The New Little piglets are still alive. They are drinking and wobbling about. They are not being given back to their mother. When Tahiti calmed down I went in and removed seven piglets bodies and parts of bodies. I tell you this so you know why I have decided to try to raise the surviving seven myself. Poor Old Tahiti. But I cannot breed from her again. I cannot trust her. I saw what she did. Pigs are not intelligent they are not cognitive but they are highly instinctual. And her instinct to trap and kill her piglets when she herself is frightened is not sustainable on my little farm.
Here is a nice story.
A local woman farmer read about my problem (FaceBook publishes my blog, so Social Media really is useful) and even before I called her to ask about sow replacer she had dug out her piglet feeder (it is very old – and has saved numerous broods of piglets for her), called our local feed store and asked if she had any milk replacer (the feed store owner is a woman farmer too who operates a small feed store from her farm and we all buy from her) then when I called she had everything in place and all I had to do was drive over and pick it all up. How is that for kind neighbours?. Women Farmers Rock.
So I trained the seven piglets to drink from their gentle and quiet Dalek mother. They are very busy piglets so that was a bit of a riot – piglets bite too, the little savages). The Dalek has a heater that keeps the milk warm and is screwed down to a heavy base so now I can allow the piglets to drink whenever they want to. I just have to keep fresh milk in there and pop in every few hours to make sure they are all eating. They are all set up in the turkey house with a heat lamp.
We are not out of the woods yet but we are way ahead of the last game. Whoever decides to live will still be alive in 24 hours.
Molly and her brood survived the experience without a problem. All good in that department yesterday.
The thing with an incident like this is that it threatens to take over your whole day – defining every decision. But the piglets will just have to slot in with the other farm jobs, I will do a few very late nights and very early mornings until I am satisfied that everyone is drinking well and I will deal with each of their crisis as they arise. But the milking still must be done, the big pigs fed, the mineral still has to go out to the cows and the broken window in the barn fixed, the chicks fed, the washing hung on the line and dinner made – not to mention all the straw in the house from last nights rescue mission needing sweeping. It is easy to neglect the rest and that would result in another catastrophe. I must stay aware!
It was hard for me not to sit with the piglets all day but there was plenty of other things to do and I got most of them done. And it is important that they drink when they want to not when I want them to – this is much more natural and easier on the digestion. As long as they all drink of course. I should put numbers on their backs to tell them apart. There are two that are still not vigorous – I have my eye on them
I hope you have a lovely day. We have another long one but a good one.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
56 responses to “A Dalek to the rescue”
Great to see things have turned around so quickly. It’s such a relief to have wonderful neighbors ready to help during rough times. Take care.
Poor little piggy babies. Thank goodness for your neighbor. I hope they all make it.
So now the saying should read, “It takes a community to raise a piglet”. So glad your community of lady farmers is there for you! Good luck with the Dalek, love the piglets.
A heart warming story of co-operation and good neighbours. This is just one of the reasons that I’m so proud to be part of the farming community.
Glad that things have settled down and the piglets are feeding well.
Your wonderful supportive and helpful women farmer/ neighbors make me click the like button but today need “love” butyon. Hoping for the best possible outcome!
glad you have such great neighbours. 😀
Nothing like caring, experienced women farmers to come to the rescue with a Dalek Mama. I remember seeing one of those contraptions in my uncle’s barn but the teats were long gone and I never bothered to ask what it or the other odd items were. I’m so glad that things are looking up with the little ones. Tahiti had a big littler, 14 piglets, wow. I’m sure it’s quite a sight to see the piglets suckling from the Dalek Mama. Keep cool and get some rest.
Wow! I have seen the sheep and goat kid feeding buckets with teats all around, but never a heated one. Great contraption. Lady Farmers do rock! Good luck with the littles. Do you have any of the spray for numbering their little tuschies? I have only used that on twin white goats that looked so similar I could never tell them apart.
I am thinking of using a sharpie and numbering them! I can never remember who I have fed! c
I think numbering them is a splendid idea! a felt pen would work maybe? Bless those little babies!
Push on to the dawn. It is always darkest before that. Intrepid women farmers. Celebrate them
That piglet feeder is COOL! Will you be keeping replacement gilts from either litter, or are they all bound for sale or freezer?
Thank goodness for helpful farmers, particularly women farmers. What a godsend that machine is! Keeping the old fingers crossed that they all make it!!
Dalek feeder Mom! Aside from the thrills and chills of major dramas practically every single day of the week from this blog, we learn so much, we armchair farmers. What a wonderful woman to take the initiative to dig it out, call the feed store and have everything ready for you.
I’m so grateful for your neighbors, as I’m sure you are, as I’m sure the piglets are for you. I’m glad you get a little reprieve from twelve feedings a day. Every two hours is hard enough for one little human. For seven little pigs…you’d nearly need to start again by the time you’d finished.
That’s a much friendlier looking Dalek than most I have seen! I’m glad you have a viable feeding solution and I hope they all thrive and survive. What an ordeal you all have been through. They are cute little babies.