

New Piglets and Sows in Underhill

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People ask how many pigs we have. I have taken to just saying 300. The reason is the number waxes and wanes. In three days this week it jumped by 41 as four sows had litters in the south field paddock we call Underhill.The sows cluster their farrowings so the number jumps around. This clustering happens because the sows follow the leader of their cohort’s fertility cycles and because I wean them in cohorts which in turn creates cohorts. I would have expected Flo, centered, to be the boss sow in this cohort but it seems to be Charlie, in the back.

After the piglets are a week to ten days old they and their mothers will move to a new paddock, probably south field section two. Sows like to move their nesting area once the piglets are up and about – it’s sanitary.

The fathers are Speckles who carries classic Yorkshire white color genes and long body form and Guy Noir who is out of Blackie, of Large Black genetics. Guy looks almost like a black Yorkshire. He has some fine looking nearly finisher sized daughters and sons who look like perfect Yorkshires, long in body as we’ve been breeding, but black. Some of those gilts I’ll be holding back for breed testing.

Another new sow, thus previously a gilt, in the far south field had a litter of eight last night bringing this week’s total to 49. Two more groups of sows are very close to farrowing just behind this group so we may see another 70 to 100 more piglets in the coming weeks.

They certainly have some lovely weather for birthing. We’re all enjoying the easy season!

Outdoors: 77°F/53°F Sunny

Tiny Cottage: 74°F/66°F

Daily Spark: Government needs to say please.