Daily Note for April 9, 2020

Okay, so we'll see how long this lasts - my track record here hasn't been very good. However, since I am stuck at home during this COVID-19 crisis, I may as well record some daily happenings.

Probably the cutest thing from the day had to be one of our itty-bitty American Guinea Hog piglets was getting a full-body massage.

From our experience with his big daddy, Rex, it didn't surprise us that this little dude enjoyed a good belly rub. With Rex sometimes all we would do is barely touch his side and he would totally plop down for a full-body massage like his off-spring.

Yep - the CUTEST!

Yesterday, the meaties finally were transferred out of the livestock tank that we used for a brooder and into the new and improved Stress Free Chicken Tractor.

This is definitely a deluxe living space for the meaties! The first build was almost to the specifications in the Stress Free Chicken Tractor book. Almost because the bending of the metal conduit was not going well and Tom ended up using miscellaneous copper joints to make the frame that would be the roof. This one features plastic electrical conduit and instead of a tarp, wavy plastic panels. The other plus about this is that I can stand upright in this one and there is a lot of head space to boot. The meaties were very hesitant at first, but were convinced after I brought them an extra portion of food for the day.

The work that I did today was mind-numbing, but at least I have the piglets and the chickens and ducks to visit throughout the day. I have decided to take a day of vacation tomorrow. Even though I am home, I am supposed to be doing work stuff and not farm stuff. Tomorrow I'm gonna be a farmer!

Farm Life - Best Life!

It Finally Happened!

The moment that we have been waiting for since we brought home Rex & Fiona!

When the first litter didn't make it, it really was a learning experience, and we were better prepared this time around. Also, we spent the past couple of months thinking, "Is she or isn't she?"

January 18 and March 18

For the longest time I was just being hopeful. Then I thought maybe she was getting fat - that was really a thought. It was a thought that was unwarranted because she and Rex had been getting the same exact diet. She would have had to be sick to get THAT big. So, yeah she was definitely great with piglets!

The week before Fiona farrowed I got a message from Farmer Jason of Cascade Meadows Farm. His assessment from a photo that I had posted on Instagram was that Fiona looked to be about a week away from having piglets. He suggest that we separate her from Rex. At first Tom thought he would get Rex over to the other side of the old structure that will one day become the Pig Palace. Then I had the idea that the room that we had already talked about using as Fiona's farrowing room actually be used for that purpose. We have an extra fence that won't be needed for another couple of weeks. Perfect solution!

March 28, 2020

For the week leading up to her actually having the piglets she seemed to be enjoying not having to share food. Plus having a king size room all to herself was just a bonus!

This time around we were ready for her to have piglets and learned even more so this time around. Having her separated meant we didn't have to deal with Rex. Also, we had powdered Colostrum available to give the babies a boost before they were able to nurse properly at the milk bar.

Around dinner time on March 28th, Fiona started to act a little off. Not her regular I want to rub my head on you or push you over because of food type of behavior. Once I figured out what was going on the first piglet came about 5 minutes after I was getting the idea in my head. Oh, hey - that's like confirmation right there!

Tom had been putting a couple of tarps over the part of the shelter where Fiona was housed - good thing too! Anyway...

The whole process was about two and a half hours and at the end of it there were eight piglets. The first five were fairly good sized and the last three were smaller with the last one being the smallest. Fiona did so well and she was so good natured throughout the entire process. She let us "help" her while she was laboring and we didn't feel like we would be in any kind of danger otherwise. Fiona is a very sweet and chill sow. It's almost like she understands that we were there to help her.

Our next learning experience happened not the night of the piglets arrival, but Sunday night. I was feeling fairly confident that they would survive another night that I didn't think anything would happen when I went to bed Sunday night. Monday morning I was up early, but did not go out to check on Fiona and babies. Instead we just went about our routine and then Tom went out after we had our coffee and had discovered that two of the piglets had not survived the night. They had been squished. My sadness was not as acute as Tom's, as I was not the one who found them. That's not to say I wasn't sad. I was hopeful, but thankful that not all of them had died.

Afterwards, I posted on Instagram and then later Farmer Jason had sent a message and suggested that we build a structure called a "creep" for the piglets to go to in-between feedings. Tom pieced something together hung the heat lamps and then we started to train them to go there when they were not nursing. Here we are five days later and they are getting the hang of the routine. Let's face it, when there is heat involved where would you choose to go?

So during this COVID-19 craziness we have been pretty happy at home. Even though I do have to work, at least I can take a break and check on the littles throughout the day. Even being at home I can see how blessed we are. God has been good to us and continues to bless us with things that bring joy to our hearts. A joy that we have been able to share with a couple of friends. Who doesn't love a baby animal? I think piglets are the BEST!

While we continue to practice physical distancing our focus when I am not working will be on making this little piece of happiness the best it can be. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is a pretty good gig.

