Now it appears that the City of Redding employee whom I was talking about, seems like a great and efficient worker compared to this picture of a lazy fat slob (possibly a police officer) sleeping on a park bench with her gun out for anybody to grab, not to mention that someone, possibly even taxpayers, are paying this hog to get her beauty sleep while in uniform.(Please note that this is probably not a city of Redding employee)

Someone should place a mirror in front of her so when she wakes up she scares the hell out of herself

We were most fortunate as the wind was behind us with blue sky and mid-80 temperatures.  We rode past the Stonehenge, the Maryhill winery and near Goldendale we got a great view of the aluminum smelter.  I made a mental note to do a bit of research on this plant as I recalled it belching smells in full production a few years ago, but on this day it looked abandon.  It turns out that Brett Wilcox purchased the plant in 1996 for $67M.  It needed to be temporarily close (as the workers were told) in 2003, however, the owner of the plant sold off the power it purchased from producing aluminum on the open market at a hefty profit that went directly into the pockets of executive management.  Everyone was laid off and retirement funds disappeared. (Source: HERE)

Finally we arrived at the Red Lion in Pendleton and picked up our HOG packet, signed the release forms and then headed downtown.  Pendleton is located in Umatilla County and is situated along I-84.  For reference it's south of the tri-cities (Richland, Pasco, Kennewick) area of Washington.  Beside being labeled by the National Drug Intelligence Center (PDF) as a major distribution stop for many drug traffickers en route to the tri-cities from the Southwest Border it's also home of the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team (BENT) and home of the famous Pendleton Roundup.  

Pendleton got its start as Goodwin Station in 1865 as a stop on the Oregon Trail.  The town's name was changed to Pendleton in honor of Ohio senator, George Hunt Pendleton.  The Rainbow is Pendleton's oldest continuously open and operated bar and restaurant and the oldest doing business at the same location.  Many know that that the Chinese came to the area to work the gold mines and many were employed by the railroad.  As the area grew, they soon became an integral and somewhat hidden, part of the local economy.  The Chinese operated laundries and underground opium dens and were relegated to Pendleton's seedier side. But I digress.  Back to the OR HOG Rally...

We parked the bikes on main street near Hamley's Steak House for a little grub and some refreshments.  I introduced myself to Larry (HD head tattoo above), met JT (regional HOG director) and took in some county music in the courtyard.  We headed to the restaurant and order up some fresh Salmon (yeah, go figure!) in this truly amazing steakhouse.  Most notable besides the Western stylized décor are the nude photo's of famous Western outlaw wives!  We received a Pendleton hat for drinking some and Linda/Lynette of the Kiwanis introduced us to the "save-the-date" for the 2009 Bikers in the Blues motorcycle rally.

Up early Friday and headed South on US 395.  I like to think of this route as Oregon's "mother road".  US 395 is a 1400-mile stretch which runs from the Canadian border in Washington state to San Diego, CA.  We rode out through Pilot Rock then in the middle of one of the small gorges there is a junction to OR74 which enters Morrow county and then Heppner Hwy.  Heppner has upgraded from years ago when I passed through on Eastern OR hunting trips.  With the Willow Creek dam you'd think it was a major water recreational resort.

We separated from the "official" OR HOG Rally route which veered off to Condon then on to Welches, OR for an overnight in the "snow".  Instead we headed directly to the "surf" part of the trip, arriving in Seaside in time for a well deserved happy hour and to meet some friends who rode directly to the coast.

On Saturday we were treated to a one-in-a-million type day on the OR coast.  Mid-70's, blue sky and NO wind.  Did I say there was NO wind.  Incredible!  It was a rare t-shirt riding day and Santiago invited everyone over to his Manzanita "Villa" for breakfast...there we were...perched high on the sand dune above the valley in the hills we were treated like royalty at the Hotel Piccolo Mondo in Acquappesa, on the Calabrian coast in Italy.  Very Tuscany!

