Pig Tales from Pleasant Hill Farm

Downsizing...

2012-02-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

Gosh, no kidding when people say the older you get, the more time flies. It certainly does! Another hot summer went by. As we went day after day of 100 plus degrees, our decision of not doing poultry this year proved to be a good one. It was also smart to downsize a bit because Scott's work took him half way around the world for a one year assignment. Scott left for Djibouti, Africa last September. We needed to get our farm into a manageable state for all of us to handle.

It takes a while to build up a herd but before we knew it, we had twenty-five sows in our fields....which led to many piglets. Strangely enough, pigs are hard to find in these parts. We kept some piglets for our farmers market pork and sold the rest...which was most of them. I never worried about not being able to sell piglets. I put one add in our Valley Trader and wound up spending hours on the phone with interested people looking for hard-to-find pigs. Most were sold even before they were born. I also got calls from larger farms who decided not to have breeders but purchase weaned piglets for their pork operations. I can understand going that route. I think Scott would be interested. There's a lot of worry and labor behind farrowing piglets. However, that's my favorite part! But yes, I do agree, there is A LOT of worry. We have had so much rain this past year. Of course it was perfect timing for a very wet spring and fall farrowing season...endless hours of trying to keep the huts and piglets dry....not fun.

Last spring and summer was phase 1 of downsizing the breeder sows. A few were the obvious ones to try and place. They were actually in the pork hog group but a young, feisty boar broke through his fence and got to them. They were good moms and had great litters so I thought that maybe reaching out to other farms would be better than taking them in for pork... farms that let their animals run on fields or in woods. Five of these sows found good homes.

Some of my dear sows found homes by accident. I wasn't necessarily trying to sell them. A few new farmers had called to purchase piglets. They were interested in producing pork and would love to start breeding, but the thought was daunting.

"Do you happen to have a sow that is already bred?"

I thought hard about this one. A young family with lots of kids living the farm life, interested in pigs. I know the joy that you feel when you see piglets running around. The joy of when your 400 pound mommy sow comes up and rubs her head on your leg. Hmmm...Mary Lou would be good for that family. Do I want to sell Mary Lou? I could downsize some more, but I really like her. She's a great mom. She's great when I'm around her when she's farrowing or when I need to handle her piglets. She's just plain great...she's great and I love her...Yes....Mary Lou would be perfect for the young family who would like to know more about raising pigs. Mary Lou found her new home.

Harriet was also a dear little sow who made her way to a good home. Her new owners were new to farming and wanted to dive head first into pig rearing. They also were interested in a bred sow. Harriet somehow turned out to be the "ugly sister" of her litter. She was a small, funny looking Tamworth, but sometimes the ugly ones turned out to have great looking piglets. Harriet would be a perfect first sow. She wasn't too big and she didn't care if I was around her piglets. She was another great mom who made her way to a wonderful new home.

When phase 1 was complete, I was left with 15 sows. That's actually still quite a bit, but I needed to stop. I needed to take a breather and live with these girls to see if 15 would be okay....

I also found good homes for some of my boars. I didn't need three Tamworth boars. I had purchased two Tamworth brothers with the plan of keeping the one I liked best and selling the other. The problem was that I LOVED them both...my Max and Hamlet. Max was the better looking of the two and my best breeder. But darling Max was an escape artist. We couldn't keep him behind any fencing we were able (and could afford) to build. Needless to say, he was the "young boar" who kept escaping to the pork group causing much stress! A gentleman came by for some piglets and claimed that he may also be interested in a boar and a sow for breeding.

"Max is very friendly. Loves his people.....but he needs super duper fencing. He is also a jumper so it has to be tall enough!"

Not a problem for this gentleman to build the fencing that Max needs. He also purchased my dear Clementine. Clementine was the most wonderful, friendly, playful sow. But she, too, was an escape artist. She could shimmie her way under anything, over anything, around anything. She also needed the super duper fencing this gentleman could provide.

I really wish I could keep them all, but I have come to realize that it's impossible. It's impossible to keep the good ones and sell the bad ones. They are all good. They all have brought so much joy to our farm. I love each and every animal that I have owned. I had no idea that pigs could have the greatest and most loving personalities. It's only fair to share that joy with others and to hear the great stories that they are experiencing with my pigs.

Changes

2011-06-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! Already June! I thought I was going to be able to write all winter and share the changes and decisions we have made for 2011. Here I am....June.

Thankfully, we did not have a very snowy winter. However, it was very cold. Oil is expensive so we made it part of the day, every day, to chop wood for the woodstove. So, we kept plenty of sweaters on hand and thought about what we wanted to do and not do for the year....

The first discussion on the discussion table...no Thanksgiving turkeys this year. We went back and forth on this one. Actually all last year Scott was pretty serious when he would mention that the landscape of Pleasant Hill would lack Heritage turkeys for 2011. The fields needed the rest. And quite frankly....so did we. But all the hard work and bad memories of 200 turkeys on my front porch and yard, snipping $200 worth of mums days before our first farm tour, quickly disappeared as Thanksgiving approached. Old and new customers calling and scheduling a fresh turkey pick up. Our annual interview with our town's local tv station is always something to look forward to. This past year, Scott actually brought in a live tom turkey to the studio. Luckily he was a good boy(the turkey that is!).

"Maybe we should do turkeys next year", we both thought when Thanksgiving was over. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and we truly enjoy the week leading up to the special day. I went ahead and placed my order for turkey poults for the 2011 season. I find that it is crucial to place this order as soon as possible from the hatchery so we can be one of the first on the list. I have to order early in December so I can receive them hopefully by the end of March. If I can't get them by the second week in April, then I don't bother. They won't be ready by Thanksgiving. Broad Breasted turkeys can be delivered later in the year because they grow so quickly.

At least I had my order in place. That would allow us some time to think about our decision. The order can always be canceled. I don't even think the year finished out when Scott decided he would stick with his original plan....no poultry for 2011. Not even our broilers. At first I did not agree about the idea of not doing chicken. I had just added individual pieces to our product list.....breasts, wings and thigh quarters. I would cut down the larger roasters to accommodate the huge demand. There were times Scott would call me early from the market, "We sold out of chicken parts already! Can you cut down some more and bring them up? Hurry!!!" How could we just begin to offer these chicken choices and then leave our customers hanging the next year?

Well, we stuck to our decision and I'm actually grateful for it (sorry to our customers!). I suppose sometimes we really do need the rest and we can see how our decisions were truly meant to be.

Next on the discussion table......the hogs......

The End Of 2010 Approaching

2010-12-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the first day of December. I keep reminding Scott that in just eighteen days it will be the first anniversary of the very first blizzard. Hard to believe what we were in for. At the end of each year, we like to think back and reminisce on the events, what we learned and what we would like to forget.

"Can we not reminisce this year and just greet 2011 quietly?"

Farming took many challenging turns this year. I wouldn't say it was bad...just difficult. Everyone here struggled with the endless amount of snow that seemed to replenish on the ground every two weeks. As long as it stayed cold, the snow was good to us. By March, we realized there was really two feet of hard, compacted snow on the drive. As it started to melt, it became impossible to work with. I was constantly getting stuck in the slush. Or we couldn't leave because someone else was stuck. We were so looking forward to spring.....

It is always exciting when we receive the poults and chicks in February and March. I usually order 200 chickens in February. By the time they are old enough to go outside, our turkeys arrive. That system doesn't allow the brooder room to become overcrowded. But because of the late winter snowstorms, I delayed the chickens until March. Now brooding would be done all at once. The chickens did great. Turkeys? Not so well. The weather once again was against us. It was cold and wet. Not a great combo for brooder graduates. I had blogged earlier about the difficult start for our turkeys. Ahhh! How we were looking forward to summer.....

I do believe we went from chilly 55 degree spring temps directly to intense heat. Okay...just an
early heat wave. This will last a few days and then we can enjoy the 75-80 degree days of summer! I think I can count on one hand how many of those nice days we had. The heat never seemed to let up. The animals did much better during the winter than they did with the summer. Watering took up most of our labor. Can't wait for sweaters, hot cider and other great things of Autumn......

Remember back in May(or June) when I mentioned a certain group of hogs? New, young boars? Max, Hamlet? Duke, Simon?? The ladies...Molly, Lizzie, Viola, Fiona, Rosie? This group was not affected by strong volts of electricity. Scott was doing a proposal at work and not available to build different fencing...quickly. Well, we recently had the very last litter that was a result of these "Frat Boy Boars". Twenty-five gilts and sows farrowed September through the beginning of November. Many piglets! It got to the point we were castrating almost every day. Most of the moms did very well. I did have a few young gilts that must not have known what to do. We did lose a couple of litters. Every day I could see the signs of a sow in labor. We were constantly moving huts around to accommodate the new litters. Thank goodness for a few weeks of a dry spell. Some of our seasoned sows were able to build their own huts out of tall weeds.

And now here we are...just about at the front doorstep of winter. The Farmers Almanac is calling for a very cold one. We have plenty of wood, plenty of food. You know what??? I do believe we'll be ready!

Every Time.....

2010-08-19T02:36:00.000-07:00

Moving a couple of pregnant sows shouldn't have been too difficult this time. They weren't traveling very far. There are seven hogs keeping residence up in the woods. The two girls are due pretty soon and we wanted to move them to the "maternity" area so they could get comfortable in their new home. Mary Lou and Abby are actually the two sows who started the whole Piglets Galore story, farrowing on the same day. I'm curious to see if they will do the same this time around.

