Tomorrow is the deadline for me to decide if I want to go ahead with an application for a government cost share program that would pay me $1000 for work I have recently done on the pond and fencing. When I initially applied back in July my local conservation office informed me that I was approved for the full $1000, but something fell through between the county and state and we had to re-submit the application. One of the problems was that the county application was not requiring a Farm Serial Number (FSA), but the state says there has to be one. Farms that have grown tobacco already have an FSA and it is easy to get one.
The problem is that the FSA is a federal thing and I just don’t know if I want to draw attention to myself. I don’t really have a "farm", just a homestead with a hog operation and a layer operation and some goats. I really do not want anything to do with the NAIS if it gets anymore traction with the new administration, and I wonder if an FSA will open the door for future government intrusion to our homestead?
Then again, $1000 would be nice. Every little bit helps. But at what cost?
My soil conservation officer was guarded with his comments, but I thought that I could read some caution between the lines. He said that he saw no problem with the whole NAIS thing right now, but he doesn’t know what he will be saying in 10 years. He also reminded me that he "is the government" and he can’t really offer an opinion. He did jokingly say, "Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they won’t be coming after you!"
So, what do you all think? Am I being too paranoid? Should I take the money and not worry about it? Or should I regret already drawing this much attention to our homestead?
Tomorrow (12-10) is the deadline for the application, so any advice tonight would be appreciated.
Thanks!
UPDATE:
After much prayer and taking into consideration everyone’s comments here as well as my own intuition, I decided to leave the money alone. I am glad the first application fell through, because I think I might have been sorry down the road had I taken the cost-share. It was annoying to know that I had been approved for the $1,000 but that they just needed more paper work. I can fill out papers for $1,000 any day, but I am afraid that it could have resulted in some strings attached later on.
Thanks for all the helpful comments!
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11 comments
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Trixi on December 9, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I don't think you are paranoid at all. My husband too works for the govt. (military) and we definitely don't want to cause anymore attention to ourselves than need be.
Blessings,
Trixi
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Morning Sunshine on December 9, 2008 at 6:53 pm
nothing is free. even $1000. would be nice, I agree. But, why let them know you exist if you do not have to. One reason I want to move north of the Utah-Idaho border – in Idaho you do not even have to tell the schools that you have children, not to mention that you are homeschooling them!
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Heritage Hill Homestead on December 9, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Boy, that is a tough one. I too am very leary of anything that seems to lead to NAIS. And with the government, everything is usually linked together somewhere along the line. I imagine one day they will be knocking on all of our doors, but until then we can make our own decisions. The $$ would be so nice to help out with farm expenses and improvements too though……….hard to tell someone else what they should do. I think you already have your mind made up.
Marilyn
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GrandmaRosie on December 10, 2008 at 1:39 am
Even though the money is tempting and I am sure it would be a help, I sorta like to keep a low profile where Big Brother is concerned. Just my 2 cents worth.
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faithfarm on December 10, 2008 at 5:05 am
I would have to agree on the side of caution. There is a reason you do not have total peace in the decision to accept the money-trust in that–
Blessings>faithfarm
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Ashley on December 10, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I'm with everyone else … nothing is "free". : Sorry, but I think you're making the right choice.
Ashley
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S on December 10, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I wouldn't take the money……and I would stay on the down-low.
Laura
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faithfarm on December 11, 2008 at 4:06 am
Here is a site that has alot of info you might find helpful.
http://xstatic99645.tripod.com/naisinfocentral/index.html
Blessings>faithfarm
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Schatzi on December 14, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Sorry, I cannot offer advice. Plus I just came to your site today and I think I would be late anyways. I also live in Canada and our government would be a bit different. But if it was me I would rather keep a low profile then take the money…I don't like any government sticking their nose in my business…they know enough already without drawing attention to myself.
Look forward to reading what you decided.
Blessings,
Connie
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Rob on December 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Can you afford it.. here in Canada it seems there are always strings attached… not only money but eventually infringement on your religious rights. Will the thousand turn into minus 2?
If you do take it get it in writing any requirements. !
Good for you to be cautious. If you turn it down ..and feeling needy. look at the picture on the dollar and remember what Jesus said… "give to Ceasor that which is Ceasor's" It helps me when I feel a loss of dough ra me!
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Steve on February 1, 2009 at 12:36 am
If it were me I guess I would try and get the money. I think the worst thing they can do is tell you no you can't have it but unless you know of some laws they may try and fine you for.
Then I would say not to try, if the fines equal more that the 1000$
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Larger Than Average Litters of Pigs
I was curious as to the number of piglets in an average Hampshire sow and I came upon an article on the web from a publication called Seedstock EDGE. The National Swine Registry keept track of the Hampshire litters reported from 1995 through 2003 and came up with statistics from over 81,000 litters.
Based on the data, our Nellie and Sally did very much better than average last night as they gave birth to 13 and 14 healthy piglets each. Of course they are just simple east Kentucky Hampshire mutt sows and the boar probably has some Duroc in him, but they have outperformed the purebred swines that these numbers are based on.
The average number of pigs per litter was between 9.26 and 9.60 for each of the 9 years in the study, and the "born alive" number was just between 8.51 and 8.89 piglets. They also tracked the number of piglets that survived to be weaned and it was just between 7.85 and 8.12 per litter.
Nellie and Sally did better than that in 3 of each of their 4 litters so far. (Their first litters, when they were still gilts, they only had 7 and 8 piglets respectively, which we know now was pretty good!)
I just thought that was an interesting bit of info to record here. We are proud of you, Nellie and Sally!
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1 comment
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Morning Sunshine on December 6, 2008 at 12:37 pm
you make pig farming sound so easy! LOL! I remember when you brought them home for the first time, and the excitement with which you posted learning to geld (is that the right term for swine?) a pig. What about the cost of feeding the pigs – how much profit do you make after you factor that in? I am just curious.
Thanks for the pumpkin idea – that was my next plan for storing, somehow whole outside without getting too hot or too cold. Let me know how that works for you, especially towards the end of the winter when things start warming up, and they start getting old. We like to eat pumpkin in chili, soup, pancakes, waffles, muffins, and, of course, pie, so we like to eat it all year round. But I guess there is a season for everything, huh?