For now I'll reserve another post/rant about the "Goin' Coastal" aka the Seaside Biker Fest.  Suffice to say it was most lame.  Sure there was a tattoo artist, bike builder and a couple t-shirt vendors...but, I've seen more activity at Taco Wednesday's than in Seaside.   We manage to have a lot of fun even without vendor booths to spend our money.

Here is what I've learned on the OR HOG Rally.

1. It's HOT in Pendleton and cold in Seaside.
2. The smell of wheat fields and ocean air isn't something you get in a car
3. Harley riders cannot be stereotyped.  There is the rich and famous to trailer trash and all in-between!
4. Harley riders are some of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet.

The event was well planned out and Cindy (HOG Director) Wayne Schumacher and the HOG Rally Committee deserves a shout-out.  The rides were long, scenic and PERFECT weather.  There's no pleasing everyone and I say get out and ride, whether your doing a poker run, rally or just on your own this is the time of year to get into the Northwest riding zone.

To keep the number of journeys made by the knacker's truck to a minimum, I keep the carcasses of dead piglets in a freezer until I have three or four to go at once.

As I was bagging the carcasses for removal yesterday, I realised, with three piglets going from the same litter but at different ages, it was a good opportunity for illustrating just how quickly pigs grow.

The piglet at the bottom of the photograph was the runt of the litter.

She weighed just 750g when farrowed, but when she was crushed three days later she weighed 900g—a 20% weight gain in three days.

The second piglet, another gilt, was crushed on 23 June, 10 days after farrowing.

When farrowed, the gilt weighed 1.2kg. When it died, it weighed 2.05kg. This was a 70.8% weight gain in 10 days.

The third piglet, yet another gilt, weighed 1.1kg when farrowed and 4.85kg when it died. This was a 340.9% weight gain in 19 days.

In general, we've found that Berkshire piglets from our lines (Namatjira-Mermaid, Ambassador-Suzanne) have grown to 3.5 times their farrowing weight by the time they're three weeks old.

But while this seems fast, commercial pig operations achieve much higher results through selective breeding, early weaning (milk production by sows limits piglet growth after about 8 or 9 days of lactation) and specialist creep feeds.

We prefer the slower approach as it suits our welfare, quality and taste goals, but even when grown "slowly" it's still amazing how quickly a very small piglet can turn into a large bruiser of a porker.

One thing is certain about crofting, and indeed farming. 

Every time you find yourself inching ahead, you know you're about to get booted back to your starting point—or beyond.

Today provided ample proof of that maxim.

I've been working on the Land Rover to get it ready for its MoT inspection, but as I'm not a mechanic we get the blokes at our local garage to give it the once over and let me know if I've missed anything.

On her way to work, the Other Half took the Land Rover in this morning and expected to get a list, hopefully short, of work that remained to be done before the inspection.

But when she returned to the garage this afternoon, the mechanic grinned and handed her a new MoT certificate.

All the Land Rover had needed was a new nearside headlamp bulb (yes, another bulb failure since I checked them and replaced a few las tweek), so the garage had put the car through the MoT and it had passed.

It even breezed through the smoke test.

So when the Other Half arrived home, we were both feeling quite good.

We'd saved £500 over the past year to go towards work for the MoT, the MoT itself and the car tax.

We'd spent:

• £78.94 on new seat belts (the front ones were frayed after being caught in the door latches)
• £20.28 on new mud flaps (one was hanging off and the other was about to go
• £7.50 on new bulbs (excluding the headlamp)
• £100.23 with the mechanics (two hours work is not cheap)
• £40 on the MoT
• £185 on car tax

All up, £431.95.

We'd come in £68.05 under budget, but our pleasure at being "flush" with cash lasted about 30 minutes.

...lose a little

The Other Half had arrived home just as I was starting the evening chores so she told me the good news about the car while I fed and watered the chickens, moved the older chicks to their night quarters, checked the latest batch of newly hatched chicks, and fed Dolores, one of our Berkshire sows, in the byre.

I then measured our the feed for Doris and her litter before the OH and I went out to the field to feed them.

As I was banging the bucket on the gate to their pen, I noticed one of the piglets had not joined the others in racing over to see what was happening.

