Kids~N~Pigs

As you can see, the kids are getting big. The oldest ones are just about 3 months now, and the youngest are 2 months. The meat goats are starting to put on some size, and the bucklings are getting tall.

Here's Ean and Blondie.

And sweet little Zeeba.

Hey wait, those aren't goats! Melissa and Tim had the pigs in the larger pasture for some excersize. Believe it or not, a 4H pig needs to be walked and kept in shape. That's a whole nother story!

The kids had never seen the pigs up close and personal. Sputnik was the brave member of the herd.
Oxford didn't seem to care. But then again, he is a pig!

Back Porch View

South Garden View

The woods behind the house

The moveable pasture is outback this week

The girls are enjoying being out all day on the fresh grass.

They're Back

I know it's really, truly spring when.....

*We start to see Hummingbirds. Usually right around the time that the crabapple trees are in bloom.

*The Baltimore Orioles return. They have a very specific, clear song that once you hear it you remember. Last year we were able to find their hanging nest. It came down in a wind storm that fall, and Tim found it in
the weeds. He brought it in for inspection, it's pretty neat!

Mr. Cluck Goes Home

After checking with my other chicken owning neighbor, the mystery

has been solved! Mr. Cluck lives on the corner of Rt. 62, and will be

returning home to his own flock today. I'm glad we found his owner,

it's been nice to hear him crow, but it's time for him to GO!

Mysterious Mr. Cluck

So, I'm in the barn last night doing chores. Peacefully milking goats, when the dogs start making a ruckus. Now Maddy isn't the brightest bulb in the box, but this was some serious barking.

I put down my pail and looked out the barn door. Imagine my surprise to see a ROOSTER!
After much pursuit by dogs and myself involving running, dodging tree branches and jumping over a fence, I cornered him and picked him up.

Only in the country do you find a stray rooster in your yard.

I have 2 neighbors with chickens. I packed Mr. Cluck into a carrier and took him to the neighbors to inquire...

"Pardon me ma'am, is this your rooster?"

1 neighbor was home, and he isn't hers. The other neighbor was away, I'll try later.

Only in the country will you have a stray rooster!

Faces Only a Mother Could Love!

Leetle Friend taking a nap.

Oxford waking to *hopefully* find a treat.

Oxford is still looking for that treat.

Check out his eye..that is one of the things I actually don't like about pigs. To me their eyes look very much like ours. Kind of gives me the creeps.

New Residents

Eunice Unihorn was very surprised to hear that we have some new residents on the farm.

They're small, fuzzy and awfully cute!

We ordered chicks with our neighbors.

Believe it or not, they actually come in the mail!

In a box, marked "Live Chicks" and you just stop by

the post office and pick them up.

They tell me that bees come that way too.

I think I'd rather get a box of chicks!

Spring Flowers

Here's what's blooming right now....

Short Iris

Tulips of several colors

Grape Hyacinth (they smell so good!)

And the end of the Daffodils

Spring Pasture

Yesterday was the first day that I turned the girls out onto the fresh, spring grass.

You have to be careful on fresh, spring grass. Eating too much at once can cause digestive upset. Sort of like if a person eats too much rich food at one sitting.

Last spring I purchased some moveable electric fencing. I set it up in a different location around our yard each week. The girls get fresh grass, manure is nicely distributed, and part of my lawn gets mowed! One of the best purchases I've made.

They're all enjoying their pasture, and it's nice to see them outside.

Suck-It Bucket

With 13 kids to feed, doing it one at a time is just not very good time management. Not to mention it would be never ending! Enter the "Suck-It Bucket"

You can purchase a bucket, they are usually called a Lamb Bar. Most supply catalogs sell them, and they can get quite pricey.


My handy husband, Jim, made this one for me. It's a leftover 5 gallon bucket from his work that we cleaned out. He drilled holes in the sides to accomodate the nipples that I purchased from Hoeggers Supply. He drilled it just smidge smaller so it's a tight fit. Next we purchased some clear tubing from the hardware store that fits into the back of the nipple. Sort of like a big straw!



I just fill the bucket with warm milk, and let the little buggers feed themselves. Since I put out one bucket and there are only 5 feeding spots on it, I do split them up for feeding time. The smaller and younger goats get first shot at the bucket and eat until they are full. Then I put it in with the larger kids. This prevents bullying and enables every kid to have a sufficient amount of milk. At this point the smaller kids are getting 3 feeding chances a day and the larger ones are getting 2. The kids that are getting weaned are down to once a day, they are really thinking the world is unfair!

The Secret Lives of Pigs

*Editors Note* I'm not sure how, but sometime this morning the pigs seem to have hijacked the computer and published the following.



"Hello, my name is Leetle Friend, and this is a porkumentary about the secret lives of pigs. No pigs were harmed in making this blog, but names have been changed to protect the innocent."











"This is our standard operating mode. It may appear that we are asleep, but we are actually plotting to take over the feed barrel."

"We spend much of our days digging for buried treasures. You just never know what you might find under there!"

"Gotta keep our strength up. All that laying around makes a guy hungry."

"Yes, we do eat like pigs. Yes, we were raised in a barn. No, we don't chew with our mouths closed."

"We do have a bit of a drinking problem..."

"And we're not too good at construction jobs. Now _destruction_, that's our thing!"

We hope you have enjoyed this blog on the Secret Lives of Pigs. I'm sure you'll never look at them in quite the same way again! Tune in next time for Down Home Hog Wrestling...a new Barnyard Olympic sport!

This ~N~ That

This is a clump of Mini Daffodils that

are blooming in the front garden. They're just so cheerful!

You may be wondering, what happens with all the milk those goats make?

The majority of it is fed back to the kids at this point, although a few of the older ones are starting to be weaned. But before it makes it's way into the house for processing, there are a few "pit stops" along the way.

These are 2 of the luckiest cats on the face of the earth! Anna and Mo have the life, what cat doesn't just dream about a big pot of fresh, warm milk?

Anna Cat really "gets into" things. Head and feet first, right into the milking pail.

However, the side effect of going in face first is a milky forehead! But she'll get herself cleaned up in no time.

Maddy strolls in occasionally to get a quick lick.

But Inky takes the prize, he sits next to me and waits until I squirt milk into his mouth. It was hard to get a picture of it, but he just opens up and laps it out of the air! What a dog!

The 3 Little Pigs

It's spring...time for 4H livestock projects to begin.

Livingston, Oxford and Leetle Friend have come to stay.

There are Men on my Roof!

We've had a lot of very windy weather this early spring, and it has caused the barn roof to lose a lot of shingles.

My husband, Jim, and our son, Tim are putting a new metal roof on this week. Jim is such a talented guy, he knows how to do so many things. Tim is learning a lot from him.

Tim is home on Easter vacation, and Jim has the week off from work. He is a plasterer by trade, and makes some beautiful, traditional plaster ceilings and casts. He also does Dryvit, which sort of looks like stucco on the outside of a building. My 2 favorite guys, I just love em!

Gleason and the Kids

This is Glee (*B Cherry Glen Romulus Gleason) He is the sire of most of the kids that we had this season. He's a tall fellow, long and level, great disposition. And he has a wonderful pedigree! Not to mention, Elvis Hair.

Here are some general pictures from the kids pen. They're eating much more hay now, so after I'm done with the milking stand (which is right against their wall) I put hay out there for them to nibble. They also have a hay rack, but this provides more eating space.

Here is a different shot of the hay eating situation. They just line right up for a snack. Being a month old has certainly changed things for them. They've done a lot of growing and are now eating hay and grain along with their daily milk buckets.

*sigh* and they are just so cute!