As you know, yesterday morning, I was away from the property visiting with the Old Codger. John’s teenage son, visiting for the summer, a lanky young fella, went over to the big pig’s outdoor pen and found to his horror that the little piggies were both standing beside the Plonkers pen chattering to themselves about the size of the big guys. The teenager told me later that he slammed to a halt and just stared. He had no idea what to do. Then the Shush Sisters saw him, froze, ducked, stared at him for a moment, then in perfect unison turned and scuttled, cackling and squawking with excitement straight back to the barn, scattering the peacocks, 
through the big doors, round the corner past Bobby Blanc, 
..and raced back into their pen through a NEVER USED indoor gate. They were laughing at me he said. The teenager from down the road, who looks after the little pigs, was evidently having a wee nap in the hammock. We have again discussed making sure all the exits are secure!
Daisy is still not 100 percent. She still has not cleaned completely. This means that some of the after-birth has not released at the proper time. I was instructed to wait and not interfere but the vet decided that was enough waiting so I gave her an injection of Estrimate on Sunday. This should sort her out. Yesterday I noticed that she was eating less and standing around more. She was still drinking a huge amount of water though. So I made her tasty meals. Then literally stood in front of her and hand fed her brocolli stalks, and alfalfa cubes, and barley with yoghurt. I am told that this is not an uncommon occurrence with dairy cows. I will not go into the details. It is unsettling though. She does not smell like my lovely dairy cow. Anyway by yesterday evening she was out in the field munching and doing much better. This is an unsavoury side of dairying, I hate to interfere but these animals were never meant to survive in the wild. They are bred to dependence, and will always need our help. I use organic methods as much as possible but when it comes to emergency care I will take the vet’s advice. 
My Poor Daisy. She is very quiet this morning. She must be feeling more comfortable. 
Good morning. Today I am going to shift animals about the fields. The Bobby is five full days old now so he will soon be able to come out into the little field. Mama the Sheep always takes over the young animals while their mothers work, so we will have to begin introductions. Yesterday, even feeling unwell, Daisy gave four and a half gallons of milk. She must be bursting at the seams this morning. Have a lovely day. I suspect we will! It is one of those days that you would love to have if you were on vacation. But our newly planted alfalfa field is yellowing and under real stress now through lack of water. Still no sign of rain in the forecast. I have put a call in to another farmer who makes hay. We will have to buy alfalfa this year. But that is farming. We are exposed to the elements and must deal with that. And anyway who else gets to wander about the fields all day in a short skirt and a floppy hat talking to the animals and it is not even a vacation! celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
70 responses to “Teenager discovers escaped Shush Sisters”
hi celi! we got a sprinkling last night and might get a short storm today and then no rain in the forecast for as long as they can predict. the rain just keeps missing us and i bet it misses today too. this is horrible. i spend an hour each day watering. i sure hope you get some rain soon. your little piggies sure are imps!!! maybe you should have taken one more so you could have The Three Little Pigs!
Then we really would have been in trouble!! (laughter!) …c
You must have eyes on all sides of your had to keep up with the shenanigans of the animals and the messages of the crops. BUT i have another of my many questions. You mention going through the fields with a short skirt; are there no ticks in the grasses? We on the east coast are always aware of them, as their bite can lead to terrible problems like arthritis and perhaps fibromyalgia.
I have seen one or two ticks each year,on dogs, not me, there are ticks here but not nearly as bad as further south , I do wear knee hugh gumboots though!! I am sure that must look funny!! c
hey celia! i can’t find an email for you on your site. i have something i want to send to you. can you send me your address to my email that you can find on my site?
my email is celima.g.7@gmail.com.. look forward to that!! c
Ah, poor little (well, big) Daisy. Do hope she gets back to her old self soon. And as for those naughty Shush Sisters….very funny though!
He could not believe that they just ran back to their pen.. thank goodness they did! c
What a day, C!
But, they ALL are, aren’t they?
Daisy’s ‘issues’ reminded me of a conversation with my oldest, back when she was 15 and shouting about the “cruelty of raising an animal just so you could eat it.” These creatures wouldn’t exist without their purpose; they weren’t bred to be pets or companion animals. We created them, and now we have to care for them. The most responsible producers of milk, meat, and other animal products make certain that their animals have good lives…like you do.