It seem to be alert as its head was poking up out of Doris's wallow, but I grew concerned when it remained utterly still despite all the mayhem—there wasn't even a twitch from its ears.

I gave the feed bucket to the Other Half so I could go in and have a good look without Doris pestering me for her dinner.

As I walked closer, I could now see that the piglet's body had been pushed deep into the mud, with only its head sticking up.

It was clearly dead and it was equally clear it had been rolled on.

While I have no problems losing piglets in the first three days after farrowing—most live, a few die and that's the way it is—it's hard losing a big, healthy and thriving piglet to crushing at 19 days.

It's even worse for the Other Half. She finds it difficult enough when piglets die early, so it's extremely difficult when they die after their characters have started to come through.

I retrieved the piglet, fed Doris and the other pigs, and then brought the carcass down to the steading to tell the boys.

Like me, the boys are quite pragmatic about slaughtering pigs to be eaten, about losing piglets just after they've been farrowed, and even when they have to be put down due to illness.

But, they too find it difficult when a piglet they know is alive one minute and dead the next.

The Big Lad had to go off and have some space to himself, while the Wee 'Un sat and chatted with the dead piglet for a while.

Half an hour later and they were both off playing again, although a little more subdued than earlier.

Meanwhile, I'd had to ring a buyer who'd phoned me two hours earlier to say he'd be taking all three gilts from this litter to tell him that it would now be two.

And that's the other hit for us.

While we need 10 piglets per litter to break even, that assumes few losses as disposing of the carcasses is very expensive at £11.75 per piglet.

We've now lost four piglets from this litter and while the first two were within expectations/costs, the other two were not.

It means we've not only lost £120 (two piglets at £60) but we've incurred an extra £23.50 in disposal costs (over what we'd budgeted for expected losses).

It might not sound much, but it's a big hit for us. I've just spent £150 on straw and the two piglets we lost late should have covered most of that cost.

I'll have to divert £23.50 from the money we saved on the car to pay the additional knacker's costs, put the remaining £44.55 towards the straw, and find £105.45 to pay for the rest of the straw.

And we still have the gap left by Stripe's death. Each litter develops its own collective personality and this one was a particularly "happily boingy" group that will be lessened with the death of one its more lively piglets.

As I always tell would-be crofters, smallholders and hobby farmers, only do it if you're absolutely certain your dreams can survive the onslaught of reality. It bites—hard.

You can purchase it BUY IT NOW

HARLEY FLAGS FOR SALE

Feel free to mail me at javiershim@gmail.com

A PIG who survived for 36 days after the Sichuan earthquake on May 12 has been heralded as a hero and symbol of the will to stay alive.

The earthquake devastated southwestern China leaving 90,000 people either dead or missing.

Soldiers found the trapped pig beneath debris at a collapsed pig farm in Sichuan.

According to a report in the Chongqing Evening Post, the pig survived on water and a bag of charcoal that had also been buried in the ruins of Pengzhou city, Sichuan province. Although charcoal has no nutritional value, it is not toxic was able to fill the pig up.

The pig, which weighed nearly 150 kilograms (330 pounds) at the time of the magnitude-8.0 earthquake on May 12, had lost two thirds of its weight when found.

The pig has been dubbed Zhu Jianqiang, which translates as "strong pig".

Originally posted on News.com.au

I also know that I owe you an explanation. Well, in this case, I place the blame squarely on Mercury’s shoulders! She’s hogging the computer time! I mean it. When I ask her to hand the computer over so that I may talk to my VWFs (Virtual World Friends,) she gives me that forbidding look of hers, and I go back to chewing my toy!

Do you know what she’s been doing?

She’s drawing funny pictures of dogs and pups. I saw a dog that resembled Dewey, I swear upon the curl of my tail! I overheard the following conversation between the two of them (You know who I am talking about.)

Cameo: Are we going to eat tonight?
Mercury: Can we skip it?
Cameo: What? Dinner? Why?!
Mercury: I am working.
Cameo: I can see that. But what are you working on?
Mercury: I am making a playground for Oorvi and her VWFs!

