They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Tuesday was a rough day for Gertrude. First time mama-pig, with a litter of 10 piglets. She had a long pre-labor on Sunday into Monday. 6 hours of labor to produce the first piglet on Monday, then 3 hours more to bring out the rest of them. Then they were nursing all night. She was… Continue reading A Rough Day for Gertrude.
Yesterday was a long and stressful day. At 4:30 Gertrude had still not had any piglets. First time gilts can sometimes go a day or two longer than the 114 days gestation time, so we weren't too worried, but we decided to move our school to the farm instead of staying at home, just to… Continue reading A Harrowing Farrowing
Last night, checking on Gertrude, was able to get a drop of milk from one of her nipples, and she seemed pretty restless. My guess is we should have piglets today or tonight at the latest. 
Our Meishan sow, Gertrude, is very pregnant. We think (actually we know for pretty sure) she was bred on or around May 8th, which means she should farrow sometime between August 29 and August 31. So right around the corner. She has been having trouble getting into the tall feed trough recently, so I moved… Continue reading A Very Pregnant Pig
This post is long overdue. That is because I have been in Texas on National Guard orders for the last two weeks and it was a very busy course. Early mornings, late nights, long days of computer work. Boring! This all took place at the end of May. Remember, Gertrude was bred on the 8th… Continue reading Sick Pig
Gertrude mounted, May 8, 2026. If she takes, she should farrow around Sep 1.
Gertrude and big pig are officially moved in together as of May 4. He continues to be very interested in her So far, she is showing no interest in him.
Our Meishan gilt, Gertrude, has been lonely since the rest of her herd left for a better place. She has also been getting very vocal about every 18 days or so. So we went on Craigslist and found an IPP boar for her. (That's a whole saga in itself). But first, we had to fix… Continue reading A Boyfriend for Gertrude
Little Farm in the Big City 