The past couple of days have actually been nice, weather wise and I am grateful. The sweltering heat and humidity gave way to a nice rain storm and several days of high temperatures in the eighties with a little more rain forecasted later this weekend.
On Monday, Tom and I loaded up Yoda onto a stock trailer that the school AG teacher graciously loaned us and took him to be processed. We knew from the beginning that something was not right with this pig. His ears and were not the same shape as the other piglets, hence the name Yoda. He was the runt of the litter and showed signs of just not being quite right. He might be deaf and was certainly in his own world, usually eating or relaxing by himself and not with the other pigs and never gained weight very well. He was half the size of his sisters after turning a year old. Over time, he developed a limp with stiffness in his hind legs that slowly grew worse. By the time we took him to the processor, getting his hind legs to work was difficult and he had to really struggle to stand. It was sad to watch but also interesting. Last year, we had to take his father to the processor because his hind legs would not work anymore either. We thought that he had hurt himself falling off the girls as he was mating them. A veterinarian and chiropractor were unable to ease his pain either. Now, I’m beginning to think that this could be a genetic issue and I need to rethink my breeding program.
Yoda was special to me though. He was always the one I had to keep an eye on when he was young. I don’t know how he did it, repeatedly, but he would get his ear tag hung in the fencing and I had to work to get him untangled. Eventually, he lost his ear tag and we were both fine with that. At meal time, Yoda was the most vocal of the pigs and his squeal was higher pitched and louder than the others. You’d think he hadn’t been fed in a week. The decision to get him processed was difficult but most likely the right one. The video of him being loaded can be seen here.
As far as the birds go, the incubator has stayed busy all summer. It has seen better days though and my hatch rates have been low and predators are always an issue. I did put eight pullets in with the adult birds so that I could use the chicken tractor for the next round of chicks that were making too big a mess in the brooder. I’ve had some losses, likely from snakes, with the smaller birds. The twelve chicks from the second hatching are now down to six, but the survivors are very cute and looking good.
On Friday, Tom, Kinzie and I worked for a while getting a sow and eleven piglets loaded onto the stock trailer. I had hoped to take only the piglets but they would not load without Mom. We then drove them to an auction house to be sold. This was not the way I had wanted to deal with this family of pigs, but what I had ended up choosing. I learned that animal auctions houses are not nice places at all. The animals are not treated well as they are hustled, shoved and kicked around during the bidding process. I wanted to jump up and scream at the men mistreating the animals but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I cried instead. Then, I was disappointed in the amount of money I got for my sow and piglets. I know now that I need to spend much better time learning marketing. Either that, or get out of the business altogether. The video of that day can be seen here (don’t worry, no mistreatment of animals are shown).
The tomatoes have been coming on nicely and we juiced up a mess to cook down into tomato sauce and canned. I’ve also started some cucumbers to ferment with a garlic-peppercorn recipe I have never tried. The rest of the cucumbers where chopped up and made into dill relish and canned.
I try not to watch too much television (except college football) but, when Donald Trump was shot on Saturday, I have joined my husband each evening to catch up on news; information/misinformation, theories/conspiracy theories, speculation and downright lies. Of course, the coverage ran into the Republican National Convention. Once it was over, it has been easier for me to pull away and get some work done.
Kinzie has been having difficulty keeping tires on her car. I suspect there is an alignment issue that needs to be addressed. I hope we can connect with her busy schedule to get it checked out.
On a whole other note, for a happy, relaxing view, check out Ducklings in a Playpen on my YouTube channel, Farm Animal Life. “No Words. No Story Line. Just Animals on the Farm.” It can be seen here.
It’s good to leave on a happy note. See you next week!