Scott built a couple of small paddocks for them just across maybe a hundred feet of grass. Not a far walk at all. We waited until they were all good and hungry so they will be focused on following the orange bucket instead of focusing on where the electric wire should be. Some will go right through. Some will need a bit of coaxing.

We found them all lined up at the wire at feeding time. This should be easy! The thought was, we would allow all seven to come out, let them follow the feed as a group up to the new paddocks and then guide the hogs back down to the woods after Mary Lou and Abby were tucked in.

The handles were released from the wire fence allowing freedom for the group. "Okay...let's go!". Nobody budged. Either they were very content or extremely obedient. I can't say they weren't hungry. All pigs are hungry.

I poured a little feed on the ground so they could actually see what temptation lies in the bucket. Max, my Tamworth boar, ventured out first. Frances was a close second. Then Lulu. Dolly soon wanted to see what the fuss was all about. This is going well so far! Scott and I looked back at the fence line. The only two pigs we really needed were right there. Mary Lou and Abby were not budging. The five month old Tam boar, Meriweather, was waiting with them as well. What an obedient little boy!

Every time! The hogs that you need won't cross the line. Something that should take fifteen minutes winds up becoming a major job. We have to rethink the whole process. This happened recently when we were loading five hogs into the trailer for processing. The only hogs that had no problem getting into the catch pen and the trailer were ten of my breeders. None of them destined to be pork. It took forever just to get four of the hogs we needed.

Eventually, Mary Lou decided to join her friends in the fresh grass. Abby still would not budge. So the plan changed.....

Little by little Mary Lou moved in the direction of her new home. Where were Max, Frances and Dolly? Already up there!! They didn't need any coaxing whatsoever. Figures. So for the time being, we'll keep Max and Frances in one paddock and Mary Lou and Dolly in the other one. Scott rearranged one of the huts in the woods for Abby. She still didn't want to have anything to do with the outside world.

Too Hot For Everyone....Including The Animals

2010-07-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

I was planning on writing about us not having air-conditioning later in August, however it seems most appropriate to write about this weather now. It's been brutal. Very brutal. Of course in Virginia, we are accustomed to hot, muggy summers. Maybe we would have a heat spell early for a few days but it usually doesn't get brutally hot until August. That is when we can't take it anymore and put the window A/C units in a couple of rooms.

The summer of '05 was recorded as the hottest summer here. That was our first at Pleasant Hill. We were surprised how for the most part, it really wasn't that bad. The original interior walls are about two feet thick of brick. If we opened the windows at night to allow in the cool air and closed them first thing in the morning, it really wouldn't be so bad. Of course Scott is also strategically placing the dehumidifier in various locations. It was an effort but we got through it. We eventually got used to being in a constant state of sweat and taking three cold showers a day. To be honest, I felt it would be harder for our bodies to acclimate in hot weather if we had air-conditioning.

This summer has proven to be a struggle for everyone. After a rainy spring, Hot and Muggy decided to join us and has overstayed their visit. The norm has been ninety-plus degrees with maybe a couple of days of dry, comfortable temps. We definitely look forward to those. There doesn't seem to be a break in sight as July is winding down and getting ready for August.

We have about 150 broiler chickens that were scheduled for processing on Sunday. Throughout the morning, it was necessary for me to check them frequently, move them around and make sure they had plenty of water and shade. I went down to check on them again shortly after Scott got back from the farmers market. As I turned the corner of the hoophouse, I was horrified to see that about half appeared dead. Most perked up again when I jostled them but clearly they could not handle the heat anymore and were on the way out. I went up to the house to tell Scott they were dying. I told the kids to hurry up and grab the ones that appeared okay and put them underneath the deck in the back of our house. That's where the dogs go if they are too hot. They like the damp, cool dirt. The broilers that were not going to make it were to be placed by the processing station. I put big pots of water on the stove to get the scalding tank ready. Everyone scrambled around to put everything in place. Processing had to be done a day early.....and quickly before we lost any more.

I have to say I was very proud of my kids. Sure they complain about being on a farm and having a lot of chores, but when there is an emergency they know what to do and follow our direction without any complaints or rolling eyes.

I'm especially proud of my oldest son, Jonah. Today he turned sixteen. The kids look forward to no chores as part of their birthday celebration. When I came in to tell the kids to start grabbing chickens, I told him that I was sorry but we needed him for processing. No sigh, no lovely tone that is known to teenagers. Just a very willing young man who immediately jumped right up to the plate.

This is all part of being on a farm....

A Great Morning

2010-07-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

How wonderful it was to wake up this morning to dark clouds and a steady rain. I remember last spring when it seemed like we were getting too much rain. The ground was so saturated and couldn't handle even the slightest shower. Today's rainfall is truly welcoming! Every living thing out there needs it, especially the pigs. With the brutal heat this summer, all of us are constantly making sure all pigs, young and old, have plenty of drinking water and wallows. I noticed as I got my coffee this morning, they were up and about, grazing and frolicking . And clean! The rain gave them a good "bath" and now I can finally see what they look like.

It looks like we'll have another busy season with piglets. I believe we'll have 18-20 sows and gilts having litters this summer. Ramona is due again maybe in about a week. This time they will be pure Berkshires and not the "Red Dalmatians". We are also expecting our first Large Black Hog litter. They are just the cutest as newborns and they grow into the most gentle giants!

Tomorrow we'll start processing the chickens. It'll feel good to have product again!

A Bit Of What's Been Going On.....

2010-06-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Just when you think things can't possibly get any busier.....they do. Of course they ALWAYS do! Scott is an IT Federal Contractor. If you ask me exactly what he does at work, I wouldn't be able to come up with an answer. Computer stuff, I think. Kind of like Chandler on "Friends" and Barney on "How I Met Your Mother". We just don't know what he really does! In this particular line of work there is something called a "proposal". I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I do know that whoever is involved goes into a proposal tank. It can be a short term proposal or a long term proposal.

A little over a month ago Scott took me out to dinner and proceeded to tell me his proposal hit. How long? Four weeks. Four weeks that he wouldn't be available. Now at this time, I honestly thought there was no way I could handle anything else on my plate. We are still behind from winter, the markets started, processing has started....yes, business is in full swing. Plus school and sports ....definitely a very full plate.

So, off Scott goes to the proposal tank, leaving me by myself on our farm. We have been blessed with building our farm to the size that it is and we feel comfortable with the animals that we have. I have spent a lot of time researching for breeding boars and I have been holding back purebred gilt piglets for future generations. We increased our broiler size to accommodate the demand. We increased EVERYTHING to accommodate the demand. It was feasible when Scott was here. But now...our farm is way too big for just one person. It has been a major struggle the last month.

We have been experiencing frustrations on every level. We took in four hogs a month ago to be processed for our markets. We thought that would last us until July. We're just about out. I picked up one hog today from our butcher. That probably won't last us through the weekend markets. The next batch of pork hogs won't be ready until the end of July(I hope!) There are five of them. Two barrows(castrated boys) and three gilts(the pork ladies). Since I have been here by myself, it has been very difficult to manage certain hog groups. How in the world can the same electric fence make some hogs wince and not go near it and other hogs barge right through it...the same fence! Well....a young boar got to this group of pork hogs. So now I don't think the pork ladies will be available for pork in July. I'm sure we'll have tons of piglets now, but we really need the pork! It's a good problem...high demand for our food, but not enough supply.

I've said this before.....I'll be happy to say it again.....the "buy local" movement is growing. This market season has been about Food, Inc.

"My husband just watched Food, Inc and now it's all he's talking about! Do you have pork
chops?"

We're hearing comments such as this at all markets. People are loving the idea that they can purchase meat that has been raised well. They love the idea that farm visits are always welcome. But I think most of all, they love the idea of really getting to know the farmers who are responsible for some fantastic breakfast, lunch and dinners.

This way of farming is nothing new. It is how it was always done before factory farming became the "new and improved" way of producing food. Every town had a butcher shop with meat they received locally. I was watching an episode of Brady Bunch with the kids. The episode may have been done in 1973, really not that long ago.

"Wait a second...What is Alice doing?"

I made the kids rewind.

"She's plucking a chicken!"

Yes....Alice the housekeeper was plucking a chicken. And in Los Angeles! I'm sure Sam the Butcher didn't receive his chickens from mass-produced chicken houses. It was the norm to get your chicken from the corner butcher shop and prepare it yourself.

Pleasant Hill Farm and other farms aren't doing anything new.

Not A Good Year For Turkey Brooding

2010-05-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

The first couple of years here at Pleasant Hill was mainly devoted to cleaning up the house and property. The house needed some immediate attention(roof, falling portico, asbestos clean-up). Outside was a disaster. Old cars, boats and years of broken down farm machinery was plentiful and dotting the landscape. Old fencing and overgrown everything made us feel very claustrophobic. As we chipped away at the fields, I took advantage of this time to research what we should farm in these fields. I asked around, "What is needed here in Culpeper?" I asked that question to the owner of a local meats store in town. "Lamb and Turkey", Julie said without hesitation. I wasn't interested in sheep. I don't want to deal with shearing and sheep are famous for having zero personality. Not appealing. Turkeys, however, seem interesting. We already had Guinea Hens and a handful of egg layers. I think I could get into turkeys. I have always had a fascination with birds.

So the research began...

I would ask my fellow farmer friends and acquaintances about turkeys. Julie had stated that she never has enough turkeys. She sells out every year for Thanksgiving. You work your tail off during the holiday, but then you're done. Another gal said "no way" would she ever do turkeys again. The brooding was too difficult. She would lose too many at the beginning. Not worth it!

Further research proved that both of these women were correct. People really do seek out the perfect farm-raised, pasture-raised, lovingly and well-cared-for-raised Thanksgiving turkey. The most important guest at our country's most beloved dinner.

