Not much has really happened these past few days. We feel it has been all about maintaining. Feeding and watering is still difficult. The snow is melting a little but there is still so much out there to walk through. I think everyone is going to be cranky until spring.
Yesterday, I definitely felt like a hibernating bear. I wanted to do the least amount of work and then crawl into a cave and wake up when it's 75 degrees! I woke up this morning with lots of energy, ready to tackle the day. The hogs had the same idea...only they were ready to tackle me! We have been getting out there a bit later than usual. We need extra time to warm up and get started. So I can understand that they are really hungry. There isn't much to forage.
The little pigs are easy. But the 300, 400, 600 pound guys and girls are difficult with all of this snow on the ground. They are hanging out in limited space. They don't want to trudge through the drifts either! The front pasture group has three-board fencing with a single strand of wire running at the bottom. There is an area by the large gate where they are held back by the usual two strands. That way we can open the gate and get vehicles in and out and have an area to work in without the hogs getting in the way. But they have been able to walk over or through the electric fencing. The current is grounded out. So now they are all greeting me right there where I climb over the fence with feed buckets. Hungry, open mouths are abundant! Climbing over is a challenge, but once I make it over I have to plow my way through very large hogs. Some will get in front of me and just stop. Then Ollie the Boar doesn't think I'm moving fast enough so he bites me on the backside.
Okay, so I made it out alive from the front pasture.....now I have to face the Woods Hogs. There are ten of them and they are getting big. Close to butchering size. I walked out there with 50 pounds of feed divided into two buckets. They're waiting for me but I'm faced with the same dilemma. As soon as I walked over the wire they surrounded me. I can't move quickly because of the snow and ice. They won't let me move anywhere. Five hogs in front of me blocking my way and five hogs were behind me biting my legs. I felt like I was inside a pinball machine. I felt beaten. My energy was zapped by the time I got back to the house. The rumor is... the Farmer's Almanac predicts that we still have two more big snow storms. I don't think anybody will be complaining about a hot summer!
The picture above shows some of our turkeys from last season (I don't have any pictures from the past few days). Three Bourbon Red Toms appear to be checking out a Midget White Hen. What us girls have to go through!
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