That’s all that I know. She’s making a playground for us…no shovels, nothing...and humans don't use their paws to dig! I don’t know what she’s up to, but it better be good!

Oh! I think that I heard the door creak…she’s back! I’ve got to go. See you later, bye!

Psssst: I’ll keep up the detective work and if I come across something new, I’ll let you know.

For an industry in decline it sure isn't showing it, although more recent growth was price driven, future growth will be aided through increased exports. However rapidly increasing feed prices have affected production volumes for the industry and have caused profit for some to fall. Those who wish to really succeed need to have greater economies of scale, be within close proximity to their markets and suppliers and establish export markets.

This is the replacement for March 2008 edition of Hog & Pig Farming in the US report.

Industry Market Research Synopsis

This Industry Market Research report provides a detailed analysis of the Hog & Pig Farming in the US industry, including key growth trends, statistics, forecasts, the competitive environment including market shares and the key issues facing the industry.

Industry Definition

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in raising hogs and pigs. These establishments may include farming activities, such as breeding, farrowing, and the raising of weanling pigs, feeder pigs, or market size hogs (Source: NAICS). The Hog and Pig Farming industry is not responsible for the production of processed or packaged meat. This industry ends at the point when the livestock is sold or transferred off the farm.Pigs and Hogs are common names for members of the Suidae family of animals. They have cloven hooves, short legs and a snout used for digging. The term ‘pig’ usually refers to the domestic mammal, Sus scrofa domesticus when it is young or small. ‘Hog’ is the name typically given to domesticated pigs that weigh more than 120 pounds.

Report Contents

The Key Statistics chapter provides the key indicators for the industry for at least the last three years. The statistics included are industry revenue, industry gross product, employment, establishments, exports, imports, domestic demand and total wages.

The Market Characteristics chapter covers the following: Market Size, Linkages, Demand Determinants, Domestic and International Markets, Basis of Competition and Life Cycle. The Market Size section gives the size of the domestic market as well as the size of the export market. The Linkages section lists the industry's major supplier and major customer industries. The Demand Determinants section lists the key factors which are likely to cause demand to rise or fall. The Domestic and International Markets section defines the market for the products and services of the industry. This section provides the size of the domestic market and the proportion accounted for by imports and exports and trends in the levels of imports and exports. The Basis of Competition section outlines the key types of competition between firms within the industry as well as highlighting competition from substitute products in alternative industries. The Life Cycle section provides an analysis of which stage of development the industry is at.

The Segmentation chapter covers the following: Products and Service Segmentation, Major Market Segments, Industry Concentration and Geographic Spread. The Products and Service Segmentation section details the key products and/or services provided by this industry, highlighting the most important where possible to demonstrate which have a more significant influence over industry results as a whole. The Major Market Segments section details the key client industries and/or groups as well as giving an indication as to which of these are the most important to the industry. The Industry Concentration section provides an indicator of how much industry revenue is accounted for by the top four players. The Geographic Spread section provides a guide to the regional share of industry revenue/gross product.

The Industry Conditions chapter covers the following: Barriers to Entry, Taxation, Industry Assistance, Regulation and Deregulation, Cost Structure, Capital and Labor Intensity, Technology and Systems, Industry Volatility and Globalization. The Barriers to Entry section outlines factors that can prevent a new company from entering this industry and also gives an indication of the extent to which this occurs. The Taxation section details all kinds of taxation that are specific or are particularly important to this industry, including taxation concessions. The Industry Assistance section refers to any government and/or other measures designed to improve the performance of this industry. The Regulation and Deregulation section details any applicable regulation and/or deregulation to this industry. The Cost Structure section details the average costs for a company operating in this industry as a percentage of total revenue. The Capital and Labor Intensity section provides a guide to the amount of capital used in production/providing a service compared to the amount of labor in the total mix of inputs. The Technology and Systems section acknowledges the latest technology and/or systems available to this industry within the country. Technology refers to machinery and equipment and systems refers to methods of production that enable better and more efficient production. The Industry Volatility section refers to the year on year fluctuations which occur in industry output. The Globalization section gives an indication of the extent to which the industry is global based on factors such as the level of foreign ownership, the proportion of demand accounted for by foreign operators and the volume of production conducted in other countries.

http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=76684

Today every single H.O.G. member worldwide can take part in this event without having to cross a single state or national border.  Sounds easy.  And they even made it simple to log the miles and obtain your certificate!

