by George Collins » Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:25 am
Linda farrowed her second litter today. And talk about some fortunate timing! Last night we had the inevitable late frost and the three nights prior to that we received a biblicalesque flood. Had this not been our first trial of letting them farrow in the woods, I would have had fewer apprehensions.
Knowing she was getting close, I have been checking on her frequently. Taking her treats, scratching her tummy, etc. While doing so this afternoon, I saw her laying in an obvious "nest." That prompted hourly checks thereafter and about 3:00 this afternoon I noticed that her water had broke.
I rushed to tell Youngblood, my momma and the kids. By the time I got back, the first one had already been born. The approximate time of delivery was 3:52p.m. I called our preacher who wanted to have his kids see a pig birth and they all came out as fast as possible. Shortly after they arrived, she delivered numbers 2 and 3. Number four was born at 5:07 and then something weird happened. Linda expelled something that looked like a placenta and all sign of labor seemed to have ceased. We kept watching and waiting but nada. She even got up, walked a short distance away from her nest and laid down.
I didn't know what to make if this so to relieve my anxiety, my helper-for-the-day and I went to feed everything else. When we returned there were still no new pigs.
According to a quick Internet search, if the time between pigs exceeds 30 minutes, its time to take things into your own hands. I gloved up. I reached it but I couldn't feel anything. I rushed over to Youngblood's house and told him what was going on.
His advice, "She'll be a'ight. Let'er be."
Nervously I watched and waited and sure enough, number 5 was born at 6:59. That is an elapsed time of almost two hours. Lil pig seemed none the worse for the wait. Number 6 was born shortly thereafter and darkness ran us out of the woods.
So, hopefully, she will continue to deliver until we have a litter of a size comparable to her first when she had 12.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"
"If you can't beat them, bite them."