The brooding stage did stop many from trying or continuing turkeys. Unlike chickens, turkey poults are very fragile. The first six to eight weeks can be touch-and-go, but after that the chance of survival greatly increases. Some people think turkeys are just too stupid, drowning themselves in the rain. Personally, I have never been a witness to this but apparently some think it's true.

Four years ago we decided to give turkeys a try. I only ordered fifteen of the Mammoth Bronze and they all passed through brooding with flying colors. I LOVED them. I loved their soulful eyes and I loved the chirping sound they made. I loved how the Toms really did assume they were the good looking boys on the block and I loved how they ran as they got monstrous on their legs. I remember the day we took them to a local guy to have them processed. We managed to find three huge dog crates for transport. We were to grab them and place them in the crate. Scott was preparing for a full morning's work of tackling these giant turkeys and with all his might, force them into the crate. Well...it went more like this... I knelt down in front of the crates as my turkeys curiously came over to me to see what was going on. I gently wrapped my arms around the first huge bird and placed him carefully into the first crate. The turkeys continued to swarm around me being ever so curious. I grabbed the second, the third, until they were all snug in the crates. Probably took no more than five or ten minutes. Scott stood there, kind of out of breath, thinking it was going to be more of a "this will take a man to conquer this feat!" ordeal.
"Wow, Rhonda, you made it look so easy!"

"Well, honey, that's because they LOVE me!"

Brooding for us has never been a problem. We may lose a few, but for the most part they make it to the end. Predators are more of a challenge...and a certain female boxer who cost us $700.00 in turkeys one year right before Thanksgiving(sadly, Phoebe passed away last fall from kidney failure). She had a good time that night!

This year has been a different story. It all started with the first batch of seventy-five Heritage turkeys. They started failing the second day we had them. It appeared they would start bleeding around the back end and then get pecked. We were thinking something was wrong with this batch from day one. We lost sixty percent and thankfully the hatchery replaced the whole order. The other batches seemed to be better but we were still losing poults at a steady pace.

Now it seems pile-up is to blame for losing so many. They will pile up on top of each other and the ones underneath will suffocate. We have them in a trailer to transition from the brooder to the pasture. We have heat lamps and small roosts in there, hoping that roosting will deter them from piling up. The other day we lost five. Scott spent some time to rearrange lamps and roosts and to make things better for them. He was truly depressed the next morning when he discovered we lost seventeen. All from pile up. The weather has been very chilly but the heat lamps should take care of that problem. Very frustrating!

Luckily, this morning there were zero losses. We'll just continue to baby and pamper them until they get strong enough to be in the great outdoors. You wouldn't think so, but turkeys are a great deal of work.

Please Be Patient!

2010-04-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goodness! I'm still here! I don't know what's busier.....Thanksgiving season or Spring season. The other day while doing chores, I needed to look for something in the van. I actually thought, "Geez...I can't stop. No time to look in the van!". So, please be patient. Every day there seems to be a new story or thought. I shall continue to do my best to post!

I can't tell you how many times I have sat down and started to post, only to be sidetracked by some event here on the farm. Scott and Tony went to the Culpeper's Farmers Market this morning. Today is the first day. We just got our official enrollment notice for the Ballston Market in Arlington. We're excited to tap into Northern Virginia.

Our brooder room is full of Heritage turkeys and we get another shipment of broilers next week. Our Berkshire pork still isn't ready yet. I'm sure we'll get a call beginning of next week.

Not only is spring full of endless farm chores, it is also full of soccer and lacrosse games and practices. Speaking of which....I need to get outside....soccer tournament later today!

Sometimes It Just Plain Stinks

2010-04-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, the runts of the litters we have here are feisty enough to survive. You can tell who the runt is of a litter, but generally it is just a small size difference. My Frances had a litter of huge piglets last Wednesday. The runt of this litter was so tiny, a quarter of the size of his siblings. As I watched the litter as they were just being born, I noticed the runt crawling in some straw away from everyone else. He didn't seem very strong on his feet. I placed him with the other piglets to see how he could move around and to see if he was strong enough to get some milk. I decided that there was no way he could make it during the night with the piglet chaos so I brought him in the house. We got the formula and bottle ready and started the feeding process. Tiny little guy but he quickly learned how to take the bottle. The kids love taking care of the piglets, however, they know the possibilities when you bring in a runt. On Sunday we noticed he was gaining weight. Great sign! Yesterday I took him out in the warm sun so he could freely walk around and gain some strength in his legs. By last night, I thought he was out of the woods. Scott said he was fine during the night, but this morning he started to fail and we lost him late morning. When I went out to feed Frances, I was reminded how much smaller he was compared to the others. Frances herself was bottle fed in the house, but she was a full size piglet. Our little guy could have had something wrong with him that we just couldn't tell. Like a preemie.

On another farm topic...we got in some of our heritage turkeys last week(Narragansetts and Midget Whites). After a couple of days we noticed the Narragansetts picking at the Midget White's bottoms to the point of bleeding. The wounded birds had to be separated but they wound up not making it. We had a red light on them which they say will deter the birds from having this kind of behavior. The turkeys also had plenty of room. Overcrowding can also be a problem. We have had these breeds before living in the same brooder, but never had this cannibalistic behavior before. We then decided to take all of the Midget Whites out and put them in their own brooder. We already lost half of our Midget Whites. The hatchery will send out more turkeys but it's getting late to start raising Heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving. Ideally, February would be the perfect time to get them but hatcheries don't have them available until the end of March. I have to place my order in November to make sure I'm towards the beginning of the shipping list.

We are blessed with so many good days here on our farm. It just really stinks when you have a bad one.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T05:15:00.000-07:00

The thought of "taking it easy" and not doing any farm work seems to be appealing during holidays. In the past, we would do extra work the day before so we wouldn't need to do anything but the standard feeding and watering for Easter, Christmas or other holidays. But in reality, when we wake up to a gorgeous day, the farm is exactly where we want to be. It's where we are reminded of our blessings. We are also reminded of the hardships, which is okay....it makes our blessings that much greater.

We have had more litters of piglets since the three-part piglet story and we're still waiting for more litters to arrive. I have taken videos but I am still learning how to post them on the computer. Lots of piglets means lots of castrating. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to get the piglets away from mom. Our delightful sow, #2, is one who you really need to watch your back. I always feel it takes a two day, world summit meeting to orchestrate how we get the piglets away from her. We usually put a chain link dog kennel in the paddock and feed them inside so they will feel comfortable. The day we plan to castrate, we feed them, lure mom out of the kennel and close the door so the piglets can't get out. The piglets are then placed in a large dog crate and put on the tractor to head down to the shop. Simple. Most of my sows will grunt and be "concerned" but not #2. We're convinced that she will bust through the kennel and have us for dinner. She's fast and tough. Yesterday, the plan was to remove her totally from her paddock to the other side of the farm. But she wouldn't budge. She would not leave her piglets.

We're trying to castrate early since there are so many piglets and soon they need to go to their new farm home. I think we are going to have to wait another week with #2's litter. She's still too attached to her piglets. As they get older that attachment will start to fade and hopefully she will be more willing to take a walk across the farm.

We are in the process of building a new website. Still in the works so please bear with us.

Well...coffee is done, breakfast is done. Time to go out and enjoy what God has made. Happy Easter!!

Piglets Galore! Part 3

2010-03-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

So I was really dreading Friday(March 12th). Scott had to be in Fairfax all day and I had gilts unexpectedly having their litters. They were calling for torrential downpours and flooding starting Friday and ending Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be the worst. I had so much to prepare for before it started to rain. That I was okay with. It was not knowing what I was going to be faced with when I went out to check Abbie and the quick decisions I may need to make.

I did my usual prayer that morning...strength, wisdom, etc. Polite at first but quickly went to something like this...

"Okay, God, here's the deal. I'm in this situation. I'm by myself. Could you take over the reins for me....please?"

It was dreary out that morning. No rain yet. I grabbed their feed and headed out to the woods. I didn't see any hogs out and about. They were probably still in their shelter. I decided to check down by the fallen trees first and see if Abbie was down there. No, she wasn't there. I went back up to the shelter and peeked around the corner. This shelter holds the nine hogs very tightly. They cram in, find their spot and stay put for the evening. So I peeked in and saw a tiny piglet walking on top the backs of the hogs. My heart sank because I didn't know what to think. Abbie was in there, too. Did she have the whole litter in there? Did she just start? I was too afraid to reach in and grab the piglet because I didn't want to startle the sleeping hogs. Pouring their feed and letting them get up naturally may be a better idea. Out they came, including Abbie. I could hear the new piglet so I knew it was okay. When I looked in there she was walking around. There was another piglet but it had been laid on. Abbie was happy eating her breakfast and didn't seem to be phased that she had a piglet in the shelter. Since there were only two, I couldn't be certain that Abbie was finished farrowing. I also couldn't risk leaving the piglet in there with all of the big Berkshires. I picked up the newborn and took her over to Mary Lou. There was still some afterbirth so I rubbed that on the piglet and put her with Mary Lou's litter. She blended right in.

On to the other chores. I finished feeding and watering everyone else and decided to go into town to get more tarps. With all of these piglets being born, I needed to make sure all huts had the extra security of having tarps so rain wouldn't seep in. Even with the four wheeler it still took a long time to complete tasks. Extra straw needed to be taken out. Even though it had just started raining, the already saturated ground turned into mud very quickly. I got stuck several times in some very tight spots. Every so often I would check on Abbie to see if there were any changes. She's still walking around.

