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Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain OystersA pregnant sow produces a lot of bacon. We purchased a pregnant sow 2 1/2 months ago and we now have 14 pigs. 14 sources of bacon. Amazing. We would have had 15, but Miss Bacon (the sow) accidently laid on top of one of her many piglets and it died (a common occurrence). I have never raised pigs. My husb�nd is quite familiar with them.The expression, "Eating like a pig", has taken on a whole new meaning now that I have witnessed both visually and auditorily what exactly that means. One can never fully appreciate that expression until one has experienced it! When I bring Miss Bacon (the name our girls gave the sow) and her 13 2 week old piglets their grain mixed with goat's milk, I call them, "Little pig! Little pig!" and they come running. They know what they are going to be getting. I pour their slop into their pans and they almost inhale it! Hearing 14 pigs loudly chomp their slop with their mouths open with slop dripping out the sides of their mouths as they step into their food (I guess they want to experience as much of it as they can!) is such a great teaching tool for any children (or adults for that matter!) who have a hard time remembering to eat with their mouths closed. We have enjoyed watching pigs. They are fascinating creatures. We have appreciated the power found in their snouts. They are capable of "plowing" up the ground as well as or even better than any manmade plow. Their snouts are so powerful. My husband says if you can control the snout, you can control the pig. The top of the snout is very firm like thick cartelege. The bottom part is very soft. When the sow roots up the ground she is capable of easily moving large logs that I am incapable of budging. I've seen her roll large stones that I cannot budge. I've even seen the little pigs move stones that are heavy for me to lift. We are considering utilizing their powerful snouts to plow up a field we wish to use for planting field corn for next year. Not only will they plow it up but they will fertilize it as well. What fascinating creatures God made! Our pigs are tame for the most part. When Miss Bacon was pregnant, I scratched her underneath her neck and along her sides and she would almost immediately drop to her side and roll over to let me scratch her tummy while she grunted contentedly. We joked that I was the "hog whisperer"! Anyway, the piglets are much the same way. We scratch them underneath their chins and their sides and they drop for more. A couple of days ago, I helped my husband castrate the 5 boars, which are now referred to as barrows. It wasn't at all as bad as what I thought it was going to be. My husband's father walked us through a couple. I held the piglets while my husband performed the surgery. One daughter video-taped it while the youngest watched through her fingers which partially covered her eyes. One of our daughters expressed interest in eating the Rocky Mountain Oysters, but we hadn't thought about that beforehand and weren't too keen on the thought of eating them off the ground. To be honest, a little bit of the "city" crept back up and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So, the chickens made a meal of those Rocky Mountain Oysters - they actually fought over them. Apparently, they are to be coated with egg and flour and then fried. Maybe in the future... maybe... We definitely are looking forward to having some fresh pork in our freezer this winter. We will also have some to sell. Plus, we have some gilts (female pigs) which can be bred to produce more b�con. The parable of the talents takes on a new meaning as our livestock begins to multiply! 09:06 - 2006-Jun-27 - post comment
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Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |