Fall Babies

It has probably only been a few weeks since we brought our last batch of pigs into the butcher but Dustin was already talking about the next batch.  We wanted to do some updating on our fencing before we ordered the next batch, so I was not in any huge hurry.  Well, the itch to get some more pigs won and we headed out to Annandale to pick up another batch.  We decided to try Berkshire/ Duroc cross to see if we could still get the Berkshire marbling we like along with a faster growing pig.

Sadie was pretty taken with all the piglets and we ended up heading home with 6 instead of the original 4-5.  One more slid in at the last minute due to Sadie falling in love with one little piglet.  We spent our Sunday getting everything ready and having the group take over my garden.

Once we got them all settled, we headed up to the house for dinner.  Dustin and I decided we would check on the group once the kids went to bed.  It was completely dark once the kids went to bed so with flashlights we began to hunt the garden for the group of piglets.  I walked along the fence and they were not in their shelter so began walking the fence line.  They still weren’t somewhere I could see.  By that time, Dustin came out to help and he was walking the other side of the fenced in yard.  He couldn’t see them either.   We headed to the gate and to our surprise, one of the kids left the bottom of the gate open to the pen.

You can guess what is going through our minds at that time.  Pitch darkness and 6 piglets escaping who knows where in the neighborhood.  As we expanded our search, my flashlight caught the dog carrier that I brought them home in.  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a series of little behinds.  Right outside the fenced in area, I left the pet carrier and all 6 piglets were asleep in the carrier.  I was very thankful for many things at that moment… thankful we checked on them before we went to bed,  thankful they were all fine, thankful they only went 5 feet outside the fenced area instead of 500 feet, etc.

Hay Time

Besides the excitement of the new piglets on the farm, we also are beginning to get ready for the winter months.  Once fall hits, I head to the local hay auction.  This year the demand is significantly larger than the supply.  This year prices are exceeding $4/ bale and no straw has been available through the auction.  two years ago I was getting bales at $2.50/ bale.  Last year I was spending around $3.60/ bale.  You got to love craigslist because I have been able to find a farmer down the street that has plenty of straw so my anxiety stayed low.  Never a good feeling to head into the cold months without having your hay stocked up.  So, the family spent our Saturday throwing 70 + bales of hay up to the loft for the winter.