If they’d gone to slaughter when planned, we could have done our pig shuffle with ease last Saturday. (This is going to get complicated!)

Pen 1 should have been empty on Saturday as the pair of finished pigs should have been in the freezer. It wasn’t, so to empty it the pair had to come inside.

Pen 1 could then be occupied by Delilah, in pig and due to farrow towards the end of March, until it was time for her to come in and farrow. She had to come out of the field, where she’s been with Graham and Doris.

Pen 1 also had to be shared with Daisy, whose piglets were weaned on Saturday. They remain in Pen 4 as it’s familiar territory and stops them becoming stressed, but that means the pair of finished pigs can’t go in Pen 4.

Pen 2 is empty, but it’s being rested and has to be empty for three months, when it will be ready for Delilah and her litter to move in.

Pen 3 was being occupied by Dolores, but she had to move in with Graham and Doris in the field. Pen 3 could not be occupied by the finished pigs as it needs to be rested for Doris’s litter in another three months.

I couldn’t move any of the other pigs out in another field as we haven’t had enough money to fence the next field yet. (The final cash for that will come from the sale of the pork and Daisy’s litter.)

So, the end result is that the finished pigs have to come in for a week, but that’s beneficial as one is larger than the other and when they’re inside I can control their food intake better to reduce the size difference.

They’re quite happy to come inside as they get a huge straw bed, lots of attention and an opportunity to loaf. It’s also familiar territory as they spend two weeks in there after being farrowed.

I told you it was complicated.