Filed under: May 2017, Uncategorized | Tags: Artificial Insemination for pork, boar, Hog Breeding, hogs, Pig breeding, piglets, pigs, Small Farming
May 25, 2017
Our red sow was bred last time using artificial insemination. I was a bit skeptical at first but my son and his friend convinced me that it would work good. We had recently sold our boar and had not replaced him yet. Jake and Brian, told me what to do, where to order the boar “seed” and reassured me saying they would take care of making it happen. That was about 4 months ago. Today, 10 little piglets are nursing on a very good mother.
Now, for the “inside and very funny”…rest of the story.
The UPS driver rolled into our drive with a package. I asked him if it was corn seed or boar seed. He thought a minute and handed me the package with two fingers and said, “I don’t think it’s corn.” I took the package to our basement, in keeping with the directions included with the boar seed. There were also plastic “corkscrews” inside the package. I knew right then, that this was going to be an interesting project.
Our little red sow, is not little by any means. She weighs over five hundred pounds and measures over six feet long. She is over waist high when she stands up. She is tame…and that turned out to be a good thing. The first attempt to see if the sow was ready for a male visitor, lead to some unpleasant grunts and squeals from her. We tried for a whole day, over several hours to no avail.
Brian shows up with a can of “boar spray” ( no crap..it smells like a male pig!) He sprayed a little near the flirtatious sow and shazam… she was in a standing heat and ready to breed. The corkscrew thing that came with the boar seed was inserted and actually screwed into place. The semen came in a soft plastic bottle and was squirted into the corkscrew tube. Deed done, but to make the sow relax, Brian sat on the sow backwards to imitate the weight of the boar.
That was a sight…tall sow, short man…he looked more like a one legged kangaroo hopping around the pen saying kind words and squeezing the bottle! Remember, he was seated backwards, so this too made for a funny thing to watch. I was grateful to Brian then and now… A.I works, but I believe that I will continue to keep a boar! I’m just not good at hopping one legged and backwards to boot!
Filed under: June 2015 | Tags: boar, Border Collie, piglets, pigs on pasture, rotational grazing, sow herd, yoga
Momma Pig enjoying a day out
June 17, 2015
Our sow herd is out on pasture. They seem to love that space. The have several wallows thanks to all of our recent rains. They munch clover and grass while rooting after who knows what. They rest in the shade, lay in the sun and romp and play whenever they want to do it. They feel no stress. They come when I call to eat grain, but mostly they just relax and enjoy the summer breeze as it cools their skin.
I have three mature sows, two bred gilts and a boar in a four acre pasture. The older gals will farrow in a month or so. The young gilts will not have babies until early October. I will let them all have their babies out on pasture. I do give them little hoop houses to use if they choose. Some will use them, but others will make a nest in a spot of their choosing and fill it with baby pigs.
My fences are made from woven wire. The pigs are happy and not hungry. They stay where I put them because there is no reason to break out. When the grass gets short, I move the herd to another field. I give them grain daily, keeping an eye to not get them too fat. Fat mommas are lazy moms who will smash their babies, too lazy to jump up off a squealing piglet. Big moms are okay so long as they are fit. The walking and playing in my pastures helps keep them fit.
I want good healthy sows who give birth to strong healthy piglets. Keeping them in the manner that I do helps to insure this happens. The lack of stress, a clean place to play, eat and sleep also keeps my herd on the right track. I tried yoga once for them, but as close as I got was them all looking at my border collie through the fence… I guess it’s a pig’s version of “Downward facing dog”… 😮
RicelandMeadows 