How do you know when your pig is pregnant? Well, for a start she will not come into heat again. The signs of heat for the big Hereford Pigs are very obvious but for the Kunekune? Well I cannot tell when Tima is IN heat let alone if she misses one. 
But Tima is definitely showing more belly. And she is sleeping a lot more too. She gets out of bed last and in the afternoons Tane is grazing and Tima is sleeping. Though the moment she sees me angling towards her gate she is up and galloping over. So to get a shot from the side so we can look at her droopy belly I have to creep up on her.
Poppy, on the other hand, has not shown any signs of heat since her March 11 breeding. Though as you know her Standing Heat signs were pretty lame but she has just passed her second heat date without trying to rip the gates off so IF she is pregnant she is six weeks along. A pig is pregnant for 114 days. Three months, three weeks and three days. (so convenient) And usually a pig will deliver pretty much exactly on time.
I am not going to count to a due date quite yet though as I am afraid of jinxing it. I will wait until I see actual changes in her udder. So far though I feel that I am seeing more of the white of her belly. But then – I could be imagining what I want to see. 
With Poppy I need to get her and her brood through while it is still warm. With Tima the ‘when’ does not really matter. Don’t tell anyone but if Tima does not farrow until it is cold again I will just walk her down into the basement. I can make her a special heated pen down there. Tima is a civilised New Zealand pig. Poppy on the other hand is a wild Heritage pig – not a house pig – she HAS to be in the barn. Just imagine Poppy in the basement! Merciful heaven.
Sheila though is an educated pig. I think she would camp out on the couch without too much trouble. I imagine she would scorn the basement option though. 
Good morning. Last evening I milked Lady A without any help. She gave two gallons of frothy milk without any trouble at all. She raised her foot a couple of times and with my elbow, I just set it back down again. When she was done I let her baby back into the milking shed and both were happy. I think we are over the worst of it. Though I don’t want to jinx that either by speaking too soon!
Today I will plant the wild plums – the last of my spring trees. Yesterday I swapped three tiny wild plum trees for a length of Hops vine. ( The plot thickens!)
On another alcoholic note not one of my Vidal Blanc grape vines has come back this year. No signs of budding at all. I don’t know what to make of that.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
36 responses to “Pregnant Pigs?”
I bet Poppy can imagine herself in the basement 😉
Good Morning. Really love visiting here every morning
I had a plum tree die over winter, was doing great last year had it’s first crop of plums but never budded out this year. Our winters are mild so that is not the problem.
Oh No, no more Ladybird wine … that’s sad. Holding thumbs for the Piggy Pregnancy parties. Laura
Celia, if you have any willows growing in your area, make willow water and pour it around the base of your unresponsive grape vines or any trees needing a boost (or perennials particularly needing to come back). It’s a root growing hormone and has brought back the dead around here. Take the last 6 or 8″ at the end of willow branches (where the hormone is strongest), cut up into 1″ sections, put in a bucket with rain water or non-chlorinated water, let it sit covered for a couple of days, and strain the branches (compost them) or just leave them in the water longer. Pour the water on the roots. Bango, 3 days of that and most things, if there is any life left in them at all, will recover. Be patient though, it might take a week or so to give them enough growing time to produce leaves again. I had 3 elder berry bushes planted as bare root in clay soil which were dead sticks, ready to toss. But I watered them with willow water for a few days and at the base near the soil out popped little green leaves. They are now healthy bushes 2 years later! Good luck. Diann Dirks, Permaculture Designer, Auburn, Ga.
Thank you Diann – I also use willow water to strike cuttings.. it is excellent stuff.. c
Wow! How cool is that? Thanks for this! Wikipedia says: “Salicylic acid (from Latin salix, willow tree, from the bark of which the substance used to be obtained) is a monohydroxybenzoic acid, a type of phenolic acid and a beta hydroxy acid. It has the formula C7H6O3. This colorless crystalline organic acid is widely used in organic synthesis and functions as a plant hormone.”
Tima’ll be wanting cable TV and an internet connection down there in basement — her own blog, too, I reckon. Good morning to you all! xx
We are all crossing fingers and toes in anticipation of pregnant Poppy and Tima!
I can just about remember the joy of the afternoon nap when I was pregnant so I can understand what enjoyment Tima gets from her afternoon kip…..
Sorry that you vines have not appeared so far , maybe you will have a sober year.( only joking…)
Sheila also loves her sleeps
Such gorgeous sunshine in all those pictures! Perfect for a cat snooze. And a sleepy pregnant pig.
May your wishes for baby pigs be fulfilled. Perhaps your vines are just having a sleep in, and will come to life when it gets warm. I’m off to buy some yeast now, to experiment with the machine. There were no recipes with it, so I’ve been searching the net for something workable.
Have a good day
love,
ViV
Watch out, or Tima will be demanding a birthing pool and Tane by her side for the event… What a sly pair they’ve been if it’s true. Much more civilised and discreet than Miss Poppy, who rattles gates rather than bedheads, thank goodness…
I have a friend in WV whose wine grapes JUST popped a leaf bud two days ago. Give yours time. It was long winter.
I love all the animals on your farmy, but for some reason the kitties pose the best.
The thing is there is no green inside the stems, it is brittle and dead, I am hoping maybe there will be some shoots from above the graft.. c
Thank you Miss C, I feel well informed now on what to look for as to pig heat although I know no pigs in which I can watch for signs, it is useful information 😉 Hops?? do I detect the possibility of some IPA and ales and dark stouts in your future…
So exciting about the ‘pregnant girls’! You will continue to look at them and wonder if they are pregnant for probably another month! Sometimes it is difficult to know for sure until very close to the due day!!! xo
I LOVE a good dark stout, so did my grandmother she recommended a glass of stout before dinner for nursing mothers.. and elderly grandmothers who did not have much of an appetite.. c
In hospital, after my first baby, the ward sister told all us new mums to get our husbands to bring in Guiness for us. She also had us sunbathing topless to toughen our nipples! Thank the lord that it was June!
Christine
My father was in hospital (in Dublin, the home of Guinness.) for most of the year in 1958, He refused all food. The sister asked if he would drink Guinness. Yes he would, so he was prescibed a bottle of stout and a small carton of cream mixed, every day. It really brought him back to life!
Wow! Glad to know the Sisters weren’t all ultra-conservative.
I knew their was something medicinal about dark beer! Yum! 🍺
Robin🐥