It was a long hard day on the homestead today!
I won't even go down the lengthy list of activities from today, but I will mention that I like keeping my activities varied. That way, I don't have to get bored or spend hours on end with just one task. I can change it up and keep it interesting. Along with other things today, we finally got around to weaning our first nine piglets from the sow that @smailer bought us.
WEANING DAY!
YUP, THEY ARE BIG ENOUGH NOT TO NEED MAMA ANYMORE
We got the mama into another pen tonight. Yes, it was late tonight, as the grainy photos can testify to. We actually waited about six weeks to wean, which, although it is not unheard, it is not so common these days. Since you can breed a sow 4-6 days after weaning, a lot of piglets are weaned in less that two weeks of being born. Many hog breeders can get about 2 1/2 litters per year, with a 114 gestation period.
For us, the goal is not to have our sows be piglet factories. We can still easily get two litters per year, but we don't need to rush things.
Just for fun we let the @little-peppers try to bottle feed the piglets for a bit. Some did drink. This was not so much to take the place of their mom, but to have a bonding opportunity between the children and the piglets. If they tried to pick one up before and the piglets squealed, their mama would come racing over, like a good mama should.
Now, mama is out of the picture, so they kids can try to play a little more with them. We will be working on getting these little ones out to some pasture soon, and it is on the lengthy to do list. They are a lot of fun to watch play and bring a lot of joy to our family. We will keep you posted on how things continue!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-weaning-day
Until next time…
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