We knew that we were cutting things close when we decided to take a week’s holiday up the coast. It was hard to know what to do to make things as easy as possible for our Farm Hand, Brad. In the end, the decision was made to keep the pigs as they were and to prepare a protected area at the back door for Red in anticipation of puppies. Oh, and to block off under the house where she seemed to be gravitating to.
Pups-Red Do Mum
Pups Born: April 24th at 12 pm, 1 pm, and approx 2 pm. 3 Dogs
And close they were. Our first night back, we could tell that Red Dog was soon to be a Mum. Not having had puppies before, we were able to rely on the basic signs an animal (and humans too, by the way) have before they are about to pop something out. Morley and Bella spent the night sleeping on the tiles in the laundry room where Red had made an impromptu bed in the linen closet. To make a long story short, Red did not have pups that night. She did, however, have them around noon the next day. The first one arrived in the back of the Land Cruiser Wagon. Then she had another couple in the comfort of her linen cupboard bed. A big thanks to Pete McDonald for keeping me calm and passing on some great wisdom on Kelpie Post Natal Care.
Piglets
Diesel weaned: April 23rd at 2 pm.
As soon as the wheels stopped moving on the new Ute, Jennie Lee I headed for the pigs. Diesel was looking like she had given all she had to her first piglets, so I let her out of the farrowing pen and hit her with a heap of feed. Then it was over to check on Dry Sow paddock where Barney the Boar is hanging out with Gypsy and Babe. Need to know from the girls who I pulled out of the pen, but my sense was we had a Sow not far from pigging.