Based on the data, our Nellie and Sally did very much better than average last night as they gave birth to 13 and 14 healthy piglets each. Of course they are just simple east Kentucky Hampshire mutt sows and the boar probably has some Duroc in him, but they have outperformed the purebred swines that these numbers are based on.
The average number of pigs per litter was between 9.26 and 9.60 for each of the 9 years in the study, and the "born alive" number was just between 8.51 and 8.89 piglets. They also tracked the number of piglets that survived to be weaned and it was just between 7.85 and 8.12 per litter.
Nellie and Sally did better than that in 3 of each of their 4 litters so far. (Their first litters, when they were still gilts, they only had 7 and 8 piglets respectively, which we know now was pretty good!)
I just thought that was an interesting bit of info to record here. We are proud of you, Nellie and Sally!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 comment
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Morning Sunshine on December 6, 2008 at 12:37 pm
you make pig farming sound so easy! LOL! I remember when you brought them home for the first time, and the excitement with which you posted learning to geld (is that the right term for swine?) a pig. What about the cost of feeding the pigs – how much profit do you make after you factor that in? I am just curious.
Thanks for the pumpkin idea – that was my next plan for storing, somehow whole outside without getting too hot or too cold. Let me know how that works for you, especially towards the end of the winter when things start warming up, and they start getting old. We like to eat pumpkin in chili, soup, pancakes, waffles, muffins, and, of course, pie, so we like to eat it all year round. But I guess there is a season for everything, huh?
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Pig Farmers of Pure Water Hollow
What an exciting evening we have had here at Pure Water Hollow Homestead! We have once again witnessed the miracle of birth and we are thanking God for all He has done! Our two sows gave birth this evening, and little piglets were popping out simultaneously toward the end of the birthing.
I think you can now officially call us "pig farmers"! This is the 4th set of piglets we’ve had from our two sows and this time it all went by the book. We noticed that our boar Rufus was trying to breed our sows, Nellie and Sally, about 3 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days ago. (The books say a pig’s gestation time is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days.) I had projected a due date of December 5th back in September, so on Wednesday, December 3rd, we led Sally and Nellie down from the pig lot to the barn to get ready for giving birth. They are each 2 years and 3 months old now, and they have become old hands at giving birth. We put several bales of straw in their stalls and made them comfortable. I am so glad we moved them when we did, because the piglets came a day early (which was within the margin of error). When they gave birth in July, they surprised us and caught us off guard. We lost several of the piglets in those litters, partly because of poor planning, I think. But this time it felt like we knew what we were doing; I felt like a professional pig farmer!
In Sally’s stall Christina exclaimed, "Here comes one!" I looked over at Sally and Christina for just a moment and then trained my flashlight back on Nellie. I couldn’t believe that the beam revealed another piglet for Nellie! It must have come out just a second or two after Sally’s. This scene was repeated again about 5 minutes later. Christina delivered another piglet of Sally’s and I took a picture and then looked back at Nellie. This time my flashlight found two brand new piglets still attached by the umbilical cords to Nellie! They must have come, back to back, at nearly the same time Sally had pushed hers out!
All together, I witnessed Nellie giving birth to the last 6 of hers and the last 5 of Sally’s. I got home at about 4:30 and the last piglet was born at about 7:00. When Matthew had gone to check on the pigs earlier this afternoon at about 2:00, Nellie had already given birth to two piglets with one of them still attached by the cord. He flew down to the house on his 4-wheeler to let everyone else in on the news and then raced back up the hollow. Erica, Christina, Simon and Lisa with Timothy in her arms, arrived at the barn shortly thereafter. They were on hand to see Nellie deliver her next several and Sally’s first 9. Sometime around 4:00 Timothy declared he had had enough of standing around in a cold barn, so Erica and Simon took their screaming brother back to the house. Lisa stayed a couple of more hours and Christina did not leave until it was clear that all the piglets were born and safe.
Christina actually delivered all but one of Sally’s piglets. As each one came out, Christina made sure their airways were clear and she wiped them off and made sure they found a teat to nurse on. So, after 5 hours of birthing, Nellie had 13 adorable piglets nursing and Sally had 14 beautiful, healthy little piglets nursing.
Matthew and I did not leave until 9:30 because it was important to winterize the barn as much as possible. We stapled up feed sacks over all the cracks in the wallboards and over all the windows. By the time we were leaving, ice had formed on the metal gates in the barnyard, the mud in the road had become a frozen crunch, and a heavy frost was covering the hillsides. The low tonight is forecasted to be 18 degrees and the high tomorrow just above freezing. Tomorrow night the weather man says will also be 18 degrees and the 10 day forecast shows below freezing lows for the next 10 nights! The first week of life for these piglets will be a very cold one! Their first four nights are predicted to be 18, 18, 21, and 15 degrees with the highs only in the 30s!
This is the most piglets we have had to date, and if they all survive it will mean a substantial amount of possible cash. If we can sell 25 of the piglets in January for the going price of $40 each, it would mean $1000 in our pocket in just 5 or 6 weeks! If we sell them at a bargain basement price of $25 each, it would still be $625. And that would still leave 2 of them for us to raise as market hogs which we would either put in the freezer or sell for around $100 each live, or have processed and sell the packaged pork for a substantial profit. I really can’t believe we have 27 piglets! From what I’ve read, Hampshire pigs usually do not have litters this large.
Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!
I did take pictures and I will try to add them to this post someday soon.
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3 comments
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sassyfras on December 5, 2008 at 3:23 am
We raised pigs when we first came to the farm. I can still remember our first litter. I loved watching it. Our oldest, now 33 was just a little gal and she stayed out in the barn for hours, because she was afraid the mommy would roll on them. She will never forget the things she learned, or saw. What a great learning tool. The Farm, thanks for sharing
sassy
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Heritage Hill Homestead on December 5, 2008 at 7:34 am
Great update on your new additions! I have never been around pigs much, I didn't realize it took so long…..5 hours wow. I am used to goats and they are much shorter, of course they don't have 14 either! You were truly blessed as you said with possible income very soon, how wonderful for you. Isn't it something that they gave birth at exactly the same time.
Marilyn
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amanda on December 5, 2008 at 10:23 am
My hubby and his Daddy used to raise pigs when hubby was a child in the mountains of W. VA. He told of a time when the little piggy's came on a really cold night. His Daddy bought them into the house!