By late afternoon I was exhausted. Luckily sports practices were canceled and even more luckily there was a window of about two hours with no rain. I was going to make a pot of coffee just to get myself through the evening, but something made me decide to check on Abbie. I walked down to the fallen trees and could hear small oinks. At first I thought it was Mary Lou's pigs but it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Out in the woods(far from the fallen trees) was a newborn piglet, running around with Hamlet the Boar walking nearby. I'd like to think Hamlet was protecting the little guy. I gathered him up and took him up to the house. Emma, Jake and Sam love to take care of newborns in the house so they were excited when I called them.

Another trek in the woods led me to another piglet. This one was by the nest at the fallen trees. My thinking was she had the last two there and then abandoned them. Back up to the house to hand over this piglet to Emma, Jake and Sam. I searched again to see if I could find any more. I didn't see evidence of any more piglets.

The plan was to put the two piglets I found with Mary Lou but I was concerned that the big litter size would be too much for her. It would bring the size up to eleven piglets. I really didn't want to push it but of course I wouldn't have a choice if that was my only option. It was starting to get darker outside. One more round of checking expected moms and huts was needed. Wow! #2 is having her litter! Perfect!! She is a huge, well-seasoned sow that can handle a big litter. I did notice a small stillborn with "stuff" still around it. I know this sounds gross, but it was the perfect opportunity to get #2's scent on Abbie's piglets. I took the stillborn and placed it in the laundry basket with the others. Later on, we placed the two abandoned piglets in #2's hut. Again, blended right in.

Scott was home by this time. He took over and closed up the farm. While in Fairfax, he had stopped in Whole Foods to pick up dinner. Obviously there was no time to cook. One last check on all of the piglets and then in for a shower. At 8:00 the kids were watching a movie so I just decided to watch a DVD in bed. I think that night was the most exhausted I had ever been. It was a "good" exhausted. Scott served me dinner in bed. After that he brought in carrot cake. A perfect ending to a day that worked out well. I think I'll call it a night.

Piglets Galore! Part 2

2010-03-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Okay...so Abbie was not in the shelter with the others so I knew what that meant. I started walking further into the woods with the flashlight to look for her. Our woods goes into a steep slope and has lots of fallen trees, all shapes and sizes. I find her towards the bottom, milling around between two very large fallen trees that are about four feet apart. She's just standing there with a dazed look. I actually thought she looked extra pretty. I walked back up the hill, back to the house and told Scott what I found.

"I know it's dark, but we have to try to move her."

So that is exactly what we did. We tried to move her to her own small paddock. Scott started the tractor and hooked up the farrowing hut and I got some feed and a sorting panel. Off we went down below. We thought best for the hut to be at the bottom, close to where Abbie was located. Scott could cut the line and we wouldn't have to move her that far. I guess she was disturbed by the commotion because I found her back up the hill. Now it would be a pain because we didn't want the other hogs to wake up. Which of course they did...a bunch of Nosy Neds. We were able to lead Abbie back down the hill but it soon became impossible to try and coax her through the area where Scott cut the wire. We could actually make the situation worse if the Nosy Neds got out. We tried again. It's difficult to maneuver your way through trees and thorn bushes with just the tractor lights. At some point I banged my forehead against a big tree limb.

Knowing it was going to start raining the next day and through the weekend, we really tried to get Abbie to her hut. But it wasn't going to happen. Scott had the idea of putting a big piece of plywood over the fallen trees. Maybe she would know enough to farrow under it. That was all we could do.

That's one of the hard realities of farming. You can do your very best and things may or may not turn out the way you had hoped for.

I knew that Friday was going to be a very hard day for me. Scott had to go into Northern Virginia for work and was going to be gone all day. To be honest, I have had a few times where I would wake up and dread the day. Dread what I am greeted with and dread that I will not feasibly be able to handle certain situations. Luckily, those days are very few. But Friday was a day that I was going to dread......

Piglets Galore! Part 1

2010-03-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Since last week, I have been meaning to post. But I've been too busy during the day and too tired at night! Pig farrowing has begun and of course things didn't go according to how we planned. Don't the pigs know our itinerary?

Where do I begin?.....

Well, I had mentioned before that we had separated two sows(#2 and Darla) into their own paddocks, since they were going to be first to farrow. Due date March 12th for both of them. Next two to separate would be Mary Lou and Abbie. I wasn't sure of the exact due date but by the looks of their milk rows(as of March 10th) I was thinking two-three weeks. Okay...so the plan was to separate Mary Lou and Abbie on March 13th. They are in with the Berkshire pork group in the woods and of course needed to come out of there into their own paddocks near #2 and Darla.

During the usual feeding Thursday morning, I noticed Mary Lou's milk rows. They still were not that full but when I squeezed, there was a lot of milk. With my experience, that means the sow will usually farrow within three days. A quick glance at Abbie...no, her milk rows are still pretty small. There's time with her.

"Scott, I think we should go ahead and build out paddocks for Mary Lou and Abbie."

"Sure, no problem...I'll get the huts up there later this afternoon."

"Perfect...I'll quickly build paddocks after I pick Sam up from school."

Around 1:00 pm I was getting the woods hogs some water. Being a warm day, they enjoyed rolling around in the extra water I poured on the ground. Mary Lou came over, got a big drink and laid on the ground. After a few minutes she got back up and carried on with her pig business and I carried on with mine. Sam and I got home around 3:00pm and I grabbed the needed supplies and headed up to where I would build the paddocks. It was such a good feeling being ahead of the game and having a good control of the day. As I reached the top of the hill, I noticed Mary Lou on the ground. Odd that she would be sleeping in that location, I thought. Getting closer and closer, I realized she wasn't sleeping. She had her litter! A bunch of nursing piglets. In two hours she went from not showing any labor signs to having all of her piglets...nine of them(really ten but she may have laid on one). Completely shocked, I ran down to tell Scott. I was also worried about the nine other hogs and what they might do if they got too curious. Scott had to stop what he was doing and focus on how we were going to handle this situation.

Mary Lou was in the woods with no shelter. Heavy rains were coming for the weekend so that was the first item to deal with. So now what would be best? Maneuver the farrowing hut through the trees to her? Or build the paddock as planned and try to move her and the piglets up to the hut. Scott thought it was best to bring the hut down to her. It wasn't the simplest of tasks getting the hut through the trees, but Scott was able to do it. I brought plenty of straw down while he built the electric wire fence around Mary Lou. We were able to get the piglets into the shelter but Mary Lou wasn't so sure. It took a while for all of them to get settled. Thankfully they did.

Since Mary Lou had her litter, I was concerned about Abbie. I checked on her again and she still appeared to have more time. Good! It's almost dark at this point and there are many other things to do.

So later on, when it was completely dark, I felt I needed to check on all hogs. Still no piglets for #2 and Darla. Mary Lou and her piglets are doing great and snug inside the hut. The other woods hogs are in their shelter. They don't seem to mind what's going on nearby with the new mom. Hmmm...where's Abbie?

(sorry to do this, but there is so much to tell and I need to go to sleep!)

To Phil!

2010-03-09T16:57:00.001-08:00

Every now and then you get that one special chicken or rooster that is very special. He or she will stand out with its zany or different personality. There is a particular hatchery that will send a surprise, rare chicken if you order fifty or more birds. Of course we agreed to the surprise. When the chicks arrived, the kids got out the catalog and started researching what breed was picked for us. It was pretty easy...a Buff Laced Polish, a very docile and easy-going breed...so they say. As our new bird started to grow feathers on top of the head, we named her Phyllis. She looked like she was wearing a Phyllis Diller wig. Feeding the birds one morning, I happened to hear a crow coming from the "new chick" coop. Our dear Phyllis was now a Phil.

Now Phil wasn't exactly the docile, easy-going bird that the Buff Laced Polish are known for. We affectionately called him Schizo Phil. The poor guy was definitely on the bottom of the pecking order. He didn't have many hens that hung out with him. Maybe one or two at most. Phil was a very jumpy bird that startled very easily. He wouldn't dare let you touch him. Sometimes at night when the birds would be roosting, I would quickly grab him and hold him just to see what he felt like. Oh the shrieks!

One beautiful, sunny day as I was on my front porch, I noticed a large shadowing from above. Only a buzzard, I thought. I glanced over to the chicken area and saw the chickens scattering everywhere. The "buzzard" I saw was really a hawk. A big one, too! I ran over there just in time to see the hawk dive down towards Phil. He got close but it must not have had a good angle. Phil escaped him and ran over to the tree line. I still remember seeing him perched on a fallen limb all hunkered down.

One dreary, drizzly day I was walking past some side windows and just happened to glance outside to see chickens scurrying from the back treeline to their home. Definitely a sign that means "go check it out"! I ran out with the dogs and noticed Phil's feathers at the treeline and the trail leading downhill and into the adjacent field. I also noticed the dogs taking off toward that field. They disappeared over the hilltop. I felt so sad. Not Phil! All I could do was to try to follow his feathers and maybe I could find him. I walked down the hill one last time. Two of my dogs came back while one was still out there. When I finally realized I lost Phil I heard a loud squawk way on the other side of the trees and hill. When I got over there, the third dog was standing near Phil. He was definitely wounded. It was hard to see to what extent, but after being in the mouth of a fox of course there would be some injuries. I picked him up and carried him over to the house. He just laid there, almost lifeless, in my arms. But when I reached the side door, his head perked up, gave a loud shriek and jumped out of my arms to the ground. There he goes, running across the yard.