Carry on, Miss C! Have a great day… I’ll think Rainy Thoughts for you!
Thank you for thinking rainy thoughts and we are definitely thinking alike as to the farm animals. I think even some of these health problems they have is due to this breeding to be a domestic animal. However as the breeder said we are dealing with animals, it is not corn, there will be problems sometimes! c
Like there are No Problems with corn? 😉
Even wild animals have these issues. The difference is that those individuals don’t ever breed again, so the trait isn’t passed on. Humans continue to prop-up an animal, and her offspring, when perhaps we shouldn’t.
This is true, and hard too. If i was truly organic i would not have given her a shot to expell the leftover gunk. But I really am not that tough. Our corn is curling its leaves up! certainly a problem there! No rain! c
Sorry to hear that Daisy was feeling poorly…..hopefully she will ‘get on with business’ and be up to par in no time. It can be distressing. Do Vets ever recommend putting the calf to nurse – hormone Oxytocin is released which would help expell the afterbirth completely? Just wondering with my Midwife’s cap on…
Little Bobby Blanc looks adorable !
It is true about the sucking, but the calf has been sharing for quite a while. Most of these problems I think are because of the breeding. They breed them for milking. And use all kinds of measures to keep the good milkers alive and working. So survival of the fittest no longer applies. That is my theory anyway.. c
I’m keeping Daisy in my thoughts today. I think she might need the extra positive energy.
Thank you misky and good morning!! c
So, will the teenage son become your farmhand this summer or is he working off the farm? Seems to me he could become an invaluable resource on the farm if properly instructed. Here’s hoping Daisy is completely recovered soon.
I have given him two jobs so far and he is doing well if reminded, though he is a city kid and runs through the animals and forgets to shut gates, or put the lids on the feed bins and leaves hoses running, and generally terrifies me on the farm. He is doing his best but has been brought up in a sanitised air conditioned world. I am not sure how long he will be here but so far he is trying hard to get the hang of it.. Just having him do the water troughs each day has taken a good hour of work off my shoulders, so I am grateful.. c
Patience, my dear.
Naughty little piggy sisters… and poor Daisy – I do hope that she is back to her normal self soon!
🙂 Mandy
I think she is getting there, she was in a ‘Do Not Hurry Me” mood this morning.. c
Poor Daisy, get well soon. My Wise old Grandmother used to say that the weather got messed up when they started messing with the Moon. Let it rain, let it rain! Laura
What an extraordinary theory! I love it! morning Laura! c
Wee Bobby Blanc looks so like his mum……….I hope Daisy is improving today.
I’m sure we can send you some rain from the other side of the world; the native plants are struggling to survive with all the rain this year. Will post Miss C a rain cloud.
Put a string on that cloud so i can catch it as it breezes past!! c
“Bad pig! Bad pig! Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” Smart, and criminally inclined. You have your work cut out for you.
morning bill, can you have pigs in your condo? i could send you one.. they are a laugh a minute! c
Celi, Just did quite a bit of catching up. WoW! You’ve been busy. Your new Bobby is adorable! Your farm animals have been a handful, and I am so sorry about your eye, but glad that it is feeling better. I really felt bad when I read about the day you were having when it was injured. You are an amazing woman and I really admire your fortitude when things go all slanty.
~ Lynda
PS: I am also very glad to know that you have two pairs of extra hands to help you with those animals. 🙂
It is nice to have company on the farm, though teenagers are like cats – they sleep most of the day!! Morning Lynda, i need to pop over and do a catch up with you too, first i will grab my coffee! c
I hope Daisy is feeling better by now. I’m not thinking Rainy thoughts: I’m thinking “rain rain go away, away across the pond to Celie.” It’s pouring now, AND cold, and seems to have been like that since Chrtistmas 2010.
West Sussex: 9c and pouring rain. You’re not finished with the rubbish weather yet. We had 42mm rain y’day.
You guys are really getting a soaking.. not fair! hope sunny days are on their way! morning viv.. c