I'm not so sure that I could have done that. But hubby said that pig farming was how they got their money and he wasn't about to let those pigs freeze to death.When its your living, you do what you have to do.
Happy Farming!
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
I think you can now officially call us "pig farmers"! This is the 4th set of piglets we’ve had from our two sows and this time it all went by the book. We noticed that our boar Rufus was trying to breed our sows, Nellie and Sally, about 3 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days ago. (The books say a pig’s gestation time is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days.) I had projected a due date of December 5th back in September, so on Wednesday, December 3rd, we led Sally and Nellie down from the pig lot to the barn to get ready for giving birth. They are each 2 years and 3 months old now, and they have become old hands at giving birth. We put several bales of straw in their stalls and made them comfortable. I am so glad we moved them when we did, because the piglets came a day early (which was within the margin of error). When they gave birth in July, they surprised us and caught us off guard. We lost several of the piglets in those litters, partly because of poor planning, I think. But this time it felt like we knew what we were doing; I felt like a professional pig farmer!
In Sally’s stall Christina exclaimed, "Here comes one!" I looked over at Sally and Christina for just a moment and then trained my flashlight back on Nellie. I couldn’t believe that the beam revealed another piglet for Nellie! It must have come out just a second or two after Sally’s. This scene was repeated again about 5 minutes later. Christina delivered another piglet of Sally’s and I took a picture and then looked back at Nellie. This time my flashlight found two brand new piglets still attached by the umbilical cords to Nellie! They must have come, back to back, at nearly the same time Sally had pushed hers out!
All together, I witnessed Nellie giving birth to the last 6 of hers and the last 5 of Sally’s. I got home at about 4:30 and the last piglet was born at about 7:00. When Matthew had gone to check on the pigs earlier this afternoon at about 2:00, Nellie had already given birth to two piglets with one of them still attached by the cord. He flew down to the house on his 4-wheeler to let everyone else in on the news and then raced back up the hollow. Erica, Christina, Simon and Lisa with Timothy in her arms, arrived at the barn shortly thereafter. They were on hand to see Nellie deliver her next several and Sally’s first 9. Sometime around 4:00 Timothy declared he had had enough of standing around in a cold barn, so Erica and Simon took their screaming brother back to the house. Lisa stayed a couple of more hours and Christina did not leave until it was clear that all the piglets were born and safe.
Christina actually delivered all but one of Sally’s piglets. As each one came out, Christina made sure their airways were clear and she wiped them off and made sure they found a teat to nurse on. So, after 5 hours of birthing, Nellie had 13 adorable piglets nursing and Sally had 14 beautiful, healthy little piglets nursing.
Matthew and I did not leave until 9:30 because it was important to winterize the barn as much as possible. We stapled up feed sacks over all the cracks in the wallboards and over all the windows. By the time we were leaving, ice had formed on the metal gates in the barnyard, the mud in the road had become a frozen crunch, and a heavy frost was covering the hillsides. The low tonight is forecasted to be 18 degrees and the high tomorrow just above freezing. Tomorrow night the weather man says will also be 18 degrees and the 10 day forecast shows below freezing lows for the next 10 nights! The first week of life for these piglets will be a very cold one! Their first four nights are predicted to be 18, 18, 21, and 15 degrees with the highs only in the 30s!
This is the most piglets we have had to date, and if they all survive it will mean a substantial amount of possible cash. If we can sell 25 of the piglets in January for the going price of $40 each, it would mean $1000 in our pocket in just 5 or 6 weeks! If we sell them at a bargain basement price of $25 each, it would still be $625. And that would still leave 2 of them for us to raise as market hogs which we would either put in the freezer or sell for around $100 each live, or have processed and sell the packaged pork for a substantial profit. I really can’t believe we have 27 piglets! From what I’ve read, Hampshire pigs usually do not have litters this large.
Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!
I did take pictures and I will try to add them to this post someday soon.
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3 comments
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sassyfras on December 5, 2008 at 3:23 am
We raised pigs when we first came to the farm. I can still remember our first litter. I loved watching it. Our oldest, now 33 was just a little gal and she stayed out in the barn for hours, because she was afraid the mommy would roll on them. She will never forget the things she learned, or saw. What a great learning tool. The Farm, thanks for sharing
sassy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heritage Hill Homestead on December 5, 2008 at 7:34 am
Great update on your new additions! I have never been around pigs much, I didn't realize it took so long…..5 hours wow. I am used to goats and they are much shorter, of course they don't have 14 either! You were truly blessed as you said with possible income very soon, how wonderful for you. Isn't it something that they gave birth at exactly the same time.
Marilyn
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
amanda on December 5, 2008 at 10:23 am
My hubby and his Daddy used to raise pigs when hubby was a child in the mountains of W. VA. He told of a time when the little piggy's came on a really cold night. His Daddy bought them into the house!
I'm not so sure that I could have done that. But hubby said that pig farming was how they got their money and he wasn't about to let those pigs freeze to death.When its your living, you do what you have to do.
Happy Farming!
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
Friday, November 14, 2008
Homeschool Dad Blog nominee
Hello to all my homesteading and homeschooling friends! I just found out that this blog has been nominated for an award for the Best Homeschool Dad blog!
I feel honored but I realize that this blog was much better in 2007. 2008 has not been the best blogging year for me due mainly to some technical difficulties. I have not been able to post pictures from my home computer since this past spring, and as a result I have not been posting much at all lately. It just hasn’t been as fun.
Many of you that are coming from other places will likely wonder why this blog was nominated. If you looked around here a bit you have probably been disappointed! Those of you that are not a registered user with Homestead Blogger will only see a few posts that I have made available to everyone. Some of my posts are even restricted to fewer eyes as they are only viewable to those on our friend list. Sadly, these would be the posts that might lead one to vote for me as a good homeschool dad. Only if you are on our friend list can you see pictures of my children and many of the activities we have done together as children and father.
I have been blessed with 5 wonderful children, and we have been blessed to be able to homeschool them on this up and coming farming homestead the Lord has given us. I do not feel comfortable, however, sharing our experiences with the entire world wide web.
If you are new to homestead blogger, I would encourage you to look around my blog and other great blogs here. You might even want to register and have your own homesteading blog!
If you are a registered user and especially if you are our "friend", I would encourage you to go to this link and vote for Pure Water Hollow Homestead!
