July 12, 2013
Lindsay:
With the furvor of spring behind us, we have started to settle into the relaxed routine of the summer. In the heat of summer, our tasks our often divided between maintaining and supporting the life already on the plateau, and working on projects that expand and or improve
So I ran into the sheltered area in the barn and could see her lying down and it appeared she was not moving. This always gives me a start. I have an active imagination that often visualizes, fortunately only breifly, the worst scenarios. But as I got closer, I could see that not only was Willy alive and well, so were the newborn piglets finding their way to their first food of life.
Yummy!
The piglets had all been cleaned off and fed by the time I arrived. So Willy has proven that she is a most capable mother. Last year when Willy gave birth to her first litter of piglets, we were all present and eager to help her. So, it wasn't clear how she would fare on her own. Splendidly is the answer.
Exploring the world!
Willy gave birth to 10 piglets, 2 of which were found dead. One small piglet that looks like it never got fully cleaned off. Another quite large piglet that was clean and robust looking. We can only guess what happened. There is often a concern with pigs that the mother might suffocate or squish a baby by accident, this could be what happened, but we just don't know. Of the healthy 8, there are 5 males and 3 females. And they all survived through the day yesterday, and the night, and Willy is reguglarly letting them nurse.
Feisty or Hungry?
Wendy, who born last year, was instigating trouble with the piglets and we separated her so that Willy could have space alone with her piglets.
This cold, rainy weather seems to be past us, which is welcomed since the piglets are not able to create sufficient heat for themselves when first born and were noticably shivering yesterday morning.But with the sunshine, they seem to be just...adorable.