Ellen J. Pettibone had her pig babies today. Thankfully, my WWOOF'r/farm manager was here to rescue two of them. Since I bred her to a "traditional" Asian Heirloom Hog, I knew they'd be small, but MAN are they SMALL!!! Since the boar was so much smaller, he evidently didn't fertilize both horns of the uterus. So, we only had just a few to begin with and now just two. IN THE HOUSE. BOTTLE BABIES AGAIN!!! AAAARGH!!! Hopefully, we can train them to a pan very quickly. They are both gilts, but I don't plan on keeping either of them and plan to process Ellen sometime soon. At 300#+, it's going to be interesting. I like processing the smaller hogs. Much easier to do...
No, they aren't dead. They are sleeping. Mini piggers. I put a standard-sized Sharpie next to them so you could see the scale. Yeah, I could raise standard-sized hogs, but where's the fun in that? Besides, these little piggers tend to be very frugal... Not as much meat, sure, but who needs 200# of meat at a time anyway? I certainly don't...
Just an hour before the unveiling... Beached whale anyone? Yeah. Tail is kinked, ligaments are soft and ready, harpoons are at hand...
AND after. A buck and a doe! One to keep and one to sell/process. These are full Oberhasli. They'll get darker when they have enough of everything from MayBelle. The buck ALREADY has horns. Yes. He. Does.
MayBelle is full Oberhasli, but the white spot on her head is just a bit too large. Her teats are too plump to milk easily and she's a total Queen when it comes to bossing around the herd. My kinda gal, I guess...
MayBelle is full Oberhasli, but the white spot on her head is just a bit too large. Her teats are too plump to milk easily and she's a total Queen when it comes to bossing around the herd. My kinda gal, I guess...
Takedown starts in 5-4-3-2-1.... GO!!! Sarge vs. Floppy Igamo da cat. It was a draw, btw.
Pretty scrawny. She was born a few days early, on March 4th. If you notice, her left leg is slightly bent. I believe a function of not enough calcium. I'm supplementing her and we'll see how she gets along. She's a pretty little thing though... The back legs are also a bit "rubbery" yet. We'll see how she progresses. Right now she's very bouncy and eating well.
The chickens are very happy to have warmer weather... Wow. Never realized you could have red-eye in chickens! You are seeing one Barred Rock, two Americanas and I think two Golden Comets. If not, you can ask them. *shrug*
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