Wouldn’t it be neat if one of our homesteading blogs wins a homeschool award! The odds are greatly against me, I know, but it’s fun anyway!
Thanks, and God Bless!
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5 comments
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amanda on November 14, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Our blog will be pulling for yours!
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
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Henry on November 14, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Just voted for you, my friend.
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Belle on November 18, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I voted for your blog! I think you have a wonderful blog! I love reading your blog and I have learned many new things by reading your blog, like how to sap trees.
My blog is in the 2008 Homeschool Blog Awards too. I am in the Best Homemaking or Recipe blog. As soon as I found out that I was in for voting, I went to my blog and found all of my post and my entire blog to have been deleted. I was very upset to find this, and I have no idea of how it might have happened. All of posts about sapping trees were deleted too. So, I have to repost all of my posts.
I think I am going to copy all of my posts and put it into a document on my computer. You might also want to do that, incase your blog was ever deleted you could simply copy all of your post and repost them. You have a wonderful blog and I would hate to see all of your posts deleted.
Good luck in the 'polls'! I hope you win!!!
Belle
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CandyFoote on November 25, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Candy
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Rob on December 8, 2008 at 6:32 pm
How exciting to get a response so soon. I have read your past few blogs and you have indeed stimulated imaginations of your lifestlye. We use that word like we actually can choose a lifestyle, when I think we more point ourselves in the direction, then bounce off the bumpers of life like a pinball, but along the way we become skilled at holding our breath so each moment pauses and we can savour it.
But give credit to the deep peace God has generously given us… like see pigs scrambling in the pen, but instead of the mud we see the beaty of birth and the wonder of design… the miracle of the moment.
I appreciate the privacy factor you have implemented. This is a neat place, this site, safer than most, but even if the weirdos on the net did not exist, some privacy is important to the family.
I intend to both exercise sharing, and caution as you will see in my next entry. A trip to the property ( in words), but I will not actually share the location, though to friends, even here I develop and trust, I will share that information. I even intend to offer visits(cheap holiday) for the brave and trusted friends … for all that I have is not my own,,,but to be shared. So stay tuned just in case some day opportunity knocks and you have a chance to get away. And if is just too far, or too hard or too much… I invite you to journey in my blog. God speed and light your way …
I feel honored but I realize that this blog was much better in 2007. 2008 has not been the best blogging year for me due mainly to some technical difficulties. I have not been able to post pictures from my home computer since this past spring, and as a result I have not been posting much at all lately. It just hasn’t been as fun.
Many of you that are coming from other places will likely wonder why this blog was nominated. If you looked around here a bit you have probably been disappointed! Those of you that are not a registered user with Homestead Blogger will only see a few posts that I have made available to everyone. Some of my posts are even restricted to fewer eyes as they are only viewable to those on our friend list. Sadly, these would be the posts that might lead one to vote for me as a good homeschool dad. Only if you are on our friend list can you see pictures of my children and many of the activities we have done together as children and father.
I have been blessed with 5 wonderful children, and we have been blessed to be able to homeschool them on this up and coming farming homestead the Lord has given us. I do not feel comfortable, however, sharing our experiences with the entire world wide web.
If you are new to homestead blogger, I would encourage you to look around my blog and other great blogs here. You might even want to register and have your own homesteading blog!
If you are a registered user and especially if you are our "friend", I would encourage you to go to this link and vote for Pure Water Hollow Homestead!
Wouldn’t it be neat if one of our homesteading blogs wins a homeschool award! The odds are greatly against me, I know, but it’s fun anyway!
Thanks, and God Bless!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
amanda on November 14, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Our blog will be pulling for yours!
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henry on November 14, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Just voted for you, my friend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belle on November 18, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I voted for your blog! I think you have a wonderful blog! I love reading your blog and I have learned many new things by reading your blog, like how to sap trees.
My blog is in the 2008 Homeschool Blog Awards too. I am in the Best Homemaking or Recipe blog. As soon as I found out that I was in for voting, I went to my blog and found all of my post and my entire blog to have been deleted. I was very upset to find this, and I have no idea of how it might have happened. All of posts about sapping trees were deleted too. So, I have to repost all of my posts.
I think I am going to copy all of my posts and put it into a document on my computer. You might also want to do that, incase your blog was ever deleted you could simply copy all of your post and repost them. You have a wonderful blog and I would hate to see all of your posts deleted.
Good luck in the 'polls'! I hope you win!!!
Belle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CandyFoote on November 25, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Candy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob on December 8, 2008 at 6:32 pm
How exciting to get a response so soon. I have read your past few blogs and you have indeed stimulated imaginations of your lifestlye. We use that word like we actually can choose a lifestyle, when I think we more point ourselves in the direction, then bounce off the bumpers of life like a pinball, but along the way we become skilled at holding our breath so each moment pauses and we can savour it.
But give credit to the deep peace God has generously given us… like see pigs scrambling in the pen, but instead of the mud we see the beaty of birth and the wonder of design… the miracle of the moment.
I appreciate the privacy factor you have implemented. This is a neat place, this site, safer than most, but even if the weirdos on the net did not exist, some privacy is important to the family.
I intend to both exercise sharing, and caution as you will see in my next entry. A trip to the property ( in words), but I will not actually share the location, though to friends, even here I develop and trust, I will share that information. I even intend to offer visits(cheap holiday) for the brave and trusted friends … for all that I have is not my own,,,but to be shared. So stay tuned just in case some day opportunity knocks and you have a chance to get away. And if is just too far, or too hard or too much… I invite you to journey in my blog. God speed and light your way …
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Where Time Stood Still
The other day I came across a nice book about the region where God has allowed me to have my homestead. Pure Water Hollow is part of the area the author of the book calls “The Southern Appalachian Region”. This book is entitled Where Time Stood Still, and was written in 1970 by Bruce and Nancy Roberts. I enjoyed their brief history and description of the region so much, I decided to quote 8 paragraphs from pages 3-5. (Three of those pages are nice black and white photographs.)
“Today, the term Appalachia often suggests only poverty, but it means much more, for this was the first frontier of our country. A wilderness filled with beauty, it was also a place of danger and hardships. If the settlers survived Indian raids, there was still the threat of smallpox and malaria. The challenge to survive was great, and those who accepted it were a new breed, unafraid and ready to risk all.
Many of them came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, or France. The majority were Protestants, strongly imbued with the individualistic traits of their faith and a desire for religious freedom. Not always literate, they might best be described as a courageous, sometimes ornery people determined to live life in their own way. Somehow they did, and somehow they managed to survive.
The first settlers literally lived off the land, eating Indian corn, berries, and wild game. Their possessions were often limited to an ax, a knife, a rifle, and a loom. But even during those early days, these men and women never considered themselves poor. For they owned land, and this had not always been possible in Europe.
It was their land that gave them a feeling of worth, a sense of pride and of being men among men. A basic need was fulfilled, and to this day natives of Appalachia do not consider themselves poor so long as they can call a few acres of land their own.
Having pushed into the mountains by the time of the American Revolution, they raised large families in the shelter of the coves and valleys, often naming their settlements after the families who lived there. Game was abundant, the valleys fertile, the climate mild, and the country was beautiful.
The land seemed to cast a spell over it people. Spring was and still is an unforgettable succession of wildflowers, from the first feathery white blooms of the “sarvis” to the purple mist of the redbud trees to the later profusion of white dogwood. Throughout the forests may be found every shade of green in the spectrum. Along with the new leaves come the startling beauty of the wild flame azalea, vast stretches of laurel thick with tiny pink blossoms, and spectacular pink and red rhododendrons covering entire mountainsides with a mass of color.
If these people who loved their mountains so well could not leave them in the spring, how could they do so in the fall when they resemble the palette of an absent-minded painter who has allowed one brilliant color to flow into another. Summer rains and mists are gone, and over this dazzling display is an intensely blue autumn sky ablaze at dusk with the most dramatic sunsets of the year.
It is now over three hundred years since pioneers first settled the recesses of the Appalachian Mountains, and thousands of the descendants of these frontiersmen are still there. Hospitable and essentially honest, they care little for physical comforts and they enjoy their solitude.”
I wanted to capture these words here on the blog because they ring so true to what we have observed and felt ourselves. We are truly blessed to be here, and I so appreciate those that have gone this way before us!
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2 comments
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Kathy on October 21, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I find this very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
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amanda on November 1, 2008 at 10:18 am
What a great description! Isn't that what we are here for though? To work the land and enjoy the riches God gave to us? It's hard work but rewarding nonetheless.
We haven't accompolished half as much as you all but are still working at it. We are also seeing God's hand in it all the way.
We have been wanting to get a dairy cow for over a year now. funds have prevented us from it though. I believe the Lord has other plans though. He has blessed us this past week with free electric fencing and hubby has started to collect what we will use for the barn. One step at a time and always leaning on God!
Blesings,
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
“Today, the term Appalachia often suggests only poverty, but it means much more, for this was the first frontier of our country. A wilderness filled with beauty, it was also a place of danger and hardships. If the settlers survived Indian raids, there was still the threat of smallpox and malaria. The challenge to survive was great, and those who accepted it were a new breed, unafraid and ready to risk all.
Many of them came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, or France. The majority were Protestants, strongly imbued with the individualistic traits of their faith and a desire for religious freedom. Not always literate, they might best be described as a courageous, sometimes ornery people determined to live life in their own way. Somehow they did, and somehow they managed to survive.
The first settlers literally lived off the land, eating Indian corn, berries, and wild game. Their possessions were often limited to an ax, a knife, a rifle, and a loom. But even during those early days, these men and women never considered themselves poor. For they owned land, and this had not always been possible in Europe.
It was their land that gave them a feeling of worth, a sense of pride and of being men among men. A basic need was fulfilled, and to this day natives of Appalachia do not consider themselves poor so long as they can call a few acres of land their own.
Having pushed into the mountains by the time of the American Revolution, they raised large families in the shelter of the coves and valleys, often naming their settlements after the families who lived there. Game was abundant, the valleys fertile, the climate mild, and the country was beautiful.
The land seemed to cast a spell over it people. Spring was and still is an unforgettable succession of wildflowers, from the first feathery white blooms of the “sarvis” to the purple mist of the redbud trees to the later profusion of white dogwood. Throughout the forests may be found every shade of green in the spectrum. Along with the new leaves come the startling beauty of the wild flame azalea, vast stretches of laurel thick with tiny pink blossoms, and spectacular pink and red rhododendrons covering entire mountainsides with a mass of color.
If these people who loved their mountains so well could not leave them in the spring, how could they do so in the fall when they resemble the palette of an absent-minded painter who has allowed one brilliant color to flow into another. Summer rains and mists are gone, and over this dazzling display is an intensely blue autumn sky ablaze at dusk with the most dramatic sunsets of the year.
It is now over three hundred years since pioneers first settled the recesses of the Appalachian Mountains, and thousands of the descendants of these frontiersmen are still there. Hospitable and essentially honest, they care little for physical comforts and they enjoy their solitude.”
I wanted to capture these words here on the blog because they ring so true to what we have observed and felt ourselves. We are truly blessed to be here, and I so appreciate those that have gone this way before us!
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2 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy on October 21, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I find this very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
amanda on November 1, 2008 at 10:18 am
What a great description! Isn't that what we are here for though? To work the land and enjoy the riches God gave to us? It's hard work but rewarding nonetheless.
We haven't accompolished half as much as you all but are still working at it. We are also seeing God's hand in it all the way.
We have been wanting to get a dairy cow for over a year now. funds have prevented us from it though. I believe the Lord has other plans though. He has blessed us this past week with free electric fencing and hubby has started to collect what we will use for the barn. One step at a time and always leaning on God!
Blesings,
Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
A New Barn For the Goats
I haven’t been updating about what we've been doing here at Pure Water Hollow lately, and I really don’t have time to write much now.
We had a good September, the best thing being the new barn.
I need to take pictures of the new goat barn we had built. We hired two carpenter friends that have had a lot of building experience They had never built a barn before, but they did a great job for us and gave us a good deal on their labor.
Matthew (my son) worked with them everyday . I guess they put in about 72 hours on it. We gave Matthew a carptentry class credit for school. I figure he got more experience and learned more in the past two weeks than he would have in a public school shop class that only meets for 50 minutes a day and only builds a book shelf and a bird house for the whole year.
The barn is 12ft by 40ft with a 12ft by 30ft 2nd story loft. The goats love it!
I still want to put in some stalls, a shed roof on one end, and some other things to finish off the barn, but that will all wait for a while. First I need to get more fence up for the goats, which I hope to do next week. I was very sorry to see that T-posts have jumped up to $5.39 a piece at Lowes! I thought $3.00 was high when I last bought some a half year ago, or so.
We have a lot to do to get everything ready for winter here at Pure Water Hollow. Hopefully we will have a great October and be ready for the cold that will be coming soon!
God is Great!
added later:
Here is a picture of the construction of the barn in the early stages:
And here is what it would look like later that winter:
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1 comment
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sheryl on October 1, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Glad to hear everything is going good. We have sold all but one of my goats. Sold or gotten rid of just about all of my chickens. We still have the pig and will butcher him soon. Price of things and time is a lot of the reason we are down-sizing our homestead. Take care.
We had a good September, the best thing being the new barn.
I need to take pictures of the new goat barn we had built. We hired two carpenter friends that have had a lot of building experience They had never built a barn before, but they did a great job for us and gave us a good deal on their labor.
Matthew (my son) worked with them everyday . I guess they put in about 72 hours on it. We gave Matthew a carptentry class credit for school. I figure he got more experience and learned more in the past two weeks than he would have in a public school shop class that only meets for 50 minutes a day and only builds a book shelf and a bird house for the whole year.
The barn is 12ft by 40ft with a 12ft by 30ft 2nd story loft. The goats love it!
I still want to put in some stalls, a shed roof on one end, and some other things to finish off the barn, but that will all wait for a while. First I need to get more fence up for the goats, which I hope to do next week. I was very sorry to see that T-posts have jumped up to $5.39 a piece at Lowes! I thought $3.00 was high when I last bought some a half year ago, or so.
We have a lot to do to get everything ready for winter here at Pure Water Hollow. Hopefully we will have a great October and be ready for the cold that will be coming soon!
God is Great!
added later:
Here is a picture of the construction of the barn in the early stages:
And here is what it would look like later that winter:
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1 comment
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sheryl on October 1, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Glad to hear everything is going good. We have sold all but one of my goats. Sold or gotten rid of just about all of my chickens. We still have the pig and will butcher him soon. Price of things and time is a lot of the reason we are down-sizing our homestead. Take care.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Coon Days
I haven’t mentioned the raccoons that the children have been taking care of.
A friend of ours was with a logging crew in the next county over and he rescued two baby raccoons this past spring. They kept the coons for a few weeks and then found a new home for them. Ours!
We built a secure coon lot in the ravine and the coons have been doing great. We enjoy watching them play, and they are pretty tame. Erica named one "Ta’" and the other "Da", as in "Ta-Da!" They have already grown quite a bit since we got them.
We are planning on keeping them through the winter and then releasing them next spring.
We have not taken many pictures of them, but the other day Erica was letting one of them play in the tree house in the ash-leaf maple tree in front of our house.
I’m not sure if this is Ta or Da, but here she is in the tree:
Here she is looking down at us from the tree house:
And here is one last one of Erica with the coon up in the tree house:
A friend of ours was with a logging crew in the next county over and he rescued two baby raccoons this past spring. They kept the coons for a few weeks and then found a new home for them. Ours!
We built a secure coon lot in the ravine and the coons have been doing great. We enjoy watching them play, and they are pretty tame. Erica named one "Ta’" and the other "Da", as in "Ta-Da!" They have already grown quite a bit since we got them.
We are planning on keeping them through the winter and then releasing them next spring.
We have not taken many pictures of them, but the other day Erica was letting one of them play in the tree house in the ash-leaf maple tree in front of our house.
I’m not sure if this is Ta or Da, but here she is in the tree:
Here she is looking down at us from the tree house:
And here is one last one of Erica with the coon up in the tree house:
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Some Firsts During A Hot August Weekend at Pure Water Hollow
Since this weekend saw so many "firsts" for our homestead, I decided to take a few minutes to record them. If I had time, I would write a post about each item, including some of our hopes and desires for the future. But ,alas, it is late, and I need to turn in soon. At least these things will be recorded so we will be able to look back and see when they took place.
This weekend saw our first foray into alternative energy with a solar shed light. We had purchased it last week at Harbor Freight, which is very near the meat market where we were picking up our fresh pork. It is just a small light with a small solar panel and a 4 watt florescent bulb, but it is a start. It was on sale for $20, and I have long wanted to explore solar power. I figured this would be a cheap way to get a little experience with it. I finally put it up in the chicken coop yesterday morning and it actually works!
Yesterday afternoon we went to the stock market in town which has a big flea market attached. I’m thinking of taking our pigs there and wanted to see how it all worked. Anyway, while we were there we came across a Mennonite couple selling various things. What caught my eye was the baby guineas. We have talked about adding them to our poultry flock for some time, but you have to order too many of them in the catalogs. These were 4 week old Lavender Guineas and they were selling them for $5 apiece. We were glad to welcome our first two Guineas to our homestead and we might go back next week to try to get a couple more.
Also at the flea market we came across a big black dinner bell. It appears to be the very same one that I have considered buying from Lemans for $70. I got our first cast iron dinner bell for the homestead for a much better price. It was only $35! I’ve looked at old ones this size for $150, but I think this one will do well for us. I didn’t get a chance to put it up this weekend, but when we get it up, I think we will be able to hear it anywhere we might be working on our property. It is something I have wanted for many years, and I think we will make use of it often.
We have been visiting a small Baptist church just a mile down the road for the past several months. I preached the sermon there for the first time this morning, and it went very well. I believe there will be many future opportunites to preach there. It has been wonderful attending a church so close to home in our own community. This may be the church that God will have us work and worship in.
The last first for this weekend was going squirrel hunting with Simon and Matthew. Unfortunately, we did not see any squirrels, but it was still fun for the boys to walk around the woods carrying guns. Maybe next time we will bring home several squirrels.
A first for last weekend was picking up 7 bushels of apple peels and cores and chunks for the pigs and goats. I found a church that was doing a fundraiser of making and selling apple butter. I’m always looking for sources of free pig food, so I just called them up and asked them what they were going to do with all the left overs. They were happy to let me come and haul it off for them. The animals love the stuff. Yesterday, that church was at it again and this time they had 9 bushels of leftover peels and cores and chunks! It is really good food for the animals just for the price of the gas to go get it. So after the flea market and some work around the farm, I was happy to go over and get the boxes of apple stuff.
