Unbelieveably. And against the odds she is still quietly sitting in her pen watching the world go by. She cannot walk more than a few steps, and makes not a sound. I pour her potion down her throat every two or three hours and make her get up to pee. Yesterday about 3pm I noticed that her ears were warming up.
Later she ate a little corn lying down. And I hand fed her some spinach. And by late evening she was standing up for a very short while to eat some hay.
Today I will call the vet and get a shot to make sure that she has expelled everything. Because I am pretty sure she has not, though I could feel nothing in there. I have images of her expelling the dead one and others alive in there but this is impossible. Just fanciful. So miserable for her. But I am feeling very tentatively positive. And lets hope that this is a one time thing and not a sign of illness in my flock.
She will not be bred again though. In fact next year no-one will be bred until I come back from New Zealand in October.
I will tell you a funny story.
Last night I was slow to cover Sheila up. Every night she tuggles into her carefully prepared bed and I lay her blanket over her, sealing in the heat.
Well,last night busy I was hand feeding Mama her potion. It is all melted into a full cup of warm water and I shoot it in small amounts down her throat with a big syringe. But it does take some time as we rest between mouthfuls.
Sheila’s pen is just across the barn corridor and she has a little kind of window in the wall that she can stick her fat piggie head head through to see what is going on in the barn. I could hear her moving around arranging her bed, pulling it up higher and higher and then I heard her lie down and it was quiet for a minute. I kept talking to Mama as I sat on the straw beside her, holding her head and helping her drink. Then I heard a distinct “harumph” from Sheila’s pen. “Coming Sheila.” I gently called out. I kept feeding Mama then heard another grunt and wriggle. I started to finish Mama up then as I stood I was greeted with Sheilas what about me face, through her little window. She proceeded to bark quite indignantly at me. “Ruff ruff ruff ” she was saying. Her snout quivering in the throes of a little piggy tanty. As I moved to climb over the gate, her head was swiftly withdrawn and as laid down my cup and syringe, pilled my gloves back on and settled my hat further down on my head, stomped my frozen feet and picked up her blanket, I heard her rustle again in the straw.
As I leaned over her gate gathering her blanket into folds to throw over her I could see that she had raced back into her bed, wriggling deep into the straw, then hearing me she went quite still, her elephants eye turned upwards peering out from under her ears waiting for her blanket. I flicked it out into the cold air of the barn and it unfurled straight like a sheet above a bed and floated and settled over her long round body, coming to rest just below her ears and and she was covered right past her tucked in piggy tail. “About time” she thanked me her voice muffled in the deep straw. And with a great sigh she closed her eyes. And the barns sleepy silence fell about us. I turned off the lights, patted the sentinel cat and closed the door behind me quietly
Have a lovely day.
your tired friend
celi
We are into the fifth consecutive day below freezing and there is ice everywhere. Mainly from buckets of water freezing solid overnight then being chipped out so they can be filled with warm water again in the morning.
Someone liked the snow though.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
62 responses to “Mama still holding her own and a funny story”
Oh miss c you must be exhausted – I wish I could help out even just for a day 😦
It is a good tiredness though because I think maybe Mama and I are winning. c
That’s good to hear 🙂
Ah Sheila, you are such a dear piggy. Just like a three year old, bright and precocious, but not quite understanding that the other child is sick and needs you a bit more just now. I’m so happy to hear that Mama is still holding her own. I love the description of your big, quiet barn at night, filled with warm, snuffling animals.
Wonderwoman flies again!…..bless you for caring so much …love to Mama, and to the sweetest piggy I know….
How is Kupa?
Ice everywhere here too! Every tiny branch on every tree is coated as the rain comes down and freezes on contact. My deck is an ice rink and I had to glide across it today to go feed the chickens – who are not very pleased about not being let out to run around the garden, being confined to their hut and run! Dogs and cats are getting cabin fever and driving me nuts as they go in an out of the flippin back door a 100 times a day, finding it is still cold and wet and want to come back in again. It’s like they think “this time it will be different, it will be blue skies and sunshine out there!”.
So glad Mama is holding her own. I am sure all us females can understand what she is going through to some extent. Making sure everything is ‘out’ is obviously the prime concern and I hope the vet helps with that. Hope you get a chance for a few kips on the couch today, got to keep your strength up lady, you are so needed!
Hugs
Fingers crossed the vet can put the finishing touches on Mama getting her help back! xo
I’m so sorry to hear of poor Mama; Shiela should have a bit more compassion but then again, she is a pig!
“momma….please come tuck me in….”
You are such a good momma to all your sweet critters—even if you make them wait sometimes to get tucked in. 🙂
You’ve done it now – Sheila will tell the Plonkers and all the pigs will have to have blankets 😉
What a beautiful story. So much wordless love. We miss having our animal in the house for just this reason. Despite all the traumas and dramas of farm life, I am filled with happiness for you.
And I am very — very — happy that Mama’s going to make it until the vet gets there. She must make it…
Very thankful to hear that Mama’s condition improves under your attentive care.
That descriptive paragraph about blanketing Sheila caused this writer to sigh in contentment at such lovely writing.
That’s a pig with character! Is there no chance for the others then? (I am an ignorant). 🙂
All the others are castrated males (barrows) and sold.. in fact two go tomorrow. we are a farm after all..though I am THIS closee to putting a deposit down on a kunikuni pet pig.. c
I meant the little sheepses. 🙂
oh yes, I’m sorry, Minty and Meadow are probably pregnant too, I will have that chat with the vet this afternoon, he may need to do some tests to make sure that we have not caught some kind of nasty organism that will cause abortions. Like you I am hoping it is a one off.. c
That ‘Thank you’ grunt from Shiela makes all the hard work worth while!
As you say against the odds! Those are the moment we long for… those that give us hope.
I am relieved & happy all is going slowly better & wishing you further good tidings 🙂