The day was toddling along like it does. 
The new lambs saw their first sun.
Though it was still a wee bit chilly.
Look at this cheeky baby, lambs just hit the ground running.
Whereas kittens hit the ground sleeping. 
Then we received the call that Charlotte had completed.. um.. relations with the boar (witnessed – like royalty) and was ready to come home. So we hitched up the trailer and raced over in high excitement to escort Her Royal Pregnantness home but she was Doing a Daisy and making sure we all knew that she was in a brilliantly bad mood.
She barked all the way home and once she was released she immediately yelled at Sheila for letting the house get all messy, kicked her out into the yard and proceeded to do the housekeeping. Then she ate everything in sight, drunk half a bucket of water and went to bed.
When I went out to do the first of the night feeds she had let Sheila back in and they were both fast asleep in the deep straw. 
I had a cool discussion with the swine herd when he asked me if I had a farrowing crate. No I said, I have a lovely big pen with plenty of room for everyone. She will kill the piglets he said, lying on them. You have to keep her in the cage for at least a week, there is room for her to lie down and the piglets come and go, he said.
If she kills her piglets she is a bad mother and won’t be bred again. I said. I will give them plenty of space. We will do it the natural way. We have room.
You can bring a crate into the barn, he said. They are so heavy the pig cannot move them though, he said. They are made of iron.
I gave him two big jars of honey. He would not accept money for the stud fee. He is a kind man really, but different, with other ideas. I am sure he meant well. And I am also sure that he thinks I am bonkers, but he thinks it kindly. We are different that is all.
Ah well, I said, not wishing to continue the conversation. We climbed back into the red truck with our honking pig in the trailer and looked at each other. What did the old farmers do, John said. I am pretty sure they did not bring farrowing crates across on their wagons.
The pig builds itself a nest of straw and sticks, I said.
Make sure we save her a couple of bales. Said John, putting the truck into gear. This pig is going to need a pretty big nest.
Good morning. Everyone was in bed early yesterday, the day had been coated in white stars and sunshine, and the full moon turned the night into a paradise of gently snoring softness. I was full of contentment as I crunched over the ice with my bottles of warm milk doing my rounds. TonTon carrying the torch beside me.
Put a circle around June 17 for Charlotte. This will be her time, give or take two or three days either side. A pig is pregnant for three months, three weeks and three days. About.
Have a lovely day. We have another gorgeous sunny day in store, I might let the lambs out for a gallop in the fields. But first the milking.
celi
When I worked on a farm in college, the farrowing house was the saddest place in the world. Good for you for letting her figure things out the natural way. Sometimes adding a low rail against the wall that is sturdy enough for her to lean up against can prevent her from rolling over on them accidentally. We do that with dogs because the wee ones go everywhere, and a first-time mom sometimes doesn’t have it all figured out yet.
I have read about this rail, and was wondering how it worked, I shall create something like this.. c
It allows enough space for the babies who are lying behind her for warmth to stay near her without being crushed. They called it a pig-rail, I believe.
Good Morning Ceclilia, Wow so much to think about when you are raising animals. I would be stressing over all the decisions you need to make. I do however love kitties and seeing them bright eyed makes me smile this evening. Hoping you are doing well. Take Care, BAM
Morning Bam, I am so glad your comments are getting through again.. c
Those Farrowing cages don’t look friendly …. Will Sheila accept the new piglets? Laura
Hi Cecilia,
Sounds to me like Charlotte is glad to be home and the lambs will love the frolic I’m sure. You have a glorious day and enjoy the sunshine. We have another ice-snow storm coming in tonight. I’m really looking forward to spring all the time. I’m also ready to make some maple syrup if Mother Nature will just cooperate.
Rita
You must be relieved that Charlotte is home bad temper and all. We also placed a board rail out about a foot from the wall because our sow was so large. That moon made it like daytime last night.
We only lost one piglet to squashing during our pig breeding phase, and mum was a first timer. It happens occasionally, but is still preferable to a farrowing crate. The sow who had 15 piglets her first time didn’t squash one, even though she was the size of a wee hippopotamus! She just lowered herself to the ground more slowly, giving her large family time to get out of the way!
Christine
It is good that you can disagree and respect each other and be kindly to one another.
We put a raised board in the corner so the piglets had a place to get out of the way — I am sure Charlotte is happy to be home again and she will be a good mother!
I had a pig farming friend – a believer in doing things the natural way too, and his pens all had a rail all round for piglet haven! Congratulations to Her Royal Pregnantness – entitled to a bit of a moody until her hormones settle down!
I hope it warms up soon – for you as well as us!
aww welcome home to Charlotte! So glad to see… even if crabby, that she’s home and well
No wonder Charlotte was grumpy..she has lost her virginity to a bloke she did not know…might have been fun..but then she comes home to an untidy house…naughty Sheila…maybe when she has little piggies to cuddle she will think that it was all worth the effort.