By the way, it has been very hot, humid and dry around here. We have been in the 90′s everyday, and no rain to amount to anything. My county is under a burn ban to try to deter the forest fires that are sure to start if we don’t get some rain.
I know this post has been a bunch of unrelated facts and firsts, but I think it is better than not writing anything at all. I am still wanting to be in the business of recording these days and happenings. The overwhelming main fact on my mind right now is in no way a first, and that is God’s blessings and love so abundantly shed upon us. To Him be the glory!
This weekend saw our first foray into alternative energy with a solar shed light. We had purchased it last week at Harbor Freight, which is very near the meat market where we were picking up our fresh pork. It is just a small light with a small solar panel and a 4 watt florescent bulb, but it is a start. It was on sale for $20, and I have long wanted to explore solar power. I figured this would be a cheap way to get a little experience with it. I finally put it up in the chicken coop yesterday morning and it actually works!
Yesterday afternoon we went to the stock market in town which has a big flea market attached. I’m thinking of taking our pigs there and wanted to see how it all worked. Anyway, while we were there we came across a Mennonite couple selling various things. What caught my eye was the baby guineas. We have talked about adding them to our poultry flock for some time, but you have to order too many of them in the catalogs. These were 4 week old Lavender Guineas and they were selling them for $5 apiece. We were glad to welcome our first two Guineas to our homestead and we might go back next week to try to get a couple more.
Also at the flea market we came across a big black dinner bell. It appears to be the very same one that I have considered buying from Lemans for $70. I got our first cast iron dinner bell for the homestead for a much better price. It was only $35! I’ve looked at old ones this size for $150, but I think this one will do well for us. I didn’t get a chance to put it up this weekend, but when we get it up, I think we will be able to hear it anywhere we might be working on our property. It is something I have wanted for many years, and I think we will make use of it often.
We have been visiting a small Baptist church just a mile down the road for the past several months. I preached the sermon there for the first time this morning, and it went very well. I believe there will be many future opportunites to preach there. It has been wonderful attending a church so close to home in our own community. This may be the church that God will have us work and worship in.
The last first for this weekend was going squirrel hunting with Simon and Matthew. Unfortunately, we did not see any squirrels, but it was still fun for the boys to walk around the woods carrying guns. Maybe next time we will bring home several squirrels.
A first for last weekend was picking up 7 bushels of apple peels and cores and chunks for the pigs and goats. I found a church that was doing a fundraiser of making and selling apple butter. I’m always looking for sources of free pig food, so I just called them up and asked them what they were going to do with all the left overs. They were happy to let me come and haul it off for them. The animals love the stuff. Yesterday, that church was at it again and this time they had 9 bushels of leftover peels and cores and chunks! It is really good food for the animals just for the price of the gas to go get it. So after the flea market and some work around the farm, I was happy to go over and get the boxes of apple stuff.
By the way, it has been very hot, humid and dry around here. We have been in the 90′s everyday, and no rain to amount to anything. My county is under a burn ban to try to deter the forest fires that are sure to start if we don’t get some rain.
I know this post has been a bunch of unrelated facts and firsts, but I think it is better than not writing anything at all. I am still wanting to be in the business of recording these days and happenings. The overwhelming main fact on my mind right now is in no way a first, and that is God’s blessings and love so abundantly shed upon us. To Him be the glory!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
An August Saturday Afternoon
I haven’t been taking much computer time lately, but yesterday I found myself typing an email to my brother’s family. As I was typing, It started to feel like a blog entry. Since it has been so long since I have written anything on this blog, I decided to take an easy way out, and just copy most of the email. It gives a little snapshot of the things that have been going on here. (I have taken out the names to protect the innocent)
Dear ________,
It was good hearing from you. We have been very busy here, too, with the pond construction, getting the produce in and trying to start a new schedule with school.
We are trying to be productive today. Erica is peeling the last of our peaches, Matthew is gathering multitudes of ripe tomatoes, Christina and Simon are snapping green beans, we are hoping to get most of our apples in, and Lisa is canning or freezing everything as we get them to her. She just gave Timothy some cereal and a bottle and he is now taking a nap.
The fellow that you met when you were down here finished the excavating job last Friday. He spent three days on the roads, with fixing about 1/4 mile of our ditches, putting in three tiles for drainage, and making the steep road on the other side of the pond. (It is very steep, but the 4-wheel drive truck and Matthew’s four-wheeler can make it fine.) Then he spent the last four days building our dam up the way we wanted, taking the side off of that hill next to the goat lot. He estimated that he moved 300 to 400 tons of dirt and rock to build the dam! Now we have a nice site to build a large goat shed and/or barn over there. The dam is steeper than I wanted and more narrow on top than I pictured, but we would have needed twice as much dirt to make it as wide as I would have liked. We can now drive over it, but I would have liked to have several more feet on each side of the truck than we have. It will be perfect as it is, as long as none of it slides away during this winter. He actually did a tremendous job with everything and we couldn’t have been happier with his work.
And he underbid everyone else by over half! The 56 hour total came to $3,640. The other firm bid that another fellow gave me was for $8,000 and the first outfit I was talking with would have been $8,400 if they would have taken the same amount of time. They never would commit to how long it would take them, but he was guessing around 5 days which would have come to about $6,000 with their prices. I don’t think they would have come close to what our guy did. For once, I think a hired out project has actually worked the way we hoped it would. We have been burned too many times in the past.
I still have work to do with the pond, like getting the animals fenced out, putting up some screens around the drains, putting in some shut off valves for the lower pipes and supply lines, and extending the supply lines out to be used for watering the pigs and goats. I’m looking forward to seeing if that ram pump will work for us or not. I think we have plenty of time to get it all done because I don’t expect much water to collect until the Fall. Hopefully by Christmas the pond will have filled up and everything will be in place. And then we will be able to stock it with fish this spring!
That was probably more than you wanted to hear about the pond. Anyway, we are all doing well. Timothy seems to be teething but no tooth yet. He just drools a lot and is cranky when his gums are hurting. He is much bigger, though! The other children have been devouring their new school books. They have been enjoying reading them on their own and sometimes we have to tell them to put the books down and get to work!