Bikers all over the country riding a million miles made me think how environmentalists are constantly evangelizing for higher gas taxes as the cure-all to the global warming theory. Consumers now pay about 46 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes and that's not including taxes paid directly to the government by the oil companies and passed onto consumers.

Let's break it down...if I did this correct, one million miles at 45MPG means we'll burn about 22,222 gallons of gas today.  At $4.24/gallon we'll burn through $94,221 in gas and put nearly $10,000 into the government coffers with gas taxes! 

I think Harley/H.O.G got this one right by starting the million miles off on a typical work day/week for most of us and unlikely they'll have an environmental "hit" which could have been the case if they advocated everyone drive a million miles on a Saturday.  I for one can appreciate that.

Hopefully you rode today and were able to take a longer route, or maybe spend lunch hour riding with coworkers.

As you may well know, the makers of M&M’s  chocolate candies is promoting it’s newest idea:  Custom Message M&M’s.

This is done by sending two messages to the company.  They will place one message on one candy and another on a second piece.  Like so:

You open a bag.  It contains two colors of M&M’s candies.  The purple one reads, 'Congratulations'.  The pink one reads, 'Great Job'.

Thus you have half the bag of purple & half the bag of pink candies mixed with both messages ready and available for your occasion.

They have also introduced the new options of having a logo printed on the candies or a photographic image.

This gives the buyer many unique  possibilities.

This Bastard reporter took a random poll of several unimportant people and put together a list of their useless and distasteful ideas for you to use with your next bag of specialty M&M’s.

1.  If you should be leaving a job soon because you absolutely hate it and your boss is a complete asshole:  On a Brown M&M put ‘Eat Shit’.  On a red M&M put a picture of your right hand flipping the asshole off.  (Unless you’re a lefty, and then, who cares what you think anyway, you don’t fit in with the normal crowd and should be ignored completely.)  Leave them on the desk just before you walk out the door for the very last time.

2.  Should you find yourself in prison, get someone to visit you with a bag of M&M’s candies:  On the green ones, have the ‘date’ of the escape plan printed.  On the yellow ones, have the ‘time’ the escape goes down printed.  No one would suspect a harmless bag of M&M’s could lead to jailbreak.

3.  If you want to impress that bit of hot stuff you go to school with:  If you’re a heterosexual male, put a picture of your penis on the purple M&M’s candies and place this saying on pink candies:  ‘Now show me yours’.  This also works with homosexual males and females.  You get the general idea.

4.  When you absolutely have to go to the funeral of that horrible relative you hated all through your childhood and most of your adult life:  Use the pink M&M’s candies to display, ‘Kiss My…’ and then use the red candies to display a picture of your anus.  As the red will most accurately recreate your ‘rosy red ass’.  Place these in a nice large candy dish near the coffin for everyone to enjoy.

5.  On the day that you are counseling your Over Eaters Anonymous Group:  Use the yellow M&M’s candies to display the message, ‘Drop it fatty’.  Use the pink ones with a photograph of the absolute fattest hog you’ve ever seen printed upon them.  If that doesn’t get their attention, nothing will.

6.  Conversely, if you are holding your Anorexia Group:  Use the green M&M’s candies to display the message, ’Breakfast & Lunch’.  Use the blue ones to display the message, ’Dinner’.  Therefore, only the members who chose to eat the green M&M’s will be in the restroom after the session vomiting, as they’ve overeaten again.  Leaving less mess for the janitor to deal with.

7.  When you are Jewish and must attend a Bris, or Circumcision Ceremony, bring a big bag of M&M’s candies for the crowd:  On pink M&M’s use a picture of a little uncircumcised penis.  On red M&M’s use the saying, ‘Hats off’.

There you have it.  Several unorthodox ideas from several despicable people.

