Wallows & Fencing

Ever since we moved here some of the pigs have been in the wrong groups i.e. wrong boars in with the wrong gilts/sows etc. It didn’t really matter as they were all bred but it did bother us so today was the day to start sorting them out as some are due in November therefore we needed to make sure they were all up here where we can watch them carefully. First job was to get 6 of the Gloucestershire Old Spot (GOS) girls up from the bottom pasture and move George, the GOS Boar & Gracie, a GOS gilt from their “wrong” pastures. Sounds simple, right? It took Richard & I ALL day to accomplish this. Let me explain.

First off we had to section off a new part of the pond as we were dividing Stitches & Ginger’s part of the barn into two & putting up electric fence down through. So we cut one part of the fencing down by the pond & moved it down to the water’s edge. The 6 GOS girls were there watching us so they walked through nicely. We then had to put up a piece of woven wire out in the water to join to the other section. Here’s a pic of my handsome hubby getting wet.

Why did we do that? Pigs are very good swimmers & so the boars would soon cross into another pasture. In fact Richard didn’t really want to bother with it but so glad he did as later in the day we watched pigs do exactly that on the other side where it wasn’t fenced in the water & so they are now on the other side so guess what tomorrow’s job is?! We had already planned it anyway but this has reinforced it. Here’s the finished job:

Whilst we were working on the fence the pigs were in the bonfire. Michelle had just cleaned out the chicks & so had thrown the bag on the fire. Of course there was chicken food in it so the girls thought this was wonderful. We couldn’t believe it  – here’s one of them & at some points they were all standing on the fire.

Yes it was hot & every so often one of the would run & jump kicking their feet which had obviously got a little hot! Daniel & Hannah, on the other hand had great fun wallowing & playing in the pond.

Lee asked the other day about Mildred’s piglets – remember the ones with the stripes. They are TOTAL nuisances here on the farm – our mistake. We never trained them to electric fence & so they come & go exactly as they please. They are very friendly but spoiled! Growing well & you can no longer see the stripes unless you look just right in the light. Here’s a couple pics I took today:

Yes they had their noses in the fire also:

After lunch we put up the new electric fence. Gracie was easy to entice over but George needed a little persuasion. However they are now where they should be.

Bechy, is the dumb blond of pigs! She was supposed to be friends with Dillon but got bred by Rupert on the trip down here! We’re not sure if she took & as she is bigger than Dillon’s other girls & totally refused to go into Dillon’s pasture we have been trying to persuade her to go elsewhere but she decided that she wanted to be with Winnie & Renae and their babies. We have put her in with Stitches but she found her way back so we are now hoping that with the new fence she will stay put. We have her in the barn in a center section for tonight & then tomorrow morning we will put a new gate in the barn to Stitches & Ginger’s section & then move her in there. Part of the problem is that Bechy & Sliva were not used to electric fence when we got them. If she stays in with Stitches we will know if she took with Rupert. If she did not the Stitches will do his job.

Winnie has also been getting out – she goes to visit Hammy & Penny next door on one side or what used to be Stitches on the other side. Of course when she does come back her piglets are hungry. As we got her back in this afternoon it was time for FOOD so here’s a cute pic of her & Renae and the piglets are all drinking from the right mama:

So that was our day. It’s actually nice to be out with the kids, dogs & pigs so really doesn’t feel too much like work. As we came back into the barn this evening the three, very pregnant, girls were taking a nap together. Here are Mildred, Molly & Maria – they are all from the Matilda line, bred to Martin. Looking forward to some VERY nice piglets. Mildred is at the back. I can’t tell the difference between Molly & Maria without looking at their ear notches.

Enjoy your weekend,

Liz