One dark night, the kids and I were closing up the chicken and turkey shed. At that time, we didn't have many turkeys so they were able to roost in their own shed in a nearby field. I used to count all of the chickens before I closed their door. Phil wasn't there! Oh no. I let the kids know and we searched with flashlights to see if we could find feathers. We must have been looking for an hour, all of us sad. I told the kids we can't do anything about it and we should just go in. Jonah went over to close the turkey shed door. "Phil's in here with the turkeys!" Goofy boy, putting us through such a scare.

Yet again...while out scoping the grounds, I noticed a pile of Phil's feathers by the trees. Here we go again. Luckily, I saw him right away by the coop...without a tail. Phil looked silly for the longest time. But the tail feathers eventually grew back and he was beautiful once again.

It was never a big surprise that Phil didn't wander too far away from the coop. He was happy being crazy close to his home. Strangely, after a couple of years he started venturing across the yard to the other side of the house. It was like he discovered a whole new world. Finally Phil was coming out of his shell!

Then one sad night, I noticed Phil wasn't in the shed roosting with the others. I had a feeling this time that it wasn't good. I did a quick search around the yard where the sheds are located. But knowing he traveled across other fields, his chances were better to be seen by a fox. "I'll wait to tell the kids in the morning", I thought. We've had our share of chickens taken away by fox, but the news of Phil was pretty hard to take for all of us. He managed to escape so many dangerous situations. We just assumed he was invincible.

Oddly enough, I didn't find his feathers out in the new field Phil discovered. They were in the corner by the fence close to his home. This happened a year ago and a tear actually came to my eye while writing about him. We sure do miss that crazy bird!

Aahhh!!! Vitamin D

2010-03-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

I believe all will agree...what a beautiful and much appreciated weekend. It feels so good to finally check items off of the list and see progress. Feels great to walk and run across fields without high stepping to get through the snow. Feels fantastic to have the four-wheeler working again! It makes feeding and watering go much faster.

The Red Dalmatians were weaned and put in a pen next to Max and the Large Black Hogs(Opie, Bea and Biddy). Max and his friends need to be retrained on the electric wire. So right now they are learning boundaries again. Ramona was moved to another area, out of sight from her newly weaned litter. Frances was put in with her to keep her company. We'll keep Ramona there until she is reconditioned and rested. Then she'll go back out with her group and Ollie the Boar.

Darla and #2 were moved into the same field. They are due with litters very soon. We are so pleased that our brother-in-law, Dan, came down and built three more farrowing huts, making it now a total of five. These huts are well built and have a great design. It's roomy enough for mom to farrow and has a hinged entrance in the back so I can assist or handle the piglets if I need to.

Since we moved Darla away from our big Tamworth boar(Big Daddy), I decided to try and put a Berkshire gilt in with him in his field. Daisy hasn't produced for us yet. She's normal with her heat cycles but it just doesn't seem to be working with her and Ollie. I'm stumped with what the problem may be. I really want to try hard to get a litter from her because if she doesn't...well...you know. It took us a while to get Daisy over there, but we succeeded. She's in heat now so I thought for sure Big Daddy would be interested. No...he was more interested in the feed we brought over with us. After some time I noticed Daisy and Ollie pacing the fence line. Our driveway divides the two fields. Up and down they went with Ollie frothing at the mouth. I took it upon myself to get Daisy back over to her field with Ollie. Maybe that short separation will do the trick.

The chicks seem to be doing fine. We lost one egg layer and several broilers. I did notice two more broilers limping. I'm sure it's safe to say that they won't make it.

With all that we were able to do this past weekend we still find ourselves behind with more projects to add to the list. But that's okay...I'm so grateful it's warm!

A New Season Under Way....Already!

2010-03-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I really can't believe it's the start of a new season already! All of the snowstorms made this winter go by so quickly. So here we are...2010 season. We received the egg layers yesterday. This year I decided on Russian Orlorffs and Welsummers, both rare breeds. I like to order different kinds of chickens because there are so many beautiful breeds, each having different personalities. Tomorrow we receive the first batch of broiler chickens. Starting next week, the first group of eleven sows will begin farrowing and won't end until May. Around that time my second group should be ready to breed for fall piglets. The Culpeper's Farmers Market begins April 24th. It'll be great to see everyone again!

I was down with the group of pigs we just moved and noticed one in heat. Of course she is too young so now we need to separate the girls from the boys. That should be an easy task. I also noticed some odd behavior amongst this group. Not bad odd, but good odd. The young Berkshire boars in this group, Duke and Simon, have always been so friendly. They love getting attention and are just my sweet boys. The girls, however, have been slightly stand-offish. They'll come up to me but as soon as I try to pet them they take off. Today they were different. Some of them were actually competing for my attention. They would rub up against me and let me touch them. I noticed them frolicking more as they discovered wallowing for the first time. I didn't think it was that warm, but for them a nice sunny day was warm enough. I'm sure it felt good on their skin. Surely, these animals felt the stress of this past winter just like their owners did!

The older pictures above show some pretty White Rock hens, Scott and a young Ollie, and the last one(I think that was 3-4 years ago) shows some major clearing and excavating of the front. It was very much over grown. Sam is the little guy with the orange shirt.

A Productive Day

2010-02-27T16:15:00.000-08:00

Leading Max, Opie, Bea and Biddy back up to the house

This is what hogs will do to the ground...I think I'll do a garden!
For the first time in what seems like such a long time, it was a very productive day with the pigs. We finally were able to move the older piglet group from behind the shop to a nice area with green grass(believe it or not), lots of trees and great places to explore. But before we moved them, we had to ring and tag all 15 and give them a shot of Dectomax. We made a chute system so it is easier to handle the little guys and gals. Tony's job is to get them in the chute and hold them once they are in. Scott will then use a hog snare(a device that slips around the nose and tightens to hold them still) and my job is to give the shot, put in the ear tag and apply the nose ring. The system ran smoothly and the pigs were so happy to be moved to a new home. Scott and I always went back and forth on whether or not we should ring. Sure, they love to get head deep into the ground but they really can wreak havoc on pastures. Rotating pastures is so important but this winter led us to decide to ring the hogs. If we know we will have a pork group that will stay in the woods then we won't ring them. The hogs can still get in the ground to get the good stuff, but they won't ruin pastures. Some people think it is cruel to ring hogs. But I have to say, I am a witness to very happy and healthy creatures with nose rings. They act no differently than my hogs without rings.

Today's Special......Stewing Hen

2010-02-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today started out like any other day. I made my rounds with the hogs. The last hogs I usually feed are Big Daddy and Darla. They are located in the field next to the egg layers. These chickens have access to anywhere on the farm but a bunch will make a bee line right to their hog neighbors at feeding time. They all huddle around, carefully attempting to grab a bite of corn or hog pellets from the feeder pan. I just put the feed in the two pans and started examining Darla. She is due to farrow in about three to four weeks. I looked around for a second and then happened to notice a rooster chasing one of the Black Star hens down the hill.

"Oh for Pete's sake! Can you just leave her alone!!"

There was still some snow and ice on the ground. Maybe that is why the black hen was having a hard time getting away from the rooster. She was trying to get up but still having a hard time. I ran down to see if I could assist and what do I see? A headless chicken. She got too close to Darla's mouth! Chickens still move after they are killed. That's why I thought she was just having a difficult time with the snow.

I grabbed her by the legs and proceeded back up the hill to Darla. Sure enough, right by her bowl, there was the head. How strange. Now here I have this newly killed chicken, but what do I do? I didn't want to waste good meat. Scott was in Fairfax. I definitely could scald and pluck feathers but I didn't know how to eviscerate. My job with the chickens is quality control, bagging and weighing. Tony(our farm partner and champion eviscerator) was at work as well so it looked like it was just going to be me. I did call Tony to get instructions but I needed a visual "how-to". So I checked out You Tube...How to Eviscerate a Chicken. By the way...those of you who do not know what eviscerate means, it is gutting a chicken. Taking out all of the innards(intestines, gizzard, heart, etc.). Joel Salatin had good step by step instructions.

I got a big stock pot filled with water and set it on the stove. When the water temp for scalding was correct(147 degrees is what Scott likes) I started dunking the bird up and down for about a minute. Then I put the chicken in a bucket and went outside to pluck feathers. Back inside to the kitchen sink to attempt eviscerating. Too cold and windy outside. The crop was the size of a baseball. That was easy to get out. I start cutting...eeww it stinks. Back outside where it is cold and windy so the smell can be whisked away. I finish cutting, put my hand inside and everything comes out at once. Hmmm...not so bad. I completed the task at the kitchen sink, washing and doing my famous quality control.

This chicken is what is called a stewing hen. Egg layers only lay efficiently for about two years. Ater that, they are processed for stewing. If you roasted one of these birds in the oven, it would be very tough. An older hen needs to be stewed all day, like in a crockpot. Chicken and dumplings would be great with a stewing hen. A friend of mine said he puts in a crockpot a can of mushroom soup with about a half a can of white wine along with the chicken. It goes great with broccoli and rice. You can't go wrong. The key is slow cooking for a LONG time.

Bon Appetit!

It's Been a Week.......

2010-02-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

The snow has been melting. Of course everyone is ready for that, but it is making things more difficult than it did when we first got all of this snow. I have been getting stuck everyday now...sometimes twice a day. Scott needs to pull me out with the tractor. I've been late picking up kids, had to orchestrate who could pick up kids because "mom is stuck in a snow bank again", and missed practices altogether.

We could once walk on top of the snow and had very nice trails. Now everything is getting soft so it has been like walking in 2-3 ft of fresh snow. I know the animals are very ready for the snow to completely melt. They need to venture out again.