I, for one, didn’t care for any of them.  If you should happen to like one of their ideas, feel free to use it, you sick bag of shit.  And do not hold me accountable.

All in all, this Bastard reporter has come to the conclusion that just buying a simple bag of M&M’s chocolate candies at the local market is reasonably the best idea.

*This Bastard reporter has absolutely nothing against left handed people.  I do, however, find the above remark quite hysterical.

It's home to the Green Bay Packers, Cheeseheads, Yoopers and (drum roll, please) Harley-Davidson.  I'm jazzed about finally visiting the "Mothership", (3700 W Juneau Ave.; aka home; Harley Central; the place where it all started) the place that will make this entire trip a possibility on the ‘ol Road King.

It's been 105 years since 1903 when William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. This year also marks the 100th Anniversary of producing police motorcycles. So, the factory is planning a number of commemorative events up to the 105th Anniversary weekend in Milwaukee.

I've previously posted several articles on the 105th HERE.  It's still a couple months out, but a sub-set of the "posse" will be riding out...and take in the Juneau Ave store, stop for a local burger at Kopps and sample some real Wisconsin cheese at Seguins.  Nothing says Milwaukee like a butter burger, fresh fries, a Sprecher root beer, and frozen custard.

See you on the road...

Photo courtesy of Harley.

HOG Tales Magazine is multi-language magazine and mailed to more than 1 million members of the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (H.O.G) around the world.  A subscription to HOG Tales, is included for all full memberships. The inside cover states Christine Adamavich is the Editor, but like so many things these days in corporate America the customer-facing communications and media tactics are "outsourced" to hired guns in the publishing business.

With a little research I learned that the U.S. version of the magazine is produced by GS Design, a Milwaukee-based design firm specializing in graphic design, web and multimedia.  GS Design has been working on HOG Tales since 1996 and provides the graphic design as well as much of the content.  They also do a lot of Harley corporate communications ranging from Annual Reports to multi-color dealer briefs, online content and model information.

In Europe, the publishing arm of Archant LLC (Archant}Dialogue), a family-owned business since its inception 160 years ago and one of the UK's largest independent media businesses publishes the HOG Tales magazine.  Quite simply they do it all from planning and research, to creating and commissioning content, editing and design, selling advertising space, printing, distribution and marketing.  The Archant Dialogue team manages all aspect of the publishing cycle and distributes to more than 100K members across Europe in six languages.  The Archant Group is the UK's leading independent publisher and beside the HOG Tales have many specialist magazines and they also publish 90 daily and weekly newspapers.

There you have it.  The companies behind publishing HOG Tales and allowing you to reconnect to riding while behind the office desk!

Photo is courtesy of HOG Tales

The Wee 'Un and I went to Turriff yesterday to meet the Turriff Show secretary, Bruce Ferguson, find out where our Berkshire pig exhibit would be staged, and do the measurements so we could start planning. The Wee 'Un was extremely excited as he not only had the morning off nursery, but he was in full "little farmer" mode and was allowed to use the measuring wheel. Our space will lie between the Wee 'Un and the measuring wheel to the right, then extend back to the bank. The treeline is to the south, so it will provide the pigs with shade for most of the day.

We've been placed in a prime position—behind the grandstands and alongside the road that's the main access between the livestock area and the trade stands. Almost everyone attending the show passes this way at some time. We're next to the Old MacDonald's InFARMation exhibit, which is aimed at children so our sow with piglets is going to get a lot of visitors. Doris, the sow that's just farrowed, is ideal for the role as she's very laid back and easy going, accustomed to having loud and excited young visitors, and is a star performer.

I've already done a scale drawing of our proposed exhibit, placing Doris in a pen beside the access path and stretching back from the road. Daisy, our best looking sow, will be in a second pen with a pair of porkers (this pen may be divided in two depending on how the three get along when housed together for a week prior to the show). Our information area will be alongside this pen as Daisy is the pig most likely to get stressed by events due to her very, very poor sight, extreme lack of brainpower and total floosiness! We'll push the trailers nose in to the bank so that they can serve as daytime shelter if needed and then house the pigs overnight. We've had an offer of the loan of a second livestock trailer—and possibly a tow for it—so if this comes through it will be ideal. Now I have to design our logo.

