Wow, spring has exploded on the farm with lots of busy activity and lots a busy work. Thankfully the Lord gave us an exceptionally sweet and easy baby to go with the flow of things out here. : ) our latest happening is our 2 gilts, Wilhelmina and Fiona farrowed and poor Wilhelmina fell into some farrowing trouble which we are still battling. Here is the long short of it, they went on the same day. We are in a pasture situation so they are not confined to a very small pen or in crates. So gilt #1 starts first I found her at 11am tue morning and births 4 live pigs and 2 still borns, i watch her closely for the next few hours...nothing else. She seems fine up and drinking and active, all pigs nursing well. she expels 2 more placentas and lays back to nurse. So i thought she was done. Come back out occasionally to check on next gilt, she starts has 6 live one dead by that night. Then i look to find gilt #1 pushing again with no discharge or anything suspicious. Thought maybe she had retained a piece of placenta? So I stay for a while but decide to leave her be, next morning I get up to check on everyone, when I look I see a big snout sticking out! So I pull that big one and wait, the afterbirth didnt come right out so I wasnt going to force it, I left to go back in for about an hour come back out and she dropped the rest of it and moved in with the other gilt, the other gilt is letting her pigs nurse now. But she seemed in pain still but much more calm and relaxed. I got on the phone with my vet (who's out of town) and palpate her best I can and feel nothing. Come back out every hour or so to check on them. Gilt #2 is great, #1 is lethargic but no discharge or problems all day, they both get up and drink and lay in the sun a bit, then back to the piglets. Last night to my amazement I found two feet sticking out of her that came sudden and she wasn't pushing. I pull that one and it is just mush, fell apart but I did get it all out at least. So then I finally got some oxytocin and penicillin(which i was waiting for) in her, she vomited a little, But we got her up and drinking and cooled off. We palpated again and just could not get a hand in very far. By yesterday morning she has not delivered anything else, Still lethargic but grunting when I walk up. Sometime between 6 and 8 her body started ticking to the rhythm of a heartbeat. Breathing is normal. Wake up this morning to check her and give her antibiotics, she was much more alert and jumped up and wheeled around only to stumble and sit back down, but much more talkative. At this point she hasnt gotten much in the way of food since monday, so its time for a tube if I cant force her. You can lead a pig to water, but you cant make them drink. just sayin' ANYWAYS, I have learned a lot from this and this being one of the worst case scenarios for a new gilt, pigs are STILL easier and more enjoyable in my opinion than the droves of other animals Ive raised! Stay tuned for more updates.... :) and also I am throwing in a few pics of my favorite little piggy eating cereal for the first time! interesting combination I know.
God Bless,
Kelsey, Jesse and Abigail
I laugh every time.....she wasn't sure how exactly this bottle worked!
Daddy got her eating good
ummm...Mom, your not putting this on the blog right??
ohhh Laugh
on to more piggies! All 9 piglets left are doing great, so cute!
Poor Wilhelmina :( she is a trooper! Not to mention has been so gentle to let me do so much to her without a fuss. Anyone who knows a momma hog knows they can be pretty mean!
the cute crew
wittle baby
Mr. Big was waiting outside the pen
Willy and her baby
Well thats all for now, may God bless you and may we serve Christ in our day to day routines and beyond!