Frances and Friends(My Tamworth sow and three Large Black Hogs) have been getting out of their paddock the last couple of days. We knew that would happen but we couldn't do anything about it until this weekend when all the wire will be dug out and restrung. So, Frances and Friends found the piglet group(4-6 months old) behind the shop and claimed their hut. The confused young ones were all standing outside staring at what should be their warm bed. It's funny how they all ran up to me, tattletaling on the bullies who stole their hut. There wasn't anything I could do. Scott checked on them a bit later to see if any settled. He had to put down some extra straw for the pigs that couldn't fit.

We're exhausted. It will be fantastic to use the four-wheeler again to feed and water everyone and to get caught up on projects that we were supposed to have completed by spring.

Clementine took a moment to pose for this picture. She found the only dry, grassy spot under a cedar tree. She so enjoyed the warm sun and a good massage from me!

Not Much Going On Here!

2010-02-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

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!

....But Not The Wind!

2010-02-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

Jonah with Hoover the Lab and Gil the Boxer
At 13 years old, Hoover still loves the snow!
Frances...My Bottle Fed Baby
It's the wind I can do without. This latest storm is supposed to be 7-14 inches. It's hard to tell how deep it is out there this morning. The winds already are starting to pick up(at 7:00am). This wasn't supposed to happen until noon. Feeding time is going to be cold! But just think...it's almost March which means almost spring!

We spent yesterday filling just about every bucket we own with water. With the high winds, there could be a good chance we lose electricity again. This time I made sure I washed and dried MY clothes. I took the Indian chicken out of the crockpot and made a soup out of it. I also made a pasta salad and Kielbasa with browned cabbage. We'll be prepared with food.

Scott bought a much needed chainsaw and went into the woods to cut up some downed trees or limbs so Jonah could split them. I feel like everything we have done this winter is prepping for weather or fixing the aftermath. I pushed back our chick order another two weeks. I don't see us getting the brooder room ready by next week.

I did decide to deworm all of the hogs yesterday. We wanted to make a chute system for the smaller pigs so it would be easier to snare and inject them.....wanted to a month ago that is. Snow hasn't helped with that! I normally give an injection of Dectomax. Works great for all internal and external parasites. There is a dewormer that I can mix with feed, but with the chickens getting over to the pigs, I can't use it. However, since the chickens haven't been able to dig through the snow to get to the pigs, I found it to be the perfect opportunity to use this method. It's easier to inject the larger hogs. While they are eating I pet them and inject in the neck area. All hogs are done except Ramona's piglets. We'll do them when they are weaned. Which should have been two weeks ago! Lucky for them, the snow is letting them stay with their mom.

All of the nice walking trails we made are now covered with drifts and we are now discovering new leaks in the house. I can't imagine what thawing out is going to be like!

Yes...I Still Like Winter

2010-02-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

A Snowy Winter
A snow covered mulberry tree
Emma and Jake
The Red Dalmatians
"Mom, play in the snow with us!"
Hungry pigs lined up in a row!
Max giving me a kiss
A beautiful morning out front
The Farm House
Deer tracks in the back field
Curious Cats
With another snowstorm behind us, I have to say...yes, I still like winter. I woke up to a beautiful morning. Before I grabbed my first cup of coffee, I went out to the shop to let Trixie, our Great Pyrenees, back outside. The scenery was breathtaking. I rushed right back in to get my camera so I could take advantage of the morning sun bouncing off the snow. I guess I should apologize to Scott. I told him I'd be right back with coffee. I was surprised to see that it was 17 degrees. I was only out with flannel jammy pants, a fleece pull-over and snow boots. No hat, no gloves. It felt invigorating to be outside. The only sound I could hear in the peacefulness was my roosters.

Let's take this back to Friday morning...

All week the weather guys were preparing us for an "epic" snowstorm. The prepping began with chopping wood. We had to make sure we had enough for a few days just in case the electricity went out. Next was to make sure we had enough hog and chicken feed and while I was at the co-op I got more bales of straw to make sure the young guys and gals would be warm. Fortunately, it didn't really start snowing until later in the morning. Once it started it didn't lay on the roads for some time. I was able to go out one last time to purchase anything we may need. I enjoyed being out with everyone getting ready. The lines were long, however that made for great conversations. The number one item I noticed being bought was wild bird food. How kind it is to think of our wild feathered friends!

So...another bag of dog food, more chips and salsa, candles and two oil lamps finished out my shopping. Scott was able to go into Fairfax for work and be home in time to get the farm and farm house ready. We checked things off the list that Scott had written the night before. By the time we retired for the evening, the snow was in full force.

It's funny the order of thoughts that goes through one's sleepy mind when told the electricity has been out since midnight.

"What? No coffee?!!!"

"Oh no! I forgot to put MY clothes in the dryer. I don't have any jeans!"

"Hope we have enough water for the animals."

and lastly...

"The kids have plenty of snow pants. How come WE don't own any?!"

After making the fires and assessing the situation, I put a pot of water on top of the woodstove. Thank goodness I had Celestial Seasonings "Morning Thunder" tea. With caffeine! We put on our gear and headed outside in the "still snowing" morning. Chickens get so irritated when they can't leave the coop. They won't go outside in any bad weather. The hogs didn't do too badly. They were able to make trails around their huts or they just decided to stay inside. It took a good part of the day to feed and water. We wound up needing to melt snow in big stock pots on the woodstove all day long so we could have enough water for them. We weren't sure how long it would take to get our power back.

The snow finally stopped just before dark. As Scott and I were walking towards the chickens to close them up for the night, we noticed deer out in the back field. The snow was totally covering their legs. They were so beautiful. It was dark when we made it inside so we all got the candles and oil lamps and made our light. The kids found some old games in the attic. I was greeted by the familiar popping sound of "Trouble". Scott and I each had a pot of hot melted snow for washing up with a washcloth. That was very much appreciated! Food wasn't an issue. We were able to heat up leftover spaghetti and some homemade chicken soup. Scott, Jonah, Emma and I played a card game and finally we were ready for bed. Everyone layered up and grabbed extra blankets because we knew it would be frigid by morning if we didn't have electricity yet. Sometime during the night Scott woke me up and said the lights were on. So it wound up being 24 hours without electricity. We felt lucky because we didn't think we would get it back so soon. Many others still don't have it. We have a generator but we really didn't need to set it up.

I really didn't mind it for the day. I actually think we need to use the oil lamps more and the light switches less. And now....getting ready for yet another snowstorm!

A Winter The Way It Should Be

2010-02-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

Like I said before...I do like winter. I like all seasons. Summer just happens to be my favorite. I guess what it boils down to is the appreciation for each season. The last three years we have had fairly mild winters with very little snow. Sure there has been some cold spells but nothing the way winter should be.

We just passed our five year anniversary of our moving here to Pleasant Hill Farm(January 26th). I remember that winter being cold, windy and snowy. There were curtains left on the many windows of the "Moon Porch" at the back of the house. We would watch these curtains move as the bitter wind would pound against the house. The kids also did a great deal of sledding those first two winters. We live on top of a hill which makes slope and ramp building extra fun(just be careful of the pig manure!). The last two winters we hoped for snow and really didn't get any. If it is winter... it should snow... right?

RIGHT!!

Well, thus far our 2009-10 winter is giving us what we hoped for. December gave us 20 inches. It was challenging but I have to admit I enjoyed the experience. The other night we had a decent amount. Tonight they are calling for six inches. But I am really curious about this weekend. Apparently we will witness another major snowstorm this Friday and Saturday. Someone at the feed store said they heard 40 inches! That means the rest of our week will be getting ready and prepping. Scott and Jonah will be busy splitting wood. We only have enough for tomorrow. We are almost out of oil and the oil company says they will come out sometime this week. When we wake up in the morning, it's not uncommon for our house to be 50 degrees. Believe it or not, our bodies get used to it. Our bodies also get used to the 100 degree days in the summer. Pleasant Hill does not have air-conditioning. More blogging about that come August!!

I don't know why, but for some reason I enjoy experiencing the challenge of finding heat. After all, wasn't it like this long, long ago?

What Are The Odds?

2010-01-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

So I run into a friend of mine at the local grocery store. We met Deb through the Culpeper Farmers Market over a year ago. She and her family had just moved to a farm in a neighboring county and wanted to know more about how we raised chickens. Deb and her daughter, Olivia, were invited to attend our processing day. Deb, hoping that one day she could also raise chickens, wanted to see how it was done. She dove right in and did a fantastic job. Olivia was 11 at the time(I think) and fell in love with the pigs. She was fortunate during a visit to be a witness to #5 farrowing. How could you not fall in love with a newborn piglet? Olivia is such a sweet young lady who totally gets the farm thing.

Luckily, last August I had a Tamworth female piglet available and Olivia was ready to purchase a pig of her own. She paid me with her own money and loaded "Lucy" onto the back of Deb's truck. A very excited young girl! Olivia adores her Lucy and spends alot of time with her.

Anyway...

Deb was telling me(yesterday) how sweet Lucy is, how big she is getting and how they really want a friend for her. Maybe a boar piglet so they can experience having their own litters. I have some litters coming up in the spring, although none that would be suitable for litters with Lucy. But I definitely agreed...Lucy is getting to be at the age where she needs a friend.

So Deb and I said our good-byes and finished our grocery shopping. Shortly after I get home my phone rings. It's Deb. "You'll never believe what happened!" She gets home and Olivia is running up to the house, "There's a piglet in the pen with Lucy! This piglet came right up and I didn't know what to do, so I let it in with Lucy!" I can only imagine Deb's reaction to all of this. A stray puppy or kitty, sure...but a piglet?