The Wee 'Un has decided he's "the little farmer" of late, which means he wants to do even more "useful farm stuff" than usual. As the weaners are still small enough for him to feed safely, I said the Wee 'Ub could feed them every evening after he's fed and watered the chickens in the main run (which he's been doing for a while). He was tremendously excited to be not only allowed to feed the weaners, but to open the gate and go in on his own to do the job. It's only for the next six weeks or so until they grow too big, but I'm sure we'll find something else for him to do from then on.

Kvällen har spenderats på Djursjukhuset med ett stycke hysteriskt skrikande hund, en storgråtande matte i en korridor och en leende lugn husse som den gråtande matten hittade vi den hysteriska hunden. Det ska tilläggas att vi tydligen har världen känsligaste och envisaste hund...

Vi kommer i alla fall in och konstaterar ganska snabbt att det inte går att göra något utan lugnande. Så Esther får en spruta för att man ska kunna göra rent operationssåret och ta en ordentlig titt i hennes öron (hon har fått öroninflammation pga tratten). Efter mycket om och men blir fröken lite dåsig. De börjar göra rent med lite bomull. Esther börjar skrika, matte börjar gråta. De går inte att hålla fast henne och jag klarar inte av att se henne skrika så jag går ut i korridoren. De pumpar in något direkt i bloden via en kanyl så att hon ska somna. Efter det borde hon vara helt borta men nejda, inte Esther inte... 

Och jag lovar att de skriken som sen ekade mellan väggarna på Djursjukhuset fick alla i hela väntrummet att titta upp förskräckt. Jag börjar gråta ännu mer ute i korridoren och tror att de tar död på henne eller att det upptått hemska komplikationer. Det ena hemska skriket avlöser det andra och det känns som det aldrig ska ta slut. 

Men det gör det, för efter ett litet tag (kändes som hundra år) kommer en glad veterinär ut. Jag går in, rädd och med gråten i halsen. Där står en jätteglad Peter med en Esther som är hög som ett hus. Tydligen har Esther skrikit åt ingenting typ. Hon har skrikit även fast de inte rört henne. Tydligen har vi en väldigt känslig liten dam.

Den mängd droger som cirkulerar i Esthers kropp just nu skulle nog räcka till en hel tomtearmé. Hon däckade/somnade först efter de gav henne återuppväckningsprutan! Hum?

På onsdag ska vi dit igen, då ska dränaget bort. Behöver jag säga att jag är helt slut och lite smånervös redan nu?

When I checked Doris at 4.30am and again at 6am, there were no firm indications that farrowing was imminent. She was bagged up, her milk was in and she was panting, but she'd been like that for more than 48 hours so I left her to it. But when I went out to do the chores at 7am, I walked into the byre just as Doris farrowed her first piglet. He was a little fellow but very active, kicking and squealing from the off. 

A larger boar was next to be farrowed before a brief pause so, after checking both of the piglets, I set out my waiting equipment, turned on the arc lamp and heat lamp, and alerted the Other Half. Fortunately, I always lay the breakfast things out first thing and do the packed lunches so everything was set to go.

One of the first things to be brought out was a bucket of hot, soapy water with a splash of disinfectant. I wash my hands after working with each and every piglet, wash them when I leave the pen, wash them when I return, and wash before and after I do internal examinations on the sow (the latter not needed this time). I sometimes use gloves, particularly for internals, but generally find I have better grip with hands alone.

Other items to be placed around the pen were the scales (5kg kitchen scales with a deep bowl are ideal for measuring piglets), old cloth nappies (even better than old towels for cleaning and drying piglets), and a box of elbow length examination gloves (just in case).

Each nappy is usually good for doing two piglets, although particularly mucky and bloody piglets may require cleaning with two nappies. The piece of paper and pen are for recording piglet details, plus sending messages in to the Other Half via my trusty messenger.

