NINE little teensy weensy piglets..The Aliens Have Landed

Nine ! who guessed NINE!

Charlotte has had her piglets three days early. I was ready though and apparently so was she. First there was one. Then she stood up and walked about, acting confused and unsure of what to do next. The wee piglet made like a wind-up toy and huffed off into the corners wandering about.

After a bit she lay back down and heaved out four more. One was dead and unformed so he must have died some time ago. But the rest came out ready to go. No assembly needed.

Then there was a good long wait while the first ones nursed and her uterus  changed tracks. A pigs uturus has two distinct sides so there are no tangles, but only one birth canal. The wait worried me but I had read that the births can take up to three hours, with quite long breaks in between sometimes.  

Then out came three more and then she stopped again. Piglets can be born headfirst or feet first. Both are normal.

I counted eight, they arrived quite clean, with their eyes wide open, shaking their heads, breathing like heavy smokers, wriggling to get moving. Their legs immediately pedal and they are looking for the teat within seconds. It was bedlam getting them all on without having them wander off. They are absolutely quiet. All you hear is this little huff, as they navigate about like tiny off-rail trains with no shut-off switch. I guess they come with their own inbuilt ever-ready battery.

Then the painter man came, right on time, to discuss the colours and schedule to paint The Tiny House.  I thought she must be done, it had been an hour now since the last one, so I left them to drink for a while. Charlotte was calm and asleep.

When I returned she had stood up and rolled over to her other side so I went in to count them in case she had rolled on one. I have heard a hundred horror stories of sows rolling over and killing their babies one by one if they are not caged. I had let her even choose her own pen. Not only had she not rolled on one but now there were NINE.

I cannot even begin to figure that out.

In the night I popped in and out a few times and each time she was in a different position and had a line of perfect little babies all suckling. This morning I watched her change positions and  she stands and woofs and whines at them until they are all over in one corner, they all gather and stand very still, then she moves right away from where they are and lays back down. This morning as she was herding them away from her bed she accidentally stood on one. It squealed, the first squeal I have heard, it sounded like a cat, she lifted her foot immediately and  froze as it darted away.  Everyone froze. Then she started to grunt at them again and the  piglets slowly backed into for their corner  as a group, watching her the whole time and hesitantly Charlotte returned her foot to the floor and huffing more warnings took her quite massive self across about four steps and lay down in a clear spot and they all tumbled back in.

So that solves the question of how a good sow can lie down without killing her babies. She needs room to move away from them. They are so small and so fragile I am in awe of her skills. Lets hope she can keep them from getting under her for a few more days as they learn the ropes. Not every piglet will listen to his Mama. And once she lets her body drop she cannot suddenly  stop herself.

Good morning. Charlotte has not eaten anything since she went into labour. Nor has she drunk very much but she seems ok. Possibly this is normal. Maybe as she gains confidence she will. It is all close by. For now she is just focused on feeding her piglets continuously.  And keeping them safe.

They are hot tiny wee silky bundles.  All the shots above were taken within the first hour of their birth. Amazing really. They do look like Aliens with those big elephant ears.

Ok, I am off out to begin the work of the morning.

You all have a lovely day and I will make sure to take some more miniature pig shots for you for tomorrows post.  It is raining again, but nice and warm. I am a bit tired.  But the show must go on!

Your friend, celi