Pigs and boys

Come 2pm on a weekday and the Wee ‘Un knows it’s pig time. Most of the time, that’s all it takes to get him into his wellies, waterproof overtrousers and his other outdoor gear so he can be a proper farmer. Then we go out together to see what needs to be done.

First, we check any sows that we have inside for farrowing. Today, we found Daisy trying hard to ignore her boisterous offspring. They’re now two weeks old so the heat lamp is off to harden them up ready to go outside this weekend. The Wee ‘Un and I cleared the pen of muck and wet straw, freshened up the remaining straw with half a fresh bale, and cleaned and refilled the water trough. We also found time to change a few light bulbs to 20W CFLs, giving us more light than before (60W incandescents) but with lower energy bills.

As the Wee ‘Un and I headed out to check our four boar porkers, the Big Lad joined us—fresh home from school and changed into his waterproofs. The porkers are being collected tomorrow, but their bedding was muddy so we changed it with the remaining half bale that we’d used for Daisy. Some, probably many, people wouldn’t bother given that the pigs are going away tomorrow but I prefer them to be comfortable all the time.

With the porkers nicely tucked up, the boys and I headed over to check the ladies—two dry sows and two gilts being finished for pork. Their water was low so we topped that up, but their bedding will be right for another day or two. We also checked all the fencing as well.

The Wee ‘Un has a special pig song that the ladies seem to appreciate. He belts out dozens of improvised verses about his lovely pigs and their lovely hams, while the pigs grunt and squeal in response. It’s even madder, funnier and more brilliant than it sounds written down…

Dolores’s days with us are almost certainly numbered. She’s an okay pig, but not a great Berkshire and now that we have Daisy, plus several promising gilts from Daisy, we’d like to move her on. So, if you’re in Scotland and want a sow to breed meat pigs from, she could be available in-pig to our Berkshire boar. I wouldn’t recommend her for pedigree breeding.

The Big Lad might not sing to the pigs, but they know a good ear scratcher when they see one. Having checked the ladies, we headed back down the hill to look in on Graham and his present girlfriend, Delilah. Again, their water needed cleaning and replenishing but their bedding was good enough to see them through to tomorrow. With the pigs out of the way (for now, as feeding comes later), we moved on to the chickens and various other jobs. Boys and pigs, pigs and boys—the heart of the croft.