The piglets busted out this morning. I was sort of hoping they would stay a little longer, at least til the end of the month. They didn't, and that forced me to put the ewe lambs in with the Icelandics a few weeks sooner than anticipated. The youngest ewe lamb will be 7 months at the end of February, about right for breeding. The smallest ram is the Icelandic, so he gets the honours. It may be a while before they are ready anyhow so the two weeks is not crucial.
The dogs alerted me this morning in somewhat of a frenzy. Come see, some see...something is not right. Robbie kept telling me he's got it, I just need to let him off his tie. When I am not outside, Robbie is still tied. I tried a 7 foot high kennel but he was out as soon as I turned around. To keep him safe, to keep him from going on the highway or fighting bad things in the bush or chasing the horses or llamas, Robbie must be contained. He is off leash for at least 4 hours every day with me and off leash in the house in the evening and night, so I am sure he is fine. He just was sure he could put those pigs back where they belonged and he did, right away! He has been in training to go inside their pen and stay quiet, just watching. The same goes for the rabbit/baby goat pen. He can go inside and must "down" and watch. That is all. He is getting good at it.
In the meantime, the pen was beyond immediate repair and the piglets has to be moved to their new digs, with the potbellies. The boar is very mild mannered and did not object, but the sow is pregnant and was not too keen on those other piglets in her area. There are two sleeping quarters, so I am not worried that they will be ousted somehow. I fed them separately to ensure the baby piggies got some food, otherwise Mrs. Piggie would not have let them eat. They ran around sniffing and snorting the rest of the day and then went to rest in their shelter. The potbellies have taken over the sheep shelter, now that they are next door. Those baby piggies are sure cute at this age. Oink, oink!
The dogs alerted me this morning in somewhat of a frenzy. Come see, some see...something is not right. Robbie kept telling me he's got it, I just need to let him off his tie. When I am not outside, Robbie is still tied. I tried a 7 foot high kennel but he was out as soon as I turned around. To keep him safe, to keep him from going on the highway or fighting bad things in the bush or chasing the horses or llamas, Robbie must be contained. He is off leash for at least 4 hours every day with me and off leash in the house in the evening and night, so I am sure he is fine. He just was sure he could put those pigs back where they belonged and he did, right away! He has been in training to go inside their pen and stay quiet, just watching. The same goes for the rabbit/baby goat pen. He can go inside and must "down" and watch. That is all. He is getting good at it.
In the meantime, the pen was beyond immediate repair and the piglets has to be moved to their new digs, with the potbellies. The boar is very mild mannered and did not object, but the sow is pregnant and was not too keen on those other piglets in her area. There are two sleeping quarters, so I am not worried that they will be ousted somehow. I fed them separately to ensure the baby piggies got some food, otherwise Mrs. Piggie would not have let them eat. They ran around sniffing and snorting the rest of the day and then went to rest in their shelter. The potbellies have taken over the sheep shelter, now that they are next door. Those baby piggies are sure cute at this age. Oink, oink!
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