Clara had her piglets! She had 7 babies, 6 normal sized potbelly babies and one tiny one. She has 8 teats, but two are difficult for the little ones to access, so technically only 6 lunch taps are available. That means that the poor little runt does not have a good chance at life. This is survival of the fittest. I have bottle fed a baby piglet. It is a lot of dedicated work, but very sweet too. If Clara does not reject the piglet, it might be possible to supplement the baby with a bottle and leave him with his mother (or hers, I didn't look) which is the best plan. Clara is oblivious to the number of babies at this point and is just likely very relieved to have them out and done with. She was fatigued and hardly able to waddle these last few days. I made a place for her to have her babies, away from Wilbur, the boar.
Surprisingly, Wilbur respects Clara's privacy. He protects her too. When I arrived at the pen to check on Clara, he challenged me just a little, saying, maybe I should not want to go there. But Wilbur and I are good friends, so he let me pass. Clara was in a tizzy and had just had the last baby. I snapped one or two quick pictures and left her to tend to the kids.
Later I returned and counted the babies. Clara had just passed the placenta. Some sows eat it, some don't. I never actually know if she does, because the dogs will clean it up for her if she does not so as not to attract the ravens and other horrible predators. The ravens were not in sight when Clara had her babies, thank goodness.
Two of these babies are spoken for to become breeders on a new farm and raise potbelly pork for the family there. There will be at least 4 others up for sale in 4 weeks. Clara herself is scheduled for sausage at that time, so depending on how many females there are, one daughter may be retained for breeding unless I can find some one to trade piglets with. This is Clara's third litter and she is much more relaxed as a mom, which is a good thing. I am hoping to be able to handle the babies without upsetting her too much. They squeal very loudly when they are picked up. In nature, the only time a piglet is picked up is when it is caught by a predator, so you can understand the predicament for them.
Thank you Clara and Wilbur, mostly Clara! Well done little mamma.
Surprisingly, Wilbur respects Clara's privacy. He protects her too. When I arrived at the pen to check on Clara, he challenged me just a little, saying, maybe I should not want to go there. But Wilbur and I are good friends, so he let me pass. Clara was in a tizzy and had just had the last baby. I snapped one or two quick pictures and left her to tend to the kids.
Later I returned and counted the babies. Clara had just passed the placenta. Some sows eat it, some don't. I never actually know if she does, because the dogs will clean it up for her if she does not so as not to attract the ravens and other horrible predators. The ravens were not in sight when Clara had her babies, thank goodness.
Two of these babies are spoken for to become breeders on a new farm and raise potbelly pork for the family there. There will be at least 4 others up for sale in 4 weeks. Clara herself is scheduled for sausage at that time, so depending on how many females there are, one daughter may be retained for breeding unless I can find some one to trade piglets with. This is Clara's third litter and she is much more relaxed as a mom, which is a good thing. I am hoping to be able to handle the babies without upsetting her too much. They squeal very loudly when they are picked up. In nature, the only time a piglet is picked up is when it is caught by a predator, so you can understand the predicament for them.
Thank you Clara and Wilbur, mostly Clara! Well done little mamma.
RSS Feed