Clara Had Her Piglets!

Clara's belly was so big this time, it actually dragged on the ground. She waddled around a bit to eat and drink, but mostly laid down in the past three weeks. I cannot blame her. She did not suffer any problems with this pregnancy that she did last time when she had hemorrhoids of all things. Poor girl. After she delivered, the problem corrected itself and all was well, but she only had 6 babies. This time she has 9. She only has 8 teats though, so I may end up bottle supplementing one or two piglets. Bottle feeding piglets is not the easiest process, but I have had the pleasure to do so before with Tavy, a sweet female with a strong will to live . She was a Berkshire baby, the runt born so much tinier than the others, who refused to die. After a couple of days, I took pity on her and started to bottle feed her and she thrived and I was in contact with the lady who purchased her from me recently and she still has her! She must be a very big girl by now. 

But back to Clara. Clara is a nervous mother, the sort best left to tend to her babies on her own. She otherwise gets worrisome and steps on them or lays on them, sometimes to their demise. I put a bale of hay out for her and she carried mouthfuls to her chosen spot and built her nest. It was not where she slept usually, or laid down in the heat or rain, but a different shelter not shared by any of the other pigs. They respect her at this time and give her space, watching from the other side of the fence. Wilbur, on the other hand, goes in to check on her once in awhile, but she scold him and sends him out. Begrudgingly, grunting his disapproval, he exits and leaves her to her mothering business. 

I was not able to tell how many boys or girls Clara has since she is a nervous mother, but I did manage to snap a few photos of the new arrivals. Cute or what?