blackberries and raspberries. The peach tree is really taking a beating from the wind, but the smaller cherry trees are fairing well. The squash and cantaloupe are coming, we'll see what else comes in as it bears fruit, they kids planted lots of seeds in various locations of the raised bed so some are a mystery, lol.

TONS OF PICS ALERT :)

Be forewarned, these pics are in no particular order though they are all fairly recent. Yes the weather is really weird (warm on day, freezing the next). The truck in the pics was a wonderful surprise blessing, Ill post about that another day. Enjoy :)