Poppy Comes Home

I THINK. (Emphasis on the Think) – that Poppy is indeed pregnant.  Her first due date was actually yesterday but her udder might be changing and I think I felt a piglet kick from within her belly.

So I took advantage of having my lovely Student Farmers still here and John having the day off  and  even though yesterday was Workers day off we piglet proofed the big outside field and moved all thirteen of the piglets into there. This in itself was a bit of a mission, pigs do not move as a flock and there was lots of laughter as I caught and carried the stragglers across to the field.  The moment you pick up a piglet she will scream at the top of her lungs.

But eventually everyone was in the field with their big girls wallow and using my big truck John  hooked up the stock trailer for me to drive across.

Poppy leapt into the trailer without a second thought and I drove her back home where she puddled into the farrowing pen glad to be back home.  Moving a trained animal is so much easier! And I even got some practice reversing the big trailer with my new truck  – I am not very good at backing up so that was a slow process. But the whole reason for the new truck for me is so that i can be independent.  Today I will finish turning Poppy’space back into the farrowing pen again.  If she is pregnant I am thinking that we might be looking at piglets in about three weeks.

Time enough for her to get settled. We will know for sure within the next week I would say.

Manu, the boar,  is left behind  but has a gate between him and the Dexters so he is not completely alone. I have left the  cow’s outdoor gate open so they can come into the barn at night and keep him company.

Good morning. Sunday today. John and I are tilling the big beds and then we are sowing oats as a cover crop for the winter. Nature and I hate soil to be left uncovered  but we had so much rain for so long it was hard to get back into the fields with the tractor. Today we can rectify that.

All the late summer greens and beets and cabbages  have sprouted under their peacock proof covers.  Though I might have to get the peacocks in for a few weeks to give the plants a head start.

I have discovered a wound in TonTons throat that he has been licking and making worse (in fact there is a lovely shot of Ton taken yesterday on my Instagram feed) so it looks like Vet day for the dogs in Monday. Also on Monday we take in the broilers and roosters, and all the cages fit perfectly into the big truck too so I am more than happy with addition of The Boat as a farm workhorse.

I hope you have a lovely day.

Love celi