First up for pig birth 101 was our Red Wattle hog, Fancy Cakes who gave birth to five of the most adorable, perfect little piglets complete with tiny wattles on each side of the neck. Tiny little hoofs, cute little snouts - the biggest weighed about 2 pounds and the smallest just over a pound. The runt was promptly christened "Mighty Pork" by my son who declared her the most precious thing he had ever seen. Baby pigs, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure, are amazing little creatures. They are mini-versions of their parents, right down to the grunting and squealing. Fancy's babies are happy little piglets - two boys and three girls. They love to jump, growl, and push each other around. Mighty Pork is a mini-Fancy - she was a first class mud wallower by day two of her life on this earth. She grunts, growls, rolls in the mud, and hangs with mommy 24-7. The others are busy rooting, rough-housing, and generally learning to be pigs.
About six days after Fancy's babies were born, our other Red Wattle hog, Ruby Sunshine, gave birth to eight piglets. One was stillborn and she rolled over on one during a rainstorm. So, she ended up with six cutie-pies, perfect just like Fancy's, with tiny wattles on both sides of their necks. They were very close to momma for about five days. Now, all eleven piglets share mommas and cause general chaos wherever they go. They can jump like nobody's business and love to poke their little snouts into hands to smell for goodies. They occasionally break out of the pen and eat a little grass while the others who are still in the pen squeal bloody murder. Their poppa - Mister Dr. Evil Porkchop - a monster who weights around 300 pounds watches over them from a pen off to the side.
Having baby pigs was something that we've been working on since last year about this time when I finally found Ruby and Fancy for sale. I had researched the different pig breeds and had decided on the Red Wattle for their noted gentleness and the leanness of their meat. My girls came home to a sweet little house and plenty of food and fresh, clean water. They grew quickly - but always had time for a head rub. When they reached breeding weight, I had to find a not-too closely related boar for daddy-duty. Found Mister from a farm in Brandenburg. He came home to two of the most beautiful sows in the country. And he promptly ran off in the woods.
It took a day, but we found him, or rather I found him. He was tired and put his big head in my lap while I rubbed his ears and fed him corn. When he finally got in the pen, the girls proceeded to show him who's boss. Good thing Mister can jump, because hogs are a matriarchal society - the girls rule the roost and one girl in particular here at our house. Fancy is boss. All other pigs must bow down to her power - she eats first, she got pregnant first, and she had her babies first. She's the trendsetter of our swine world. And if her law is not followed, she has no issues biting or pushing the offending pig into submission.
As if that wasn't enough excitement, about two weeks ago, I finally found donkeys for sale. Donkeys have been on my list for some time. Donkeys are guardian animals and since we've had issues with everything from raccoons to bobcats, finding some donkeys to help guard the chickens and goats was paramount. Jay borrowed a horse trailer and went to pick up a pregnant Jenny and a yearling Jack. After they got home and were fed and watered, they seemed to be getting used to the place. The next morning, Jay yelled to let me know that Jenny gave birth to a baby jack. He was still a little wobbly on his perfect little hooves, but we were thrilled that Jenny was okay and he seemed fine. After a few days of watching him jump around and kick up his heels, biting at hay and leaves, we christened him Munch. It's been a crazy summer - babies, babies, babies.... there must be something in our water. I know I'm not going to be drinking it!
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