Good Morning!

Usually when I do some research when I want to get involved with something, I like to hear the "bad" stuff. I find this information helpful because sometimes things do go wrong. Sometimes the weather just won't cooperate. Sometimes you may feel extremely exhausted and dread going out in the freezing rain. And fence work? Not my idea of an exciting afternoon.

I clearly remember a statement this woman had made about her farm a while back. That's all it was...just a statement. Not a full article detailing the "how to's" of farming. But just a simple feeling she had one morning. She just didn't feel like going outside. She just wasn't in a good mood. But as soon as she stepped outside, she was immediately greeted by happy animals excited to see her. Sure, they wanted to be fed, but it's nice to see happy, excited animals. Her mood changed and she had a great day.

My day usually begins by getting up early (I love getting up when it's still dark) and getting the coffee started. I turn on the computer and then maybe get some appliances going.....then sit down with my first cup of coffee. As the sun comes up, I start glancing outside to see the morning status. Is anybody up? Anyone escape? Why are the dogs barking? I happened to glance to my left one morning, looking out in the field towards the huts. No one was out yet. Still too early and cozy in their huts. Then all of a sudden 20 plus piglets bolted out of a hut and raced towards the feeding area. I could imagine one piglet saying, "Last one to the fence is a rotten egg!!". Then the moms, one by one, came out of the sleeping quarters...slowly stretching with their morning yoga. They do look like they are doing the "downward dog".

The roosters start crowing, however that begins as early as 3:00 am. The geese fly overhead from the backfield to the pond out front. The cats who were sleeping in the house wait by the office door ready to start their day shift. The cats outside during the night jump on that same office door. Night shift is over and are ready to sleep. We all have our morning routines.

I thought about that woman's statement this morning. I wasn't in a bad mood....I just found it hysterical when I opened the side door and all of the pigs....boars and sows out front, piglets on the side and the pork hogs in the back...simultaneously lifted their heads and looked towards the house.

"She's awake!!"

They really do look happy....and that makes me happy.

Yes indeed, the feeding will begin.

Downsizing...

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 ad 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

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

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.....

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

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

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!