If I’d been able to do an internal examination, I probably would not have needed the vet but the Other Half is neither big enough nor strong enough to hold a pig down or control it with a rope snare over the nose.

The vet wasn’t too happy about being called out at 11pm as he’d just come in after doing two exhausting jobs - a cow that had needed a caesarian and a horse that had been severely cut in a fence. I didn’t have a problem with him being grumpy as it was completely understandable, he did come out, he does a brilliant job and he’s a nice bloke to boot.

Anyway, we got the snare over her nose and behind her teeth, then I passed the rope around a strong anchor point and began reeling her in. Pigs pull back when their nose is pulled like this, which has the effect of holding them reasonably still. (And yes, it doesn’t sound nice but it’s the safest, most humane way of holding a pig for essential treatment.

I emphasise reasonably as she squealed, growled, jumped and kicked as the vet did the internal examination. It would have been a lot easier and less painful if she’d just followed the example of our other sows - they just lie on their sides, relax and occasionally snort if there’s a bit of pain. Not Dolores, though!

The vet couldn’t find any more piglets and while he agreed that she was bleeding a lot, it wasn’t pooling in the horns of her uterus - he’d have pulled handfuls of blood and clots out if that was the case. That meant she probably didn’t have any remaining piglets and she hadn’t had placental separation.

Further examination revealed a small tear just inside the vulva, so she was probably going to be all right.

But just to be sure that there weren’t any piglets remaining, the vet gave Dolores a shot of oxytocin while I held her still again. This brings on contractions very quickly, but within 10 minutes it was obvious there were no piglets or afterbirth remaining.

Dolores and piglets are doing fine this morning, although she’s not mothering them as well as our other sows do and tries to hide her teats from them.

We’ve now completely blown our veterinary budget for the year, so that means cutting back on Christmas. We don’t spend much anyway, but Dolores has ensured it will be very little this time!

All the more reason for her to go…