Adorabelle is a mum

One of our newest addition to the Wessex clan at Greenvale was Adorabelle which we purchased from Fernleigh farms along with a young unrelated male called Dominator. Adorabelle fell pregnant earlier than I had planned to Dominator and also farrowed earlier than I had plan as such it was a rush last night to set up new accomodation for the impending farrowing. I was so impressed with the accomodation I felt like moving in myself. A snug hut made of large bales overlooking the hopkins river.
This morning I ventured out to find 7 healthy little piglets and 2 not so healthy. A very good breeding litter which was made up of 6 females and 1 male.

Our guest watched the less than 12 hour old piglets as they fed on mum.

No huffing and Puffing

With straw prices at a low we found an economic use for our large bales. Safe in the knowledge that there are no wolves to blow the house down we erected some pig houses.

Pigs new digs.

Today we finally got the new accomodation for the piglets and their mums sorted out. A nice little patch at the back of the house dam with a couple of nice big old gum trees and some lush grass. We had put little to no thought what so ever into how we were going to move the new pig shed Id built from the place where we had built it to the the paddock. In the end Scott dragged it the 400 or so meters using the bobcat.

For the new enclosure we had to errect a electric fence, add a gate and run water down to the new paddock.

Once I had Beatrice, Doreen, B2, Dixey and Daisy safely down in their new digs they settled in and gourged themselves I think on the onion weed. A weed as its name suggests has a small onion shaped and colored bulb.

The primary goal for the new accomodation was to wean the piglets. So after a couple of days Ill remove Beatrice to begin with and shortly afterwards Doreen so that the piglets can concentrate on the important job of growing. As this is such a large field for 3 little pigs it looks like Ill be getting another couple of small weaners to keep them company.

Seven Little Dwarfs

At 7:15 am the sun was peeping over the escarpment into a crisp clear morning. The heavens had left a nice little gift in the rain gauge of 7mm of precipitation which fell last night. After emptying the rain gauge I wandered over to the farrowing shed where I had put Doreen nearly two weeks ago when I produced colostrum from her teat. We had no idea when Doreen was going to give birth as we had originally thought she had been in pig when we picked her up from Fernleigh farm but for some reason she didn't take and by process of elimination we deduced she had been serviced by Prince just after we picked her up. It could have well been on the way home from picking them up as Scott had to stop the ute due to it swaying all over the road as Prince was attempting to mount Doreen.

But this morning was the morning and as I approached the shed I could hear a little unmistakable squeal and upon opening the door there was one little piglet snuggling up to mummy's tummy, I had thought that there were something wrong with the back legs as they seemed to be stiffly splayed forwards . I came back into the house to get the camera and by the time I returned another piglet had been born and was still mostly encased in membrane.

I stayed around to witness the next two being born back feet first and I gave both of them a sling by the back legs to help flush fluid from their airways in an attempt to give them a better chance of survival. The birthing process was quite interesting and most of what I had read was actually happening, Doreen shivering and the twitching of the back upper leg then there was the clear discharge prior to the actual arrival.

After the fourth there was, what I had presumed, the afterbirth. On checking back a little later another piglet had arrived and then by 11:30 there were 2 more to make seven, and what looked more logically to be the placenta.

Its very scary watching by yourself even after reading all about the processes as its difficult to really establish whether or not there really are problems and exactly how and at what point you would intervene. Probably much like you wouldnt read a book about cricket and then go out and play a game without some hands on training.

Where as Beatrice had given birth late afternoon before a cold night, Doreens birth was in the morning in much milder conditions, even so I had the heat lamp already in the shed turn on. This didnt however prevent 2 casualties that evening where Doreen had rolled on them. Its so disheartening to find the squashed bodies, the alternative is the farrowing pen which goes against letting the animals exhibit their natural behaviours.

We now stand at 5 little pigs with the runt surviving, 3 males and 2 females all snuggled up under the heat lamp and Doreen having a well earned rest as we enter into the second evening.

Pigs into new pasture

Prince and Beatrice moved up in the world today into larger acreage from a paddock which is around 500 square meters to around 2 acres. Doreen on the other hand remains around the house paddocks while we figure out her pregnancy situation. She was suppose to give birth a day or so ago but has failed to show any signs of farrowing. 

Moving the two was easier than I had envisaged, beatrice did however start wandering off in the opposite direction to our destination, Scott chaperone her dawdling while I flew ahead trying to steer Prince in the appropriate direction. 

Once in the paddock Prince ran ahead and generally made his very odorous mark on a number of items and then came charging back to us like he was going to mow us down and thankfully backed down at the last second.

Prince and Beatrice were however pleased with the green grass and munched for ages.

Maybe Doreen does need to join them.

The set completed.

Today I headed back to Fernleigh Farm to pick up Beatrice the third of the Wessex Saddlebacks I had purchased in late February. I was to have picked her up on Wednesday but with a storm whipping through the state and with wind gusting upto 120km/hr I decided it wouldnt be a pleasant trip for either myself or Beatrice.


When I arrived Beatrice had already been put in the stables a lesson we learnt when trying to put Prince and Doreen up onto the back of the ute from out in the paddock. Bernie set up the ramp and after sprinkling some food up the ramp and into the back of the ute Beatrice went much easily than her buddies Prince and Doreen. After a quick chat to Fiona and after Beatrice had a quick jab of Dectomax to help with the lice we were on the road back to Greenvale. For the 2hour journey back Beatrice refused to sit down and stood all the way.


Back at Greenvale Beatrice didnt seem to settle initially and hadnt eaten much however she has seemed to have come around and is getting out and wandering around where in the first couple of days just lay in the pen.

Water hoses and Pigs dont mix

I tried to separate Prince and Doreen so that I could give Doreen more food than Prince. Prince is on the podgy side and Doreen needs the extra sustenance to help her through her pregnancy. I tried shutting the gate, locking Doreen in the run and Prince in the field however Prince took advantage of a loose bolt on the gate and lifted the entire gate off its hinges.

Having fixed the gate today I successfully managed to separate the two for feeding time. Doreen however was in the run and had finished her feed and must have been looking for some fresh water to wash down the feast down with and sussed out some pipes running under the run that feed the chicken shed, a few quick nosed digs and she had successfully located the pipe and managed to bust the pipe from the join and struck water.

I rushed to turn off the water at the mains and Scott and I diverted the pipe up over the run and into the top of the chicken house. Problem solved I hope. Now to install a water feeding device on in the pigs run.