The big 500w arc lamp gives excellent lighting for monitoring proceedings, checking piglets and examining the sow. The Big Lad runs messages and monitors the farrowing while I use the breaks in deliveries to get chores done. I work close by, but he knows enough that he knows when to call me and when things are proceeding normally. His vigilance this morning saved a piglet that Doris rolled on mid-contraction and gained a few extra seconds for piglets that had breathing problems when their sac was stuck across their snouts. 

One of the advantages of having the sows farrow in the byre is that I not only have a creep, but I also have one with a heat lamp. It allows me to remove the piglets to safety should I need to do an internal examination of the sow or should I need to get the vet in. It also allows me to separate larger piglets for a time to give the smallest ones a suckle without competition.

The amniotic sac emerges as Doris starts to deliver another piglet.

The piglet drops to the straw, still encased in its sac. At this point, I pick it up in an old nappy, check that it's breathing and then wipe it clean before placing it with its litter mates.

By five to nine Doris had delivered 12 healthy piglets with no real complications, aside from two piglets having difficulties escaping their sacs, one choking on fluids and one being rolled on briefly. However, it was clear the smallest piglets, particularly those farrowed later, were struggling in the competition for teats.

To give the smaller, later piglets a better chance, I removed the strongest piglets and placed them under the heat lamp for 10 minutes. I did this twice more later in the day.

With the stronger piglets out of the way, the remainder of the litter was free to suckle without too much competition. I was particularly concerned to get the smallest piglets on the front teats as these have the best quality and quantity colostrum and milk.

The 13th and 14th piglets were farrowed just after nine o'clock, but then I had to wait until both afterbirths were delivered before moving on to other jobs. Doris eventually delivered them at 10.45am.

Doris and her complete litter of 14 piglets. I checked them every 15 minutes for two hours after this, then every half an hour until 7pm and now hourly. The first 24-48 hours are vital in ensuring the maximum number of piglets survive, so good monitoring is essential. Once the piglets have gained full mobility, better spatial awareness, and a little more size they're usually fine until weaning. Doris is also one of our better sows for mothering, checking the piglets are out of the way before lying down and taking reasonable care not to walk on them. Some sows are not so discerning! As well as checking the litter regularly, I remove the weaners to the creep when I feed Doris and bring them back once she's laying down. I also put them in the creep when they've finished suckling and start napping. It all helps boost survival rates. And yes, 14 live piglets is a very good result.

Doris, one of our Berkshire sows, is now absolutely huge, bagged up and her milk has come in. The earliest she could have farrowed was yesterday (115 days from first being served by Graham, our boar) and the latest is likely to be tomorrow (115 days from at least the third time being served). 

Knowing the way things pan out with our pigs, Doris will farrow at a really inconvenient moment and/or have difficulties. They like to keep us on our toes. It would be nice for the boys, though, if she farrowed today or early tomorrow morning so they can tell their friends at school and nursery. But for now, we wait...

Doris, one of our Berkshire sows, is now absolutely vast and has bagged up, although her milk is not yet in. She's due to farrow on Wednesday, so the signs are good that she will be on time, give or take a day. We've been enjoying a spell of warm weather—at least by Scottish standards—and an absence of wind so, even with both doors to the byre open, she's been feeling the heat. The solution is to fill a backpack spray with water and give her a cooling spray three or four times a day, which she absolutely loves!

Doris is now eating five kilograms of sow rolls and barley a day, plus a cubic metre or so of fresh-cut grass. We have a petrol lawn mower that's ideal for providing fodder pigs when they're inside like Doris or when they can't be moved to grassed pens. I simply fire it up, do two 20-metre strips of grass and have a catcher full of fresh grass. One catcher-full is enough for two adult pigs—or one heavily pregnant sow. Interestingly, the pigs eat far more grass when it's cut for them than when they're foraging in the fields and pens. I tend not to use the scythe for this because, while the cutting is as quick as the mower, it does take longer to rake all the grass together and load it into the barrow. And as time is at a premium at this time of year, it's worth using the mower to free up time for other pressing jobs.

I don't own a motorcycle, but this little darling can clean my hog anytime.  Hell, if she does half the job I think she can... I have a good mind to let her ride it.  -Dopey