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A Pig's NestA pig's nest will put Big Bird's nest to shame. Prior to birthing her piglets, Miss Bacon built quite a nest out of hay - two and three feet high on the sides. Grandpa, Grandma and John told us they built quite a nest. It sure is one thing to hear about it and quite another to actually witness it. Grandpa also correctly predicted when those piglets would be born. We were told by the previous owners they would come the end of May. Grandpa took one look at the sow and told us it wouldn't be until the first of June. He knows his pigs for that is when Good Farmer John came into the house one morning to announce the birthing of our first piglets. We all ran outside just in time to witness the birth of the last one. Fourteen piglets. Wow.The girls and I were told to keep an eye on them throughout the day. We were told it is not unusual for a sow to inadvertantly lay on a piglet and suffocate it. After breakfast, we took at look at the bunch and could only count thirteen. We counted again. Thirteen. Oh no. I felt around underneath the mass of piglets that were snuggled against their mother to make sure we had counted correctly. One piglet bit my finger. For a moment I wondered if a rat had bit me. No, it was a piglet. I was surprised at the sharpness of their teeth. I moved some piglets over to get a better look. Sure enough little piglet hooves were sticking out from underneath Miss Bacon. I pulled the dead one out. Miss Bacon was oblivious to it all. Sound asleep. Snoring, in fact. Labor wore her out. We put the piglet in a bucket to be buried later. It wasn't long before the piglets learned to get out of the way when big mama moved (got up, left the nest, came back to the nest). She would grunt to let them know the barge of her body was on the move and they would part ways. Kind of reminded us of the parting of the Red Sea only it was a parting of grunting mass of piglets, right down the middle. She didn't suffocate any more of her bunch. And now we have quite a few little grunting hams running around here. The Farmer's Wife 09:27 - 2006-Jul-9 - 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 |