Red Dalmatians?

Back in August, a Berkshire sow, Ramona, decided to get out of her paddock for an early morning walk. I discovered her down the hill walking alongside Big Daddy, our Tamworth boar. Scott and I got Big Daddy back in his paddock and we walked Ramona to the pasture in front with the other Berkshires. She was in heat so it was important to get her with Ollie. So, for the next 114 days, we would question what the outcome would be...crossed piglets or pure Berks.

Ramona started farrowing late in the evening on December 15th. I quietly walked over to the hut with a flashlight and was surprised to see the first three piglets..."little red dalmatians"...Big Daddy got to her first! I woke up around 3:00am and realized I would never be able to go back to sleep unless I checked on Ramona and her piglets. Ramona was absolutely huge and we were hoping for a large litter. At 4:00am I got my coat on, grabbed my flashlight and made the trek up to the hut. She had a total of fourteen! However, one had been stillborn and one was most likely dead for a long time. It was very small and already decomposing. Twelve incredibly cute piglets.

For the first few days, I feel like I always hold my breath as I approach the farrowing hut first thing in the morning. It's common for the big moms to lay on small piglets, especially the runts. We'll lose some every now and then because of that. Ramona did lay on one, I'm guessing, last Friday. It's disappointing.

Already they are running around inside the hut. If there wasn't snow on the ground, I'm sure they would be exploring outside. We won't be expecting any more piglets until next spring, which is fine since it appears this will be a snowy winter.