Tossing Pebbles in the Stream

This blog is my place to sit and toss pebbles into the stream. The stream of Life relentlessly passing before us. We can affect it little. For the most part I just watch it passing and follow the flow. Occasionally, I need to comment on its passing, tossing a pebble at it to enjoy the ripple affect upon Life's surface.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

One piggy, two piggies, three piggies. . . .

After a week of watching and waiting I had a porcine surprise this morning.

Ruby, the Duroc sow had a litter of 18 this morning. Ruby had gotten very big. She has been having trouble getting up onto her feet. I was getting worried for her. And yet, she was not having contractions. So i had to be patient. If she was and no piglets were coming, I would have to soap up my arm and push it up the birth canal to find the blockage. I had a lady friend do this once when I was not home. She must have loved me to kneel in the pig shit and bury her arm up to the elbow in the back of the sow! Better her than me. I prefer cows. I have had my arm in a cow's vagina up to my elbow. For me there are no more female secrets. Such is life raising livestock!

"Philip, what is going on? They keep coming."

Did they hear the dinner bell?

Finally, life calmed down for the first meal. The light is the heat lamp corner. They have found it and are using it already.

Now the trick is to keep the little one's alive. They are at risk of being laid or stepped upon by the fat moma sow. Sow am piglets need quiet and gentle time together to work out the arrangements. Hopefully, I can intervene only in an emergency.

Two were still born and I have two little one's in the house that were not competing too well. One was stepped on. It looks like I can take them back to the sow as they have warmed up and taken some feed. They are both females and look like the runt did at that age.

It two or three weeks it will be Babe's turn to drop a litter.

7 Comments:

At 3:26 p.m., Anvilcloud said...: She's one very fecund sow.
At 3:48 p.m., Peggy said...: beautiful piglets! Momma Sow seems to be doing a good job feeding them. Hope the next ones are easy delivery.
At 2:26 a.m., Gattina said...: Congratulations ! dad of 14 ! not bad, lol !
What does Heidi say to baby pigs ?
At 8:28 a.m., Gretchen said...: They're so cute! Baby animals always tug on my heart. :)
At 9:27 p.m., amelia said...: Congratulations dad!!
At 9:42 a.m., Anonymous said...: Fantastic Philip, thanks for the pics! Well you are going to have your hands full when Babe goes into labour too! (and possibly your arm...well at least up to your elbow! haha)
Looking forward to more updates and pics. How's Heidi coping with it all?
At 2:46 p.m., KGMom said...: Oh my--Gattina and Daffy asked my question. Has Heidi made her opinion known yet?