Farm learning experiences

This week has been particularly challenging in regards to our novice farming.  We were excited about getting Tamworth pigs because of their heritage status and because of their excellent taste status from the Slow Food movement.  Our two sows and boar are very gentle and have been a joy.  I had read in Greg Judy's book Comeback Farms how his sows farrow on pasture - they just go into the woods, have their litter and appear back in a week to ten days with piglets in tow.  Unfortunately for us, this didn't happen in reality.  Our sow had her litter but the other two pigs (all three always want to be near each other) kept going near her and accidently stepped on a few.  When we discovered this, we netted her in away from the others but then that night the weather changed and we think we lost the last few to cold and the fact that by this time the sow was pretty agitated.  So, we will build a farrowing shelter for her next time with a separate, heated place for the piglets to go in to.  Steve found a good plan that is not too restrictive for the sow as I find the narrow farrowing crates pretty cruel.  Hopefully we can have one built before our next sow gets ready to farrow.

On a brighter note, we made the acquaintance of a livestock dealer in this area that rescues Jersey calves from confinement dairies and then resells them.  We were able to get 3 calves (all about 2-3 months old) for about $100 a piece (calves usually run $400-$800 a piece and up).  We will get them healthy and then have them ready to help begin our raw dairy in a few years.

Tonight Steve and I will be attending a Spring Cleaning Conference with Doug and Nancy Wilson sponsored by our triad of churches up here.  I look forward to hearing them in person after reading their great books.