Speaking of work, everyone else is working and I am just sitting here typing. I need to get off the computer and get to helping them. We also need to feed the pigs for today. I was waiting to get a good collection of peelings and such to take up to them. By the way, we have sold 4 of the piglets so far and we had the 8 boys cut last Wednesday at school. They will be well enough to sell this week probably, so it is time to get the word out. I really don’t like being a salesman, but I do like the money in my wallet!
Have a great weekend! We love you all! Lisa and the children all say "hi" and send their love!
Eric
Dear ________,
It was good hearing from you. We have been very busy here, too, with the pond construction, getting the produce in and trying to start a new schedule with school.
We are trying to be productive today. Erica is peeling the last of our peaches, Matthew is gathering multitudes of ripe tomatoes, Christina and Simon are snapping green beans, we are hoping to get most of our apples in, and Lisa is canning or freezing everything as we get them to her. She just gave Timothy some cereal and a bottle and he is now taking a nap.
The fellow that you met when you were down here finished the excavating job last Friday. He spent three days on the roads, with fixing about 1/4 mile of our ditches, putting in three tiles for drainage, and making the steep road on the other side of the pond. (It is very steep, but the 4-wheel drive truck and Matthew’s four-wheeler can make it fine.) Then he spent the last four days building our dam up the way we wanted, taking the side off of that hill next to the goat lot. He estimated that he moved 300 to 400 tons of dirt and rock to build the dam! Now we have a nice site to build a large goat shed and/or barn over there. The dam is steeper than I wanted and more narrow on top than I pictured, but we would have needed twice as much dirt to make it as wide as I would have liked. We can now drive over it, but I would have liked to have several more feet on each side of the truck than we have. It will be perfect as it is, as long as none of it slides away during this winter. He actually did a tremendous job with everything and we couldn’t have been happier with his work.
And he underbid everyone else by over half! The 56 hour total came to $3,640. The other firm bid that another fellow gave me was for $8,000 and the first outfit I was talking with would have been $8,400 if they would have taken the same amount of time. They never would commit to how long it would take them, but he was guessing around 5 days which would have come to about $6,000 with their prices. I don’t think they would have come close to what our guy did. For once, I think a hired out project has actually worked the way we hoped it would. We have been burned too many times in the past.
I still have work to do with the pond, like getting the animals fenced out, putting up some screens around the drains, putting in some shut off valves for the lower pipes and supply lines, and extending the supply lines out to be used for watering the pigs and goats. I’m looking forward to seeing if that ram pump will work for us or not. I think we have plenty of time to get it all done because I don’t expect much water to collect until the Fall. Hopefully by Christmas the pond will have filled up and everything will be in place. And then we will be able to stock it with fish this spring!
That was probably more than you wanted to hear about the pond. Anyway, we are all doing well. Timothy seems to be teething but no tooth yet. He just drools a lot and is cranky when his gums are hurting. He is much bigger, though! The other children have been devouring their new school books. They have been enjoying reading them on their own and sometimes we have to tell them to put the books down and get to work!
Speaking of work, everyone else is working and I am just sitting here typing. I need to get off the computer and get to helping them. We also need to feed the pigs for today. I was waiting to get a good collection of peelings and such to take up to them. By the way, we have sold 4 of the piglets so far and we had the 8 boys cut last Wednesday at school. They will be well enough to sell this week probably, so it is time to get the word out. I really don’t like being a salesman, but I do like the money in my wallet!
Have a great weekend! We love you all! Lisa and the children all say "hi" and send their love!
Eric
Friday, August 01, 2008
Piglet Birthing Questions
(From a private corresponence between myself and another homesteadblogger.)
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Original message from HandsNHearts:
We have a couple of new expecting sows here and it's all new to me. (We have had 1 hog — butchered and in the freezer ) Pregnant sows is totally new to us, so I have a question…
This pair is a mother and daughter, both expecting approx. the same time (give or take 4 weeks now we are told). Right now, they are living in our barn and horse pen, together. They get along fine with one another, but what about when they begin having those babies? Should we separate them, or is their being together not a problem?
We have started some rails along the walls of the barn room for the piglets to be able to move away from momma (just standard from one of my hog resources…about 10" tall and a foot away from the wall itself…a walkway of sorts for the babies).
Nothing in my books says anything about separating the ladies for birthing, though. I just want to make sure we don't have any casualties from someone getting upset or hungry….
Deanna
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Hello Deanna,
Sorry I am just now replying. I haven't had much time with the computer lately and only found your message tonight. And thanks for the blog award! Very flattering, especially since I have not been writing much of anything lately. I saw the comment, but haven't gotten around to acknowledging it publicly.
You may have already decided on what you are going to do with the pigs, but I wanted to reply anyway. We have two sows that were sisters and raised up together from piglets and they each had their third litter a month ago. We never knew exactly when to expect the piglets, but I did separate the sows the day we thought they were going to give birth.
The first time, we had the sows separated before they gave birth, but both of the other times they were together and we just found the piglets in the morning. At that time I would separate the sows with their hours old piglets for "proper bonding". (I never read that "bonding" was needed; it's just what made sense to me.) I always tried to give them plenty of straw so they would be less likely to accidently squash one of the babies.
The first two times we had the litters the sows gave birth on the same day, and they didn't mind swapping each other's piglets for nursing. This last time they were 5 days apart, and they tended to keep their litters separated and would not let each others nurse. They were not mean to the other piglets, they just snorted at them when they came around and maybe a gentle snap to scare them away.
After being separated for a week or so, however, the sows did go through a few hours of "fighting" with each other when put back together each time. I guess they have to re-establish the pecking order? Neither sow has ever shown any hostility toward any of the piglets at any time, though. (They are also happy to have chickens in their lot eating the corn right next to them, and dogs, too. We may have an unusual group of animals?)
Thinking of your chicken casualties, I would be more concerned with the sows eating the piglets; even their own. I have heard that such a thing is common sometimes. If you could be present when they give birth, it would be an awesome experience and you could make sure the babies are safe. My thought is, once they are nursing good for a while, the mothering insticts should kick in and she won't mistake any of the piglets for the after-birth. By the way, we always take away and bury any of the after-birth we can find, instead of letting the sow eat it.
Have you gotten to look at the birthing pictures of our first litter of piglets? I am so glad the Lord let us have that experience. If not, you might want to go back to our blog and go to the category "Learning About Pigs". It has been fun chronicling raising our own pork, getting the little pigs when they were just feeder pigs, building the lots for them