The Fat Ewe Farm and Bed and Breakfast
The Fat Ewe Farm and Moose Hills Inn
Organic Permaculture Farmin' for
the Lazy Ewes
  • The Fat Ewe Farm
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • The Fat Ewe Farm Store
  • Livestock Breeds (click here to see all the breeds)
    • Angora goats
    • Icelandic Sheep
    • Jacob sheep
    • Old English Southdown Babydoll Sheep >
      • Babydoll Sheep on the Fat Ewe Farm
  • Contact Us
    • Photo Gallery (click here for some awesome photos or watch the slideshow) >
      • Video Slide Show
    • Phone Number
    • Map
  • Sale Barn
  • Recipes From the Fat Ewe
    • Old Stuff
  • How Much Meat Do You Get?
  • Ukrainian Easter Eggs
  • Moose Hills Inn

Little Pigs and Chickens

12/11/2016

0 Comments

 
The other day I went into the chicken coop and it was clean as a whistle, not a poop anywhere. Hmmm, I did not just clean it. I wonder who did? 

Well, surprise, surprise. The busy housecleaners were the piglets. Like the dogs, they enjoy eating the chicken poop, and the duck poop, but not so much the rabbit poop. And they are small enough to fit through the pop door of the coop! So they all went in there and went to work. Even behind the tarp which is under the perches to direct the poop away from the sleeping ducks who live there, there was not a morsel of duck poop. Good little piggies. 

The next night, the piggies had decided to take up residence in the coop. There were around 20 of the little porkers, of various ages and breeds, but they managed to snuggle together under the straw and were warm and toasty. The temperatures dropped to minus 37 with the wind chill and the coop stayed above zero. That is a lot of body heat from the pigs and chickens generated to keep the coop that warm. It is insulated, but has never stayed above zero on really cold nights. The next night, I closed the pop door because the piglets needed to be taken to the butcher and had to be loaded into the truck today. They should have been easy to catch and it was all set up, except for Robbie. That dog! He pushed the barrier down to better see what was going on and then half the gaffers ran out. But they went to their previous home, so it was not too difficult to round them up and catch them there. There are three piglets left, not quite enough to keep the coop above zero, I think. And the pop door is left open too. One poor little hen, one of my favourites, a little Chantecler cross, was not up on the perch and froze in that wind. I tried to put her up and she just came back down. She will likely not survive another day, poor chicken. The rest in both coops are faring extremely well, thank goodness. There are no piglets in the other coop, but more chickens in a smaller area where the perches are. So they have stayed warm enough. 

The little piglets will be permitted to sleep in the chicken coop as long as they can fit through the pop door. I know one is male but did not see what sex the other two are. The butcher may not take all those that are loaded either, so some might come back home. Drat! Only about 6 are sold so far. Thank goodness it is so cold. The rest can go in the new freezer until they are sold or enjoyed. 

I highly recommend putting some piglets with the chickens in winter. It keeps the coop spotlessly clean and warm. Both the piglets and chickens benefit, and so do I. 
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Airstream Land Yacht 1964
    Alpacas
    Alpine Goats
    Ameraucana Chickens
    American Buff Geese
    Ancona Ducks
    Angora Goats
    Angora Goats
    Angora Rabbits.
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Bed And Breakfast
    Berkshire Pigs
    Blue Faced Leicester Sheep
    Blue Swedish Ducks
    Boer Goats
    Border Collie
    Border Collie
    Bronze Turkey Standard
    Bronze Turkey (Standard)
    Canadian Horses
    Canadian Horses
    Cats
    Chickens
    Cotswold Sheep
    Crafts And Hobbies
    Cream Legbar Chickens
    Dorset Sheep
    Ducks
    Embden Geese
    E'st A Laine Merino Sheep
    Farm Life
    Farm Life
    Farm Store
    Finnsheep
    Flemish Giant Rabbit
    Flowers
    French Lop Rabbit
    Galloway Cattles
    Gardening
    Gotland Sheep
    Guinea Fowl
    Herbs
    Holstein Steer
    Icelandic Sheep
    Jacob Sheep
    Japanese Bantam Chickens
    Jersey Cow
    Kahaki Campbell Ducks
    Karakul Sheep
    Kiko Goats
    Kilo Highland Cows
    Light Sussex Chicken
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Meishan Pigs
    Miniature Nigerian Dwarf Goats
    Moose Hills Inn
    Muscovy Ducks
    Norwegian Red Dairy Cow
    Nubian Goats
    Nygora Goat
    Ossabaw Hogs
    Partidge Chantecler Chickens
    Pekin Ducks
    Permaculture
    Pied Guinea Fowl
    Polish/Ameraucana Bantam Cross Chickens
    Polled Dorset Sheep
    Potbelly Pigs
    Pygmy Goats
    Recipes
    Rigit Galloway Cows.
    Romanov Sheep
    Romney Sheep
    Rouen Ducks
    Saddleback Pomeranican Geese
    Saxony Ducks
    Sebastopol Geese
    Sheep And Goats
    Shetland Sheep
    Silver Spangled Hamburg Chicken
    Soap And Hand Made Cosmetics
    Standard Jack Donkey
    Sustainability
    Swiss Blackneck Goats
    The Llamas
    The Llamas
    Toulouse Geese
    Tunis Sheep
    White Chantecler Chickens
    White Danish Geese
    Wool

    Author

    Fluffy writes daily about the experiences on the farm and with the bed and breakfast patrons. 

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    view old blog site

    RSS Feed

Contact Us
Home

The Fat Ewe Farm 

All text and photos are the sole property of The Fat Ewe Farm  and may not be used without written permission.