Deb goes to investigate and sure enough there is a piglet in with Lucy. He is black and white, like a Berkshire, but his conformation is that of a potbellied pig. His ear is tagged so he definitely belongs to someone. How in the world did he get there? We recently had extremely heavy rains. Maybe he got lost during the flooding. Deb had called me because they were concerned how an older pig would be with a piglet. Could Lucy hurt this new guy? Apparently this guy was trying to find where to nurse on Lucy. He wanted to play. He definitely was familiar with the type of specie Lucy was. Lucy didn't appear to be aggressive, however she did knock him around a bit. But Lucy went on with her pig business. I told Deb that with my experience with raising piglets to hogs, after spending so much time with them, they seem to be more gentle and have a great deal of patience with the younger ones. I have a four month old piglet(Clementine) who sleeps in the same hut with six full grown hogs. They are all gentle with her and look out for their younger friend.

Nevertheless, I told Deb to keep an eye out and go down to Lucy's hut at night to see what the status looks like. Will Lucy welcome her new friend or will Deb and Olivia find him wandering around? Pigs like to tucker out for the evening and get a good nights sleep like people do. How happy they must have been to find Lucy and "Willie" snuggling close together during a very cold night.

How did that happen? How did Willie find Lucy? How can you nonchalantly talk about how you may need a friend for your pig and voila...one shows up! I've had so many heartaches during our farming journey. Many losses. So when strange things like this happen, it makes it all worth it! I just love stories like this. I'm so excited for Olivia. She's a great "mom" to her pigs.

If you want to see Willie and Lucy, search for "Lucy Pig" on Facebook. Hopefully you can see pictures and videos of the two sweet pigs.

What A Bummer....

2010-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a chicken taken away last night by a fox. Scott discovered the familiar piles of feathers around the shed and by the fence. This particular White Rock hen was injured by a hog a couple of weeks ago. Probably got too close to the feed bowl! The chickens love when it's time to feed the hogs. They all gather around and are inches away from a very hungry mouth! This hen's neck was raw and in pretty bad shape so I was really surprised she had lasted as long as she did. All of my chickens go inside sheds at night to roost. We follow up by closing the doors to keep them safe from predators. Sometimes when a chicken is injured, it may decide to go under the shed to be away from the others. Chickens tend to peck at their injured friends. This White Rock did just that, roost under the shed. I'm bummed that she was taken. She was doing so well! Darn fox.

And The Rains Came Down

2010-01-25T01:44:00.000-08:00

If we didn't have enough mud out there before, I'm sure we'll have enough now! I'm up really early this morning because the rain and wind have been so loud. I can't imagine what it is going to be like out there. Already I am constantly moving huts to areas that aren't so muddy and packing in fresh straw. Tomorrow will be another day of such work. It is strange how warm it is out there...60 degrees and balmy. The kids already don't have school today and Tuesday, but I'm sure it would have been canceled because of flooding. We have some areas of the county by creeks and rivers that tend to flood the roads.

As we're trying to get ready for the 2010 season, we've been having a sale on the rest of our sausage and chicken. We want the freezers empty in preparation for the Berkshire pork coming in March. Ahhh pork again! I haven't had pork chops or roasts or tenderloins in such a long time and we've been out of bacon for a while. My son, Jonah, was with me at the grocery store the other day. He mentioned how he would really like bacon on his turkey subs. That sounds good, but I haven't even been down the meat section in months! I held the package of bacon and just stared at it. It honestly felt wrong. I thought about the hog that it came from...living indoors in dark, cramped pens...cement floors...no grass...no sunlight. When his mom had him, she wasn't able to move. Sows are in such tight quarters that they can't even turn around. That's the way it is in factory farms. It's not even farming.

Well, I did purchase the package of bacon. It confirmed what we already knew...it did not taste very good!

A Beautiful "Spring" Day

2010-01-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed...my hogs were still in the woods yesterday morning...and this morning. It was such a relief to see them. They did seem content digging and soaking in the warm sun. We sure did welcome this day. I believe it was almost 6o degrees...bright and sunny! Everyone was active. The kids were out early with their bikes and boots, chickens were scratching in new places and those little "red dalmatians" were discovering fantastic places to explore. They made friends with Clementine and enjoyed following her around the farm. I can't believe I was able to put clothes out on the line. I know people use a clothes line in the winter, but I hate the feeling of icy clothes. Hanging clothes is actually one of the few domestic chores I love to do. I find it relaxing. I remember a couple of years ago, as I was hanging laundry, I glanced up to see a herd of deer running right in front of me. I never get used to deer. It's an amazing sight each time. Then about five minutes later, an old beagle ran by. He must have been having fun chasing.

Kids had mandatory showers this evening. After being cooped up a good part of this winter, they thoroughly enjoyed a stocking up of Vitamin D. Of course it will be muddy for a while. The ground is so saturated that even the slightest bit of rain will make a mess. That doesn't stop them. Farm kids are always dirty!

Looks like we should really take advantage of the good weather tomorrow. I hear it's going to rain again by the end of this week.

They Did It Again!

2010-01-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh! What's with this group of pigs?! Yea...that's them up there!Every time we try to move them to a new area, they don't seem to be thrilled and cross under the electric wire. The snow and the frigid temps put us way behind with moving them. Their noses aren't rung so they can go through a field pretty fast. Very efficient tillers!

Scott, Tony and Jonah finally had the opportunity to build out a new paddock in the woods. It was important for us to move them there since pasture is non-existent. This way, they will be able to finish on acorns and roots. It felt like such a huge accomplishment to move these"joys" today. I stood there and watched as they dug through leaves. I find it very relaxing.

Tonight as I was closing up the farm, I got this intuition to check on this group. I wasn't planning on going over there but I wanted to see if they were still foraging or sleeping in their hut. As I was getting closer, I heard a grunt by the Sycamore trees. There should not be a grunt by the Sycamore trees! Geez!!! Pig silhouettes were fast approaching me. I ran back to get some feed. Luckily they seemed to be hanging out in the back. Four of their friends, still in the paddock, didn't want to chance a shock. I was able to get all of them back in, except Lulu. Jonah had to help me with her.

The last time we moved them to this area, they got out a couple of times and got into the cornfield...way out front. It's scary when you go out to feed them and you arrive to an empty paddock. They were missing for several hours. Scott went everywhere on the 4-wheeler to look for them. It wasn't until later that morning, we happened to glance down at the cornfield and spotted pigs darting back and forth between the rows...having a great time. They were mighty tired when they followed me down the lane and back up towards the house. I think they actually slept for two days. After that, we moved their paddock back up by the house. I just thought since they were bigger and older, it would be different this time. I thought they would enjoy foraging through the woods. We believe these guys need to be in the middle of it all. They need to see the action. I sure do hope I see them in the woods tomorrow!

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-03T06:16:00.000-08:00

I do like winter. Maybe not so much this bitterly cold wind. When it's this cold, it is very challenging keeping the house at a temperature where we are not in a "hunched over" state. We have radiator heat which is incredibly toasty, however, oil is incredibly expensive. We had two fireplaces restored and rebuilt and we found a thimble flue in the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Old wood stoves used to be located there. When their purpose was no longer needed, they were taken out and the wall was rebuilt. Luckily for us, there had been a leak at the opening of the flue inside the wall. A new discovery led us to an additional heat source(and we often say the best purchase we ever made!)...a woodstove. Once all of the fireplaces are going, the woodstove is roaring, and maybe roasted chicken in the oven, it is very comfortable inside this old house.

Since we're located up on a hill, it gets extra gusty up here. The other night I kept hearing what sounded like a ball bouncing. The sound would be slow and then gain speed as if a ball was getting ready to stop on a floor. I didn't think much of it at first. Maybe one of the cats was playing with a ball. But it was too uniform and kept on going for a while. A cat would have been bored after a few minutes. In the middle of the night, it was very easy to imagine a "Ghost Boy" playing with a bouncy ball. Of course I knew it was NOT that and before anyone asks....no, there are no ghosts inside or outside of this house! The sound wound up being the cellar window. The gusts were making the loose window vibrate.

I noticed the pigs are sleeping in a bit longer these days. Why would they want to come out in frigid temperatures when they are warm inside their huts. Last night I went to put extra straw in with the weaned piglets(15 of them) and as they all came out to see what was going on, I could feel the rush of heat from inside. That made me feel better. They are okay even when the temps dip into the teens.

We always assume we are going to have a "break" over the winter months. Sometimes I feel that we are more busy, just in a different way. We have two pig groups that need to be moved to another area. Usually not a problem but the blizzard didn't help with that. More fences need to be built but the ground is solid. I want to get my next pork group in the woods so they can finish on good roots, acorns and whatever else they might find. Next month we start getting broiler chicks already. Winter seems to go by quickly for us.

Jonah took this picture from his bedroom window last year. When it is this cold and windy, it's easy to forget that days will be warm and colorful again. "That's right! The trees do have pretty green things on their branches!"

Finally Free!!

2009-12-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

Yikes! I wanted to take some pictures of this beautiful day but my family took the digital camera with them to Pennsylvania. It was sunny, warm(or warmer) and the snow was finally melting in spots. It was the first time since the snow that I found the chickens in my front yard. I wanted to take a picture of the rooster and his ladies on my front porch. Ramona's piglets were out and about for the first time today! It was fun to see little red things dart back and forth across their field. I wanted to take a picture of that, too! My next group of Berkshire pork was completely covered in mud. I can tell and name each one of my pigs. All of them. But today, I couldn't tell any of the Berkshires apart. The time just before sunset was really beautiful. It was a great opportunity to look at my animals and make sure everyone is happy and healthy. Mary Lou(a Tamworth gilt) needed extra rubbing. I love when you touch them and they just collapse right on the ground. She is just like her mom(#2). It was also a great opportunity to study conformation. Hopefully we can expect quite a few litters in the spring.

