Though his multi coloured tail is almost gone, The Duke of Kupa is still a gorgeous bird.
The tail feathers I am finding now are shorter and fluffier.
The piglets are still exploring their new boundaries and threes times yesterday Ton was sent out to “See the Piggies” . This is his command to find someone. “See John”or “See Daisy.”
” Ton, See Piggies!.” He will shoot to their run at top speed then race around the corner – head up looking. The moment he sees them he runs back to me then runs back to them. And goes down and watches them. They don’t need herding. I just call to them” Piggie, Piggie!” And they drop what they are doing (usually climbing all over Queenie or playing in the mud around the cows water) and they fly at top speed back to their own pen, Ton right behind the last one, under fences, through gates (Ton goes over the gates once they are all through) and zoom like torpedoes to their bowls where I have left treats. Their favourites are oats, eggs, silverbeet, or tomatoes. I always make sure there are treats there so they get their reward. Either I slam the door shut (which I hate to do as their toilet is out in their little field but they have to be locked in at night) or I just prepare myself for another retrieval. Today I put their new electric fence up.
When TonTon is working like this Boo is commanded to “Get Behind” which means he stays at my heel. He is too young to be managing animals yet. He is only allowed to watch. Which drives him crazy!
When Ton is not finding giggling piglets. He is guarding the Black Mariah. Just in case a chicken falls out. Can you see him under there? One chick fell out once (another little dog nose had nudged the box gate inwards a little) and he followed it all over the lawn, trying to herd it, until I noticed it. He is still not convinced that they should be in there. When the chicks go out onto the grass we will back the trailer up to the compost heap and just hose all the dirty straw straight out.
I need to tell you that I have decided that Charlotte will have to go. The fights through the gate are escalating and quite horrendous. Having two huge pigs literally at each others throats is untenable. Charlotte chases everyone out of her field including the dogs and now Sheila is becoming stroppy and bad tempered as well. It is very hard to keep chickens and dogs and cats out of the fields. This is a difficult but necessary decision for the good of the farm and I probably will not discuss it again. This is a little farm here. Not a zoo. My resources and space for the food farm are limited. It is an ecosystem and must be harmonious. She has had homeopathic remedies and conventional remedies. But there is nothing physically wrong with her. She is very healthy but out of control. Going on 600 pounds of out of control. Even if I wanted to I cannot breed her again as the Swine Herd will not have a fighting sow on his property. So I must be very tough with myself.
Rough isn’t it. But now it is time to hand the baton over to Sheila. My original plan was to have one pig. But I got talked into two little piglets by the swine herd. I should have stood my ground as managing two difficult pigs on this little tiny property is proving impossible. I accept responsibility. But I would be hugely grateful if we could just leave it at that. Let’s talk about the successes today.
My new header is an alfalfa flower in the hay field. This crop will be smaller but it will be the best one if we get it out in time. The field is quite beautiful.
Very promising. I shall call the hay man today and tell him we are almost ready. The field is not too tall but a little flower is an indication that the plant has gathered enough protein. We do not want too much flower then all the protein will be used up in flowering.
Good morning. Our John is going to have a look in another farm machinery auction place tonight for a hay elevator thingy. Like this one but closer to home. They are harder to find than we thought. With his job taking him off the farm so much lately leaving me to work alone, which is wearing me down a bit, so we hope to find one so I don’t have to lift quite so much hay into the barn by myself.
Let’s have a lovely day today. I know some days are better than others but we can always find some loveliness.
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
86 responses to “Fly Away Home”
While that is a hard decision about Charlotte it sounds like the right one. I’m sorry you had to face that decision but 600lbs can be a whole lot of dangerous. On a lighter note, I think that is so cool you have a peacock, such a beautiful bird!
Everyone should have a peacock i think.. they are so easy!
I remember in Ireland I was taking a tour of a castle and I thought I heard a little girl screaming for help. It was a peacock!
Horrible when we have to make the hard decision C, but like you say, it is all part of life. I shall enjoy a glass of wine on your behalf this evening, just to calm the nerves a wee bit. Pity we can’t enjoy a glass together. Maybe some day.
🙂 Mandy xo
one day.. absolutely! c
Good decision but I understand how hard!
Well thought out, (and I am leaving it at that :), lovely pictures and enjoy your wonderful day, hay looks very good indeed!
