I had a message that one little girl was left from the litter of piglets in Unadilla Forks. I thought it over and thought it over and decided I couldn't let one little piglet be purchased alone, in this awful cold and harsh winter, with no litter mates to keep it warm. I told Kelly I would be there after school tomorrow to pick up the last female. I stopped at the bottom of the lane because the snow was deep and my van is not the best to climb up an icy incline. The husband and son came out and we went into the darkish barn. The piglets were slightly illuminated by a heat lamp. They are keeping three so four were squirming and running around. The men got in the pen and started examining the babies, looking for the girl. There was some question about which is which, then they said, oh, here she is. The lovely little spotted girl was banded and off we went, carefully hiking down the driveway, the big man holding tightly to the piglet who was screaming her head off. I thought neighbors would come running out of their houses to find out who was being murdered. We put her in the back of the van, in a rabbit cage and the receipt was made out. Suddenly, the son said, wait, Dad, that's a boar! We looked and sure enough. The son also said, I think that's the boar Mom wanted to keep for breeding. Dad said oh, just take him, clearly not wanting to hike back up the lane and do it over. I secretly wanted a girl anyway. I said, no let's get him back inside. I don't want Kelly to be upset with me. We pulled him out of the rabbit cage, screaming that ear splitting pig scream, and marched back up to the barn in the snow. Once again the men went in the pen, hmmming and hawing about this one and that one, how many spots, and then, here she is! They banded her and took down her ear number and off we went again, tip toeing along the icy walk and carefully down the drive to my van. I drove home listening to the cute little piggie grunts , wondering how she would be received by her mates who had not seen her for a couple of days. Matt helped me bring her inside, with me running ahead and opening barn doors, and him holding the screaming piglet up high above the dogs in the barn. We watched as the new member of our pig family sniffed and trotted around the long pen. I watched as the piglet mounted the others one belly! The father and son pig men had given me another boar. I decided not to call and make any more trouble over the piglets. This was a fine pig and would have to do. He's big and handsome and is already "hogging" the warm mash, pushing the others away. I had to chuckle to think how experienced pig farmers would have so much trouble determining male from female in a litter of eight week old piglets. In the meantime I am really enjoying the piglets. They are healthy and so much fun, trotting around, sniffing at the sheep across the fence, ears flapping and making the funny little grunts. One pig belongs to Matt's friend who made a deal with him involving the old Dodge Ram truck. I'll only have them for four or five months, after which they will be as big as Volkswagens, like my Scarlet and Sue Ellen. I would like to keep Natasha for breeding, but that remains to be decided. It's time for me to go mix some warm mash. The weather has taken a turn for the cold again. The barn is shaking in the wind and the wood stove is roaring. I'll give the piggies extra hay tonight for their bed. They are experts at utilizing body heat to huddle together and keep warm. Pigs in a blanket of hay...
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