Not a Stuck Pig: a Wedged Pig

Adventures have continued in the last week. Arie was gone for some time farm hunting in Alabama, putting Carolina and I in charge of the pig family. Being so new to the business, I have made a few small mistakes and missed a few other things, but for the most part have done my work well. I do not know Spanish and English is not Carolina's first language, so communication between us is slow and sometimes garbled. That aspect has added to the stress. I am glad that I have spent 4 months in a culture not my own so that I know better how to cope.

Most of the pigs have been mostly comfortable, I believe. Morning and evening we have tossed them their feed, and they squeel and grunt in their usual pleasure. We have scrubbed clean of algea most of the water tanks. We have given the penned pigs the grass clippings from mowing.

Almost a week ago now a sow known for being very mean and a very bad mother birthed five (we think) piglets. Only one has survived. Three were killed during birth and one laid on sometime after. Trooper, as I call the survivor, will hopefully make it. I worry though. He looks very lonely and usually hides out in the straw bedding. Pigs are social animals and it is a sad thing to see one piglet without a pile of at least three more around him. I have never seen him nurse, but several times seen him trying. Momma for the most part ignores him and keeps us and all others at a distance.

Yesterday there was a bit more discomfort for a few more pigs. An old Wessex Saddleback boar has a very large absess--a liquid and puss-filled swelling started by some wound. When I say large, I mean football-sized. I am ashamed to say that I did not notice it for too long, but I am a city-girl who seems like a country-girl, have not spent much time around livestock, and am not the only one to blame. The vet came yesterday morning and lanced the absess. That means he cut an almost 3-inch slit in the swelling to make it drain. The boar moved quite quickly for not having moved much in three days. The fluids that drained were red-tinted, not deep red, so the major artery running through that area is not cut and the absess will hopefully drain and heal. (In a few days we'll have to stick a finger in and rip open the cut again.) The vet followed this proceedure with a dose of antibiotics which he gave in the boar's shoulder with a giant saringe/gun. Old Man (as I call the boar) was not a happy pig.

Several hours after Carolina and I were tagging piglets. Luckily ear-piercing only hurts for a little bit. The stressfull part is the the picking up. You quickly grab a piglet by the rear leg and dangle him head-down so your partner can punch the tag into the ear. I would squeal and scream and wiggle if I was handled that way too.

Finally, as I was making sure all the pigs had water, I found a guinea hog on her back in the mud stuck between the concrete slab and the fence. To release her, we detached the fence panel from the post and pulled it away. As her head was wedged between the post and concrete, we bent the post so she could roll out. Due to the suction of the mud, there was to be no rolling. Carolina took a back leg and I took a front leg on the same side and we pulled. We rolled her 200+ pounds enough so she was free of suction and she crawled half-way onto the slab and rested. She was one fat tired muddy pig. When she got up and waddled away, she looked ok, but we'll keep an eye on her.

After reattaching the fence and adding some dry dirt to the mud trap we had just enough time to put away tools before complete darkness, shower, grab some supper, record the events of the day in the farm book, and drive to the airport to pick up Arie. I am glad she is home. I am also glad today is my day off. Last night I stayed in town at Kirby and Nancy's and plan to do very little today except walk, talk, read, write, eat, and relax. I am thankful for the rest--I need it and the pigs need me to have it.