Because of all of our wonderful customers, our farm is busting at the seams. I can't think of a better "problem"! Too much demand, not enough supply. We are researching now in hopes of expanding our markets. We still will only provide pork and poultry. We love the pigs, love the birds...no need to expand the livestock list. This is what we want to specialize in, what we want to educate everyone with and simply what we want to tuck in every night!

Just thought I would add a picture of part of the restoration. This was at the very beginning. The portico was falling on one side...had to be raised. The pilasters had to be rebuilt and the front looked as if it had been bombed in the Civil War. But notice the perfect symmetry of the flowers and flower pots! I am a complete spaz about symmetry!!

Red Dalmatians?

2009-12-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

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.

Pretty Pigs in the Snow

2009-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

We've been here at Pleasant Hill Farm almost five years and haven't needed to experience livestock management in blizzard like weather yet. We haven't really seen much snow in the last couple of years, at least since getting the pigs. Scott was supposed to go into D.C. yesterday but since the storm was definitely heading our way, he thought best to work from home and get the animals ready.

One thing we learned about farming is how closely connected we are to the weather. You listen to the reports and prepare. Prepare for rain, extreme heat, snow, etc. We had to make sure we were aware of what the wind direction would be. Scott moved and turned all of the pig huts so the snow would not be able to blow inside. He made door coverings out of extra plywood we saved, just so the pigs could have extra warmth and shelter. Fresh straw was placed in all of the huts. All of the feed bowls had to be brought into the shop so they wouldn't be covered. The water troughs were dumped and moved directly in front of the huts. We also needed to make sure our newly farrowed litter would be okay. It was an all day event and just after it was dark, we were done.

Today, with almost two feet of snow and four foot drifts, it was another all day event feeding and watering. Feeding wasn't so bad but our irrigation system is still primitive. Our one and only hydrant was covered in a huge drift. Easy solution...my oldest son, Jonah, filled up the water buckets with hot water from the bathtub. What wasn't easy was walking through the drifts trying to hold up the buckets. One time I fell on some rough ground, but I saved the water!

Watching my hogs in the snow made me appreciate the Heritage breeds. They can handle this harsh weather. Lulu, one of my Tamworth gilts was outside walking around all morning. She was beautiful with her striking red hair covered in snow. Scott and I took some water down to the Large Black Hogs at the bottom of our hill. I looked up and saw several Berkshires running down towards us, with snow just about half way up their bodies...not even phased. I will be glad to greet them again tomorrow morning...and do it all over again.

Leftovers Plate Number One

2009-11-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Of course my favorite part about Thanksgiving is the leftovers. It makes the best breakfast! I already had my big plate this morning. We went over Tony and Careen's last night. Tony cooked two Bourbon Red hens...one smoked and one traditional. Everything was wonderful. We took half of everything home. I can see for now on, Thanksgiving day for us means taking a huge breather and being thankful for a day of rest. I don't have a desire to cook all day. I would much rather enjoy the event on Friday or Saturday.

Scott did very little farm work yesterday. He enjoyed cups of hot tea and reading the book, "Omnivore's Dilemma". I, on the other hand, finally enjoyed getting my hands on my pigs. I haven't seen them in a week. I cleaned out feed and water troughs, made sure everyone got enough feed and made sure all grunts and oinks were normal. We also have a sow, Ramona, who is due very soon with a litter. We moved her to the hill with the farrowing hut. Now we just have to watch her milk rows. That lets me know just how soon she will deliver.

We sure do hope all of our customers enjoyed their Pleasant Hill Turkeys and the time spent with their friends and family. We were glad to see our repeat customers and it was a true pleasure meeting new ones! We're thankful for all of you. Now it's time to order turkeys for next year!

Weaning

2009-11-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

When our piglets are about six weeks old, we wean them from their mom and put them in a confined area with hog panels. I have to say I absolutely detest this part of pig farming. Piglets are like puppies with playful, mischievous spirits. When they are first born, they don't wander too far from mom. After about a week they start to explore. It doesn't take too long for them to realize that we keep the feed in the shop. Before I know it, I am greeted there with tiny grunts and oinks. "Where's my food? Where's my food?!" How much fun it is for them to find a new spot to explore and see new pig faces who may be their future friends. My neighbor has called me, "I just want to let you know there were a bunch of small red piglets way up in my yard." Life is good.

We just weaned a litter of Tamworths today. I find myself feeling melancholy because for a short period of time, they will not be free to explore. I can hear them grunting because they don't know where they are and of course they miss the security of mom. Mom pigs really do need to separate from their babies at this time. Nursing a big litter is hard on them and they start to lose some weight.

Eventually we'll run some electric wire in their weaning pen to get them to "respect" the electric fence. When they get big enough, we'll build out large, wire paddocks for them to roam and explore. They surely will be happy again!

Chickens are done!!

2009-11-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is such a busy time of year for us. We're winding down with the turkeys...taking Thanksgiving orders and strategically placing dogs to keep them safe at night. We finish up with the broiler chickens for the year until next February when we receive the first batch of chicks. We just processed the last batch and I just finished cleaning and bagging them. I always find the last ten to be torture because I want it to be done and I'm tired of handling chicken!

I enjoyed watching this particular batch. We didn't have enough solar chargers so they didn't have one connected to their poultry net. So knowing it was not electrified, they found it easy to escape under the net. The Cornish cross chickens cannot fly. Even though all of our birds forage within their netting, these guys truly hit the jackpot with totally free foraging everywhere! Under buildings, under the deck, even by the pigs...which it wasn't too smart for them when they were little. Pigs eat chickens!

My Loves and Joys

2009-11-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

About two years ago, Scott went to a local farm, Cibola Farms, to inquire about a job with farm markets. Cibola Farms raises bison and pork and sells in farmers markets in the DC Metro area. I found myself a tad surprised when he came home and said,"I think I'm going to buy some pigs."

Hmm... okay we have some chickens, are we ready for pigs?

When we moved here to our farm, we knew we would raise some animals for our own purpose, but we NEVER thought we would raise for the purpose of farming for others. After a two minute conversation, we decided to purchase a Tamworth boar and three Tamworth sows from Cibola. Pig farming has begun!

We fell in love immediately (and respected immediately) our new herd. We called the boar Big Daddy and the three sows were #2,#4, and #5. We were trying to think of names for the girls, but after so many days went by, the names became their ear tags...#2,#4, #5. What a joy it was to realize how pigs are incredible animals. They are smart(too smart!), have personalities like dogs, and love to be around people.

We still have Big Daddy and #2. #4 never produced a litter for us so you know what that means. And sadly, #5 died last spring. She was about three weeks away from farrowing. It's hard to say what happened with her. Thinking maybe something intestinal. I'll post more about her later. She was such a sweet pig.

Since that time, I have become obsessed with pigs. Neverending research has led me to other breeds of hogs besides Tamworths. I've fallen in love with Berkshires as well as Large Black Hogs. The photo is that of my Berkshire pork, ready in March.

As of now, I will have 23 breeding sows for next year's production. And believe it or not, that's not enough. I have to turn many people away because I don't have enough pigs!

I truly have such a warm spot in my heart for these creatures. I love being out there on a warm day and giving each "joy" a good rub down. They love it as much as I do! I possess happy pigs!!

How Did We Get Into This?

2009-11-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

My husband, Scott, and I never talked about farming. It all started when we moved out to the "country", thinking we hit the jackpot with one acre of land. We quickly realized that the houses were still on top of each other. I remember thinking of the strong desire that I would like to take a walk on my property. My feelings were pretty much confirmed when my oldest son(third grade at the time) came home from school, excited about the possibility of getting a chicken. His class had successfully incubated eggs and with parents' permission, could take a baby chick home. I had to explain to him that it was against the rules to have chickens and other farm animals in our neighborhood. So the search began.

At first we were just looking for land with whatever house happened to be on it. I would drag Scott to numerous places. He didn't really feel a connection with any of them. During a vacation to New England one year, we went through a tour of Franklin Pierce's house. At the same time, something changed in both of our hearts...the desire to restore a historic house. We loved how there was a story about each room, as if the house itself was living to tell its story to each generation. We were hooked and the search changed to a historic house we could restore.

Pleasant Hill was for sale and I knew once I showed the listing to Scott, he would feel connected. We knew it was going to be our home the first time we walked through.

The first two years were mainly about cleaning up and working on the house. We started with guinea hens and soon after decided to try egg layers. The next two years we found ourselves farming with broilers and turkeys and had an opportunity to purchase some pigs. Little did I know, this would be the beginning of a love affair! There are numerous stories to tell since January 2005. As I remember some, I surely will post. Scott and I have learned that farming can be incredibly frustrating and difficult. But by the end of the day, week or month, we find it to be wonderfully rewarding. We love what we do.

One story that does come to mind...One evening at about 11:00pm, we realized our 500 pound Berkshire boar was out of his electric fence. His area was down the back hill by the creek. This area is rocky in some places with heavy erosion. Did I mention it was pouring down rain? And pitch black? We had no choice but to get him back in the fence. We were running with sorting panels trying desperately not to break an ankle on the terrain. I'm sure God must have been laughing hysterically at us. Finally, Ollie the boar made it in...and we all were exhausted. As Scott and I were walking up the hill, the only thing that came to my mind was, "How did we get into this?"....