It is 5. 14 in the morning and outside the window hanging low in the Western sky is a bright full moon. I was texting with Fede last night and said to him Can you see the full moon and he said No, I can only see buildings.
This was such a sad answer.
Yesterday one of the piglets developed a cough so I loaded him into the car and took him to the Pig Vet. He had a temperature of 104.7 (should be around 100 -102). His lungs were noisy but not thumping yet. But he was on his way down. Either pneumonia or septicemia. He had a solid shot of antibiotics. He screamed his head off all the way to the Vets and all the way home. which was a good sign And though still slightly behind the pack the Vet and I are hoping he will be alright. Last time I checked in the night he was sleeping jammed between his brothers. It is always a good sign when they are sleeping with the others, when an animal moves apart we are in trouble.
We are not sure why he got sick. But the Pig Vet said that swine are having a hard time this summer, with the wet summer. But as Fede said he has a good strong mother and she is feeding them well, so this will help.
Tima was noticeably quiet yesterday. But when I brought in her fruit she was up and eating like a shot. I will be watching her too.
In the header shot you can see Godot sitting in the Peacock Penthouse. When a female is sitting he chooses to sit with them which is interesting. Mrs Flowers is in a nest up there. I am not sure how many eggs she is sitting on but the Palace is a good safe place to sit. Soon I will close the door to lock out the bad chickens and she can have a go at hatching her chicks herself in there where they will be safe. I have more people interested in buying chicks so this is good news. 
Are you two pregnant?
Pigs have different voices for different people and also different sounds for different situations. When a sow feeds her piglets she sings to them. This is a very distinctive sound. I have recorded it for you (though I forgot to turn off the fan in the background-sorry about that).
This was recorded after the Vet visit so you can see that the sick one is still eating well.
I hope this plays –
Well the sun has risen, the moon has dropped, it is 5.51 am , the roosters are crowing and the calves bottles are already warming on the stove. Time for me to get to work!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
55 responses to “The Song of a Sow”
Would you look at those precious little piggies feeding – I do hope the little one gets better C.
Pete and I are off to Kenya tomorrow for a week so I may be a little scarce. Can’t wait to get to warmer weather for a while.
Have a wonderful weekend.
🙂 Mandy xo
Sharing the video with my daughter as she’s a new nursing mother. Know she’ll enjoy listening and seeing the piggies nurse.
I love those little pigs! I hope the sick one is OK. It’s fantastic that Poppy let you take him to the vet.
In case you didn’t know, it’s a blue moon this month 😉
…actually it’s the second moon this month – there’s an extra moon this year, hence blue moon or once in a blue moon!
How cool to learn that Mad! Thank you for this info! Sooo, that means we had a full moon at the beginning of July, and are now having a full moon at the end of July too??? I’ll have to do some research on this for sure, as I sometimes use the saying ‘once in a blue moon’ to mean a long time, but really didn’t know it’s roots! 🙂
Yes that’s right – there was a full moon at the very beginning of the month too 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon
Thank you for this Mad! So interesting!!!
Love Poppy talking to her babies, can’t help wondering why all the piglets are eschewing an obviously engorged udder on top? Hope the little guy recovers quickly today. We are freezing here today. Laura
Awww Poppy is such a beautiful Mummy! ❤ Hope her wee man gets well soon x
{Godot is a very progressive Daddy – involved and supportive from the beginning 🙂 }
Though he is actually not the Daddy – he is way too young – so i am not sure what that makes him – the younger man?
Ahhh ok … surrogate father? Or maybe just being a friend keeping Mrs Flowers company 🙂
I hope piglet gets better quickly. That video is so sweet, I just love it.
Oh my god! That sow song is so sweet and lulling. I think I might have to make a ringtone out of it! Then maybe my phone would’t bug me so much. I might actually want to answer it. The piglets are beyond darling. I love their bodies so close and snug.
You made me so so laugh for the ringtone! 🙂 Just imagine that being heard in a bus or in the Metro….
I have a friend whose phone cackles like a chicken and one whose yells “I’M RINGING”.
Or a business meeting!!
I love this idea. Poppy’s song would make me actually answer my phone!
You must have a quick ear to pick up the sound of a piglet in trouble. There are so many things to worry about on the farm. And we just sit and take our food for granted. If each of us had to work as hard as you to get our food, it would be a very different world. Loved the video. Those animals are all lucky to have you taking care of them. Does Fede get to come back to study. I don’t know if I missed his test results.
It’s a funny thing, when you’re with your animals a lot it’s almost as if you develop a sixth sense. I can’t count the times something, I have no idea what, has made me look twice at one of my animals and very often I hear or see something that’s not quite right.
It’s like a mom with her children. Your animals are your children so you are tuned in.
That is exactly IT sherry. That Hmm feeling.. c
Piggy love today! Hope the little one got just what he needed in time and is on his way to full health!
aaww how adorable. Bacon is totally going to be upset that he missed this one while he is off at Summer camp. The babies are so cute feeding. I hope the one feels better soon and all is well. Have a fantastic day my friend. ❤ Houdini
Wow – that recording is spectacular. What a good mum is Poppy. Time looks as though she’s singing. I hope she’s OK , also the little one.
Poor Fede with nothing but roofs to look at. I hope he can see the sky.
Keep well and happy all you Farmy folk,
love,
ViV
It is not often people can see a free pig nursing.. they all trot in from their pig garden when she calls it is so sweet.. c
Thank you for the video. Great fun; great smiles from here. A very happy afternoon to you all. xx
Love across the oceans to you too Misky
I love the faces this morning, as well as the pig sounds. I think that it’s clear that Fede misses farm life 😦
Fede must be missing you and all the Farmy creatures so much, the whole gentle pace of the seasons, the weather, the creatures and their lives, and all the useful and creative work he did when he was with you. I hope he comes back some time… Lovely Poppy and her contented Mama song to soothe her babies and make them feed well. I hope the poorly piglet gets well and thrives soon.
Re-commenting as I replied to my comment yesterday and some may not see it. Use OIL to remove stickers! Works like a charm. And it is save. I use olive, corn or jojoba depending on where I am using it. It remove chewing gum from your shoe or hair too! Sometimes if the sticker has a thick plastic top you have to get the oil under the top coating – or remove the top coating. Which will be hard on the calves, but get it in the hair. Let us know if it works!
I always thought acidic things would remove it – until I saw the tip on some show long ago. And BOY does it work well. No residue at all!
Does Fede have his test results? I miss him.
OIL! Excellent we will try that today.. I wish i had thought about that when the children were little.. Fede is resitting a part of the test in Argentina.. which will be even harder I think – he is also getting everything ready to begin applying to the universities – His plan is intact.. c
We used peanut butter for gum in hair, it also works on labels – at least on jars, and some price tags that have that impossible glue. I suspect the oil would be easier although, the peanut butter can be controlled better. You’d think that considering they’re putting those blasted labels on a living creature they’d find some that could be gotten off more easily.
I’m using oil too against adhesives – works very well.