Molly the pregnant sow was feeling poorly all yesterday. Sleeping. Hard to rouse and not eating.
I opened her gates so she could wander the fields and she did but when she stopped walking she would stand with her head down.
She does not have a temperature, her piglets are still active, she is drinking water and she spends time making her bed before lying down but she will not eat.
The vet and I went through every reason for this and are left with waiting to see how she is today. Everyone has off days but not my Molly.
I had just moved her into the central area of the farrowing pen and I wonder if she caught a chill which makes no sense. But I have a feeling she is in pain. Though she stretches right out when I massage her belly and that is not a pain indicator. She may also have eaten something bad – from her backyard? I don’t know. We’ll see.
Also today I start my new job managing the internet sales for The Mill. It is not a lot – only a few hours maybe three times a week. And I set my own hours. Very manageable.
John re- made the back wild-field electric fence. There is a lot of standing hay in there. My two pregnant cows are very happy.
I noticed yesterday that the ducks are beginning to work as a flock again. The injured ones can be picked out by the way they hold their necks but they all have smooth feathers again. This result is almost unbelievable – but once they were able to groom again they were on their way to health.
Last night the new ducklings and chicks were dispatched from Texas. They could arrive either Thursday or Friday morning.
I will finish the turkey house this afternoon.
I will be back in the Lounge of Comments a little later today!
Hopefully with better news about Molly. It will be another sunny day so I hope she gets herself out into the sun. She is still drinking water which keeps me hopeful that she and her piglets pull through. I wish I knew what the problem was.
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
31 responses to “FEELING POORLY”
Hi, Miss C! About Molly – is it possible she has a calcium deficiency which can be resolved by an injection or two? You’ll find a way to help her, for certain. Maybe she is suffering from a case of pre-partum depression? 🙂
That bridge in NZ that collapsed – close to your home? Best of luck there, too!
I hope Molly is ok. Good news about the ducks. Always something.
Poor Molly. Hope she feels better soon.
I’m so sorry to hear about Molly. It gives me a slight catch in my throat, just as happens every time one of my children says, “I feel strange…I have this pain…I don’t know what’s wrong, but…” Oh dear. Fingers crossed. Mind hopeful.
Beautiful bright clear photos… your weather has turned, I hope. Also hoping Molly is ok. How does she smell? Often when we or the four-legged ones are sick, how we or they smell is a tell.
Poor Molly, and poor you. If only our animals could tell us what the problem is! Hoping for news of improvement soon.
I hope you’re able to reassure yourself that Molly’s on the mend very soon. “Everyone has off days…” – how true, and perhaps it’s true, finally, of Molly too. Expectant mums are allowed backache, sore feet, a bit of a headache, upset tummy and indigestion. The Tums and charcoal suggestions can’t hurt and may fix it, but I reckon rest and water and some tummy rubs will help too. And I hope your first day on the mill job is fun, challenging and satisfying.
Fingers crossed for Molly.
It is unsettling when pregnant, old, or otherwise medically fragile animals are “off.” Big Al the giant tortoise has an off week once a year, a week where he does not eat, socialize, or poop. The poop part is worrisome because that boy can produce the nuggets. And then, all at once, he is back to himself, pops out all that he had been holding onto, and he’s ready to eat. My theory has been that he is eating too much holly. He has cohabitated with a giant tree for 45 years, and he likes to graze the bottom of it, even though it is toxic. Last year, though, I decreased greens and increased hay, and he was never ill. The fiber is so, so good for preventing the absorption of the toxins because nothing can stay too long in the digestive tract when there is that much fiber!
I hope that Molly is back to normal soon, and that this is a spell that passes without repeat.
I agree about fiber / that’s why all my animals eat hay. But I wonder how other pigs manage just on ground corn – they grind it right to dust.
I never understood how it could be good for any animal to consume just a powder. I guess it doesn’t really matter if they are at risk of long-term digestive and respiratory issues if they are just slated for eventual slaughter, but it is just so unnatural!
Sorry to hear about Molly Celi .. hope she is better by now. Those ducks are amazing – how nice to know that they are on the improve