Thank you and thank you. This is a promising patch of hay. c
Hard, but the right choice. She’s a danger, and that can’t go on…let’s hope Sheila doesn’t follow suit after she’s bred…Fingers crossed for the hay elevator – it’ll make your life so much easier, and free-up time and energy for Other Things. Like keeping Boo in line 😉
Boo needs a very short line! But with heaps of repetitive training he is coming along. How about your new dog? is that starting to settle down? i shall pop over and see. c
Making some progress with the dogs…as long as Rufus is on a leash (and with me) Cleo will walk with us (6 to 12 inches away) and there are no spats. She gets nervous if I’m not there, and snaps at him, or runs away – which he thinks means Playtime. He’s so much bigger and stronger than her that I worry she could get hurt…and No Way can the kids be out there with both of them yet…but, there’s hope 🙂
What a boon that hay elevator would be! You mentioned something about layers and meat chicks in an earlier post – I take it these chicks are all cockerels then? Are they then sent off to Iceland before they reach puberty and start fighting each other? Laura
They are meat birds, which grow much faster and larger than layers. I bought them as a straight run, which means that they do not sex them first. If they pick and choose there are often left over chicks and I prefer just to take the lot. So they could be either. It should not take longer than 10 weeks to get them to a small roast size. But they will be eating lots of grass as part of their ration so they may take a wee bit longer. c
A very sensible , if hard, decision…will she provide pork chops etc or will she be rehomed
Sadly I cannot rehome a fighting pig she would be a danger to someone else, so as one of The Fellowship so sweetly put it she is off to freezer camp. It is the way of things and she will feed a good many happy kids. I have a very good abbatoir, I know the people .. they are small and efficient processing only a very few animals a day. So her end will not be traumatic or cruel. They even have a mud hole in their pen for the pigs. Best we can do really. c
Hard choices have to be made every day and you do it for the good of the farmy. Love the pictures as always today and also the narrative of Ton following and trying to herd a lone chick. That brought a smile to my face. Sending hugs your way today—-I think you might need a couple extra. 🙂
The chick was lucky Boo was with me. Boo is just a little too interested in the birds!
Making a decision about Charlotte is a success of the day. You have made a good decision that is right and safe for the whole farm.Those wee piglets are not so wee anymore, how old are they now? Isn’t it lovely when they all run towards you when you call?
Baby and her piglets are doing well, I am leaving them pretty much alone, I prefer to stand on the sidelines and support Baby with ear scratches and nice dinners. She is doing well I think, she gets a wee bit stressed when they get under her feet but they are all still intact and growing like mad and you cant ask for better than that. I think they have grown half their size again in one week, can this be possible? The nights are cool here at the moment so they appreciate their heat lamp. Today Baby came out for a bit of free ranging and some grass, I still dont know how many boys or girls I have, they all blob in a scaredey cat heap when I go near them. I know the means to win them over though, they are just not big enough yet for food treats!
Oh Baby is a super mother! Well done. All intact, well that is a grand result. Mine are only just at the stage where they like scratches. They are eleven weeks old now. I think, I need to look again. But are all very fat and happy today. I am off out now to run a low one line electric fence. Just at their nose level, with the higher net one behind so they can get used to it. Then they can get out as much as they like. Little monkeys! I need the two that are selling to go to their new home soon so that i am only managing four naughty piglets.! c
The ear scratches are for Baby, I cant get near the piglets! The home where the two piglets are going will surely appreiciate that you have trained the to the electric fence. 11 weeks eh, they look fantastic.
They are pretty goood with the mesh electric fence, now they are being trained to the rope wire, just one.. but so far they are so exhausted from their last escapade that they are all asleep in the barn and no-one has been out to test it! Baby is a good girl. c
Well, my eyes are all on Ton’s wonderful work and your description of it. Hope Boo is a good student and will follow on. And am so glad about the hay elevator: so will your back be! . . . since I am getting just a wee bit fed up with the Powers who don’t pass on posts, I have has to resubscribe, haven’t I 🙂 ! Grrr!!! Have a good day, dearHeart . . . will be thinking of you in my dreams very soon . . .
what a good boy ton is! i think you are making a good decision. you never wanted two and i think your original instincts were right.
I admire your courage Celi.
The piglets are certainly growing quickly. It looks like you’ve had some lovely weather lately. It’s been rather hot and muggy in our parts but I’m not complaining, it’ll be winter soon enough — I can wait.
So can I.. morning Eva!! c
Ah, I remember the days of elevators (ours a grain elevator) lifting bales of straw and hay into the hay barn.
Yet another tough decision but the right one under the circumstances. Will you breed from Sheila instead? As for Kupa, I’ve learned something there in that I didn’t realize that he had all those beautifully contrasting primary feathers on his wings. Such a handsome chap all round!
Christine
His under feathers are just as beautiful, a magnificent bird.. c
You’ll have to make Kupa a wig or crown of feathers 😉