Murphy's momma.
Murphy the housepig at about a week old...
My Asian Heirloom Hog had her first litter of babies. She HAD seven babies. Claudia and I got to see a few of them being born. Lovely piglets. Lovely. Well. At day 2? Of the seven lovely piglets born? Just two were left. This little guy and his very thin brother. Seems that first-time sows can get a little twitchy and decide their piglets are foreign invaders. I raked out the two remaining piglets (literally) and then disposed of the dead. Two partially eaten (yes, EATEN), three squished/abandoned and the two half-starved remaining (also abandoned)...
Murphy the piglet survived due to Claudia's never ending patience but the other extremely thin piglet died before she got to see him. Murphy started out about 10 oz.
My Asian Heirloom Hog had her first litter of babies. She HAD seven babies. Claudia and I got to see a few of them being born. Lovely piglets. Lovely. Well. At day 2? Of the seven lovely piglets born? Just two were left. This little guy and his very thin brother. Seems that first-time sows can get a little twitchy and decide their piglets are foreign invaders. I raked out the two remaining piglets (literally) and then disposed of the dead. Two partially eaten (yes, EATEN), three squished/abandoned and the two half-starved remaining (also abandoned)...
Murphy the piglet survived due to Claudia's never ending patience but the other extremely thin piglet died before she got to see him. Murphy started out about 10 oz.
Here he is at just a few weeks old. Claudia fed him every hour or so with a bottle and milk replacer - milk replacer is a MUST on any smallholding. Baby this or that are always being rejected by a mother or there is one too many or for many reasons milk replacer is needed. If you are patient, persistent and unwavering in your conviction, you can save those babies.
Murphy is a saved baby and now destined to be a housepig/pet. He is adorable. His birthday is October 24, 2011. Here he is at about a week old. Already looking great and just slightly thin. These babies (or maybe all pig babies) tend to be quite cow-hocked (their back "knees" are touching). When they start growing, their back legs straighten...
Murphy playing with a ball and anything else he can find... He loves our foam shoes. They are his favorite and he steals mine.
Good night for now... More about Murphy later.
It's past 1am and I need to get to bed!
Good night for now... More about Murphy later.
It's past 1am and I need to get to bed!
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