Farm life is the best life...

and PIGLETS!

April 4, 2020

It's Vacation Time...

With my vacation time comes lots of projects and things that I want to get done around our little farm.

Over the weekend we started one very important project - building new nesting boxes for the hens. The pet carriers are functional and all, but they are a bit haphazard and kind of janky too.

How the egg cart looked at the beginning.

The first set of nesting boxes were as you can see above. A couple of pet carriers and an old hooded cat litter box that we found at Goodwill for cheap. Over time we add three more pet carriers and it worked for a while. The whole system is not a bad concept...just looked...well, janky. Especially since the litter box is now on top of a pet carrier and, since it is so large, will have at least two hens sitting in it. That's not a bad thing if they both lay an egg. Anyway - with the addition of several more hens we decided an upgraded system would be good. I might still hang on to three of the pet carriers and the so that there are options. It would look nicer for sure.

Today is Monday and I have an outing planned with a friend so there won't be nearly as much happening as we'll be going for coffee and Pokemon catching opportunities. Lunch may be part of the outing, but I'm not sure yet.

Tomorrow is our meat chickie pick-up day - so we'll be heading south to Tanget to do that. I love that there is a hatchery so close to where we live. So today we'll need to get the brooder all cleaned up and ready for new tenants - 30 of them!

I will be posting here each day and sharing what we have accomplished each day. Right now, I need to employ good time management skills. My list of things to do is a mile long and I only have a week off.

Here's to farm life!

February Happenings

Wow, it's crazy that a month has gone by since my last post! So, what's going on at Pigs 'n Poultry? Well, let's get into this!

Our Greta girl decided to pop out an egg that had no shell. Not so unusual for a first egg so it wasn't totally a surprise. It was a surprise that she is now at laying age. She's been with us since May and boy that took a long time for her to start laying! I was curious so I did a little research - geese only lay during the spring months and they usually only lay somewhere from 10-30 eggs per season. I had read somewhere that geese CAN lay as early as their first fall, but it's not common. She did do something that looked an awful lot like nesting and it was in the yard in between two garden boxes. Weirdo! This week we got a big surprise - and I mean BIG...

This mutant weighed in at 248 grams!

This egg almost looks fake-o, but it's real. The grass and blood stuck on it when it was brought in...man I felt so bad for Missy Greta. To go from a pretend egg that just had a leathery "shell" to this behemoth! She can't go back now! Fortunately, her routine is every other day since this big one.

The waterfowl egg collection

We used the goose eggs to make a frittata and it was delicious! I think that if we were to use the goose eggs for breakfast we could probably get two servings from one of those eggs! I'm accustomed to the duck or chicken egg size. We will enjoy these while we have them though - they won't be coming all the time. I'm excited about these eggs and look forward to more eggs from Greta. It will be interesting to see how long her laying season turns out to be in the end. Once she is done laying she'll go into her first real molt.

The other thing that happened in the last couple of weeks - my co-worker/friend and his wife dropped off 10 more young hens. It took a couple of weeks, but we got the new hens...

So that afternoon our flock increased to 31. When Clint asked how many we had now, Tom first said we had 26 chickens I quickly piped in and said 31 because of the little girls. We tend to not think of them since they haven't started laying yet, so I'm sure that's why we kind of forget about them. They don't offer anything but a lot of cuteness!

The Buttercups tend to want to be together, but they have been accepted by the older girls. Back when they were a couple of months old Tom decided to convert a dog house that we got down the street from our house.

November 2, 2019 - The Buttercups are finally out of the Brooder!

The best sight ever! Chickens out on grass.

The dog house got a door, a heat lamp and a perch too! So for three and half months they have grown accustomed to their home. I doubt that they will want to move in with the big girls.

So the chick shaw is filled a few more chickens and they are getting along better with each day that goes by. The first day we had to catch each of the new girls and physically place them in the chick shaw. This is actually a funny sight in the morning when the girls are first released for the day...23-26 hens coming out of the chick shaw. You wouldn't think that so many chickens would fit, but they do! Can you say Clown Car?

We have been keeping an eye on Fiona and her belly! She is looking good, but not huge. According to some research that I did recently, she may not even REALLY look pregnant until she is about 3 months after she has been bred. So when we do our willy-nilly calculations based on iffy memories we think that she was in heat last in mid-November. So that would put her around 3 months now. Gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days - approximately. If she continues to have her hangy belly swaying back and forth when she is running toward us at feeding time we might see piglets during my vacation time or sooner, maybe.

We know that she is not fat because they have been on a diet since last summer and Rex is looking pretty darn good. It's taken some time, but he is finally not looking like a....well...a pig.

This month has been quite rainy and I'm ready for some dry weather - especially on the weekends. I have so many things that I want to do!

Also, looking forward to the day when I can be home doing the farm life and making my own schedule with the time that I have in the day...

This is my happy place!