Too Cute

On Tuesday 22nd, four little Berkshire piglets were born.

These Little (Big) Piggies Went to Market

Well not quite to market but after a comedy of errors and the usual circus, they went to the local abattoir, half an hour down the road, and will return in boxes as xmas ham, pork roasts, real bacon and chops.

PB1 and PB2 are Growing

The little fellas are growing; we were surprised at how much after being away for a week on the cruise. Here they are a week before we went away. They range across their whole paddock now; sometimes we can't find them because they're sleeping in the long grass.

Feed troughs. These were heavy and I'm (not) so strong (but I offer a lot of moral support which I feel is always important!)

I am chief pig feed mixer. I like to measure and mix and store. When I have animal feed stored in buckets and bins I feel rich.

Peppie does a fine job of overseeing proceedings (or looking for a dipper of feed more like it).

Rosie just does what Peppie does.

Here are the pigs on the weekend; growing nicely.

Pig Tales

The pigs are happy in their new home. We're getting a better water system worked out for them.

PB1 and PB2

At last we have some pigs - not the breed of choice just yet but certainly, they're pigs; they bark and grunt and squeal. We've been keeping an eye on the internet sites that deal in such things for hobby farmers and last week on our way home from the funeral we called in and had a look at some Berkshires (my pork of choice) in the Brisbane Valley. Then yesterday we visited our friends who have the pig farm that supplies young pork to a restaurant. After much discussion and inspection we came home with these two and will fatten them and kill them around the end of May. They are a Landrace/Large White cross. We decided to start with a few porkers, just to get used to having a few pigs before getting into the breeding game. Their names are Pork Belly 1 and Pork Belly 2.

Getting PB1 out of the trailer.

Squuueeeeee.......

PB2

The Three Amgios formed a welcoming party of sorts.

They were very interested in proceedings.

In a few weeks we will go back and pick up another two little Berkshire/Essex Saddleback cross for fattening - they needed a few more weeks on their mother. I didn't get a photo of them but one is a startling gingery/black colour. The Essex Saddleback pig originated from the East Anglia district in England and the Wessex Saddleback was from the New Forest area. The Wessex was originally a cross between two indigenous old English bacon pigs - the Hampshire and the Sussex. Later, the Essex and Wessex were crossed to produce the British Saddleback.

Our pig farm friends have a purebred Berkshire sow about to give birth; they will keep one of the females for us and she will be our first breeding pig.

I know it's corny but I can't resist - happy as a pig in.......

Watering the Pigs

We hired a little digger today, to trench the water line to the turkey/duck compound and the pig pen. Big boys and their toys.

There were the usual onlookers. The distance between them is very slowly diminishing.

Working out which lever does what.

Oops. This wasn't in the plan. Of course if there's a water line - we'll cut it.

There were helpers (or sticky beaks, depending on how many legs you have).

More helpers/onlookers.

Peppie thinks the shovel would make a good horn scratcher.

Rosie wonders what's this thing?

May I help?

New connections in the chook compound should make life a little easier.

I was standing quite close when Gibbo pulled on a rotten post and half of it fell off and disturbed a large family of huntsman spiders. There was a time when I would have run a mile, screaming, but I'm much more mature now. Lucky the kids weren't there :)

Home Stretch

We're nearly done. Two days of concerted effort and the Pig Pen is nearly finished; all that's left to do is to run two hot wires around the perimeter to keep the pigs in and the foxes out. I give them a week before their first escape. G can't believe I think that. He's a dreamer, I'm a realist.

There was some heated healthy discussion as to what constitutes a straight steel post. We have differing opinions (oh really)? The pigs won't mind a crooked steely here and there. Nor will the goats, turkeys, ducks and chooks. Or the foxes.