Hi Celi! After we artificially inseminated the pigs Jack built a very nice….even nicer than their outside shelter….farrowing house, in duplex style so that each pig would have it’s own little house. It doesn’t have doors to close, so the momma can come and go as she pleases. And I guess the piglets can too? We are new at this you see, and our very old, small barn cannot accommodate them. Anyway, when it got cold, Jack opened up one of the duplex sides and the two happily moved in to snuggle in the hay out of the cold. We know that the insemination did not work with Bernadette, but we are still keeping our fingers crossed that Roxie is pregnant. So happy Charlotte is!!! xo
A farrowing crate? Yikes. I didn’t like the looks of that. I don’t blame the sweet thing for being cranky after being locked up with that filthy beast away from home. Ha!
i would be grumpy too if i had to mate with that PIG! haha…can’t wait to see the piglets.
Cecilia,
A board around the pen would be a great help especially the corners. Don’t forget that this is Charlotte’s first crack at motherhood. Think of all the questionable things we did as a tired first time mom . Usually when the sow decides to lay down, she goes down and if a little piglet isn’t quick enough it is toast. If Charlotte is flopper downer or a leaner on the side of her pen, the risk is greater. We had pigs for a couple of years when I was a teenager (they were not near as well behaved as yours). Did make for some great stories though I wasn’t impressed at the time lol. The first litter we lost about half when the momma laid on them, she was a flopper. She had a large pen, but her and the piglets liked one corner and that was where they were when she decided to take a rest. She took good care of her piggies otherwise. By the time the second sow had piglets dad had outfitted all three pens with a bumper board and no more piglets were lost to crushing, That is why farrowing crates were invented, to protect the babies. I don”t know how often the crushing of piglets happened when sows were totally on pasture all the time, but it is quite common when they are in a pen, even a large pen.
Forgot to add that as I remember it the board was at least 6 inches wide (probably wider). This gives the piglets room even if momma pig spills in under the board a bit. It was made from lumber that was on the farm, so it was probably an leftover plank from the barn siding. It also needs to be set high enough that the little pigs can be upright under it. You could probably use a farrowing crate for an idea of the height of the board. It seems like after the first week the piglets are much more aware and quick so the risk isn’t as great.
I looked at the photos of the farrowing crates. They look like torture to me! I read the comments, and building a board “buffer” sounds like a good option. Of course, I know absolutely nothing about any of this, but I find it fascinating! Glad Charlotte is home safely. If only she could talk! : )
It’s good to see Charlotte
Those crates don’t look very nice at all.
Gosh, I had no idea there was so much to think about with pigs and birthing..it’s all news to me and so interesting. You’ve done so well with your animals, I know you’ll make the right decision for Charlotte. Good to see her home again and the kittens are so big! Not so kittenish anymore.
Do pigs have cravings during pregnancy?
What excitement .. piglets in the making… and the worries of the youngsters being crushed etc… you’ll figure it all out ..of that I’m sure.. but around June this blog is going to get really exciting…
Glad you’re going for a natural “home birth”. Do you think she is love sick and missing her new boyfriend, or is she thinking..”well stuff that, I’d rather stay in with an episode of Downton Abbey and a bottle of wine”?!
Oh, I love this: “(witness – like royalty)”. Humor and respect is important on a farm
Don’t remember seeing any farrowing crates – that sounds pretty grim. like caged chickens – used in large pig production to make sure the profits survive? I do remember the neighboring farmer had a pen with a wide board across so the little pigs could creep in and out – maybe that’s what other comments are mentioning?
guess there’s a new awareness among us bloggers now: crate free pigs are happy pigs!
Every one has suggested the birth’ n board, which is what we used for the first four years of raising piglets. When I was a child our sow, Sally, had a horrible time, trying not to land on her little pigs, so my Dad always used a birth’n board after the first go round. We did too. It doesn’t take little ones long to figure out how to get out from under Momma, but right at first they do have a hard time.
Enough of that…I’m sure you have the picture
Linda
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Glad to hear that the girl is home! I have not bred pigs, but I have seen photos of farrowing areas which have a small space with an overhang that the piglets can get under, but still be right near the mama, but one she cannot get under (sometimes a lighted area). A rail sounds like a good plan as well.
Do you read the Sugar Mountain pig farm blog? Lots of great ideas and ways of doing things with pigs, totally au natural!
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/
How wonderful! I am so glad you are not going to use the hideous crate. We have had a couple of litters of piglets born and the mama did great. We did lose a couple, but not because she killed them or squished them.
I know nothing at all about pigs,but find this all fascinating. I’m sure the bumper bars will work beautifully. On a completely different tack – doesn’t the Coupe look as though it has been there forever?!
Morning, Totally agree re letting Charlotte get on and do it her way. Lets hope the romance took!
I really, really want pigs, but I’m not allowed them. Maybe when i grow up I might be allowed some.
Love Leanne NZ
Cannot wait to see pics of the piglets – the lambs are so dang cute:) Happy Monday on the Farmy!
Spring is my favorite time of year to follow you around, Celi. I think the baby lambs are a little “early” by the calendar, but they make me think of spring. I love the photo of them catching their first rays of sunshine. I’d fall asleep early, too, with your schedule, but the satisfaction at the end of the day must be sublime!
if only sweet charlotte could write about her experience!
Celi I just gave Good Husband a brief synopsis of the return of Charlotte. Then I mentioned the suggestion of the farrowing crate. Without missing a beat he said “that’s not going to happen on Celi’s Farmy”. It does sound rather like “the iron maiden”. Virginia
Funny old pig you are, Charlotte! I hope you don’t squash your babies!
Way to go letting the animals figure things out. I’m not so sure our modern farming is always the best for the animals. They’re smarter than we give them credit for.
I’m so glad Charlotte is home…I was worried about her and I’m sure you’ll figure out the best way for her to have her piglets and it won’t be in some tiny, little cramped cage!
That photo of lamby looking through the gate at one of the cats is priceless…look at his sweet little eye trying to figure out what that other fur thing is! 
Congratulations to Charlotte! I think she will be a fine momma – good for you allowing her to do it the way it was intended to be done.
And I very much love your description of the day coated in stars and sunshine…
Okay, so while I read about your plans for a “natural” pig birth, I am looking at baby sheep wearing coats that you made them. I’m thinking it won’t much matter where the piglets are born because Grandma Ceci will be there to put handmade booties on them, tuck each one in a blanket, and make sure they’re all sleeping out of harm’s way. Which is one reason why I love reading your blog. The other reason is the peafowl. I so miss mine.
Charlotte is behaving just the way our dogs did on the rare occasions we left them in kennels while we were away ( usually we went away i shifts so the dogs didn’t have to board!)
Crates for poor old pigs are why I don’t eat pork or bacon any more… the misery of factory farming is something that so few people seem to know about.
Thank heaven for the farmy and a few happy creatures…
It’s disgusting the way pigs in large commercial farms in some countries get treated, kept in farrowing crates so tight they’re unable to turn round, repeatedly inseminated and made to have litter after litter on concrete floors without a sight of sunlight. I make sure to buy free range bacon because I hate the thought of it. Glad your pigs have a different life.
Welcome home, Charlotte! I bet Sheila was happy to see her — as soon as Charlotte’s mood brightened a bit. What, no afterglow? Great pics of the lambs, today.
I hope one of your readers helps you find a better way to protect the piglets than a farrow crate. There has to be a better way. Have a great night, Celi!
Oh my, isn’t it going to be fun during the months to come on the farmy! Healthy babes everywhere: what a wonderful daily show and learning experience all of us ‘city slickers/ignoramuses’ are going to have! Actually wonder what Sheila feels about all of this: daresay Charlotte will keep on feeling ‘uppity’ and then her shape will begin changing . . . hmm, at least no mirrors for comparison
!
I think most people dont realise what some animals have to endure so we get the food we like. Your blog is educational as well as entertaining and I love it. Joy
I truly believe that we need to know where the food comes from. look your dinner in the eye if you will.. it definitely mitigates overeating!! c
When Charlotte is thinking of feeding the piglets she will make little come here grunts at the same time as she is lowering herself to the ground, this is the precarious time for the piglets and good if they can get under the rail. Unlike most other baby animals the piglets dont snuggle up to mum for warmth and will need a space away from mum with no draghts and plenty of warmth (In the wild mum will build a nest and pop the babies in it). In domestic situaions a pile of straw is ok if Mum doesn’t get on it too, but usually it is a wee corner of the pen called a creep where the piglets can stay warm and safe. Often it has a lamp over it as well, but I know how unsafe you feel they are in your barn so plenty of warm straw would do. I think you had something like it for the lambs. This is also a good place to start the piglets on solids without Charlotte nicking it.
that is an excellent idea, i have a creep for the lambs too or Mama will eat all their food, i will make a plan.. thank you! all advice is welcome!
You made my day with the “like royalty” reference. Too funny.
You have such a beautiful perspective on those you disagree with. Way to be!
life is full of people who we do not agree with, sometimes they are the ones who teach us the most, sometimes we just need to let them be and miserably sometimes we need to loudly disagree.. thank goodness this is not one of those times.. .. c
I am so glad that you agreed to disagree on the farrowing crate . . . and that you parted on good terms. Also lovely that he got some honey in return for being so helpful with Charlotte.
June 16th in our wedding anniversary. If the piglets are born then, please do NOT name one after me.
It is very sad when two or three piglets get crushed
Here’s to a skilful-parent sow and a big batch of happy, healthy piglets!
*splutter, splutter, giggle* Sorry, but the nest thing has given me this picture of Charlotte fluttering around teaching the piglets to take off …
The poor babies look cold!!
A date for the diary!!
A farrowing crate looks like it would keep the piggies safe, but I wouldn’t want to be kept in one. Those lambs are growing so fast. I forgot to mention how pretty the “ice” on the ground looked in your previous post, and your description of chandeliers was just beautiful.
Thank you and we have lots of room for Charlotte to give birth naturally, I am dying to see what kind of nest she will build! c
What marvellous advice you have received from so many people who know about the best way to protect the piggies. The pregnancy seems so short! You have so much to look forward to, with the lambs growing and now piggies to come. So glad that the sun shone. Your description of the moon, and the night as ‘a paradise of gently snoring softness’ is pure poetry – beautiful. Amazing what happiness a little sun can bring.
Oh yes!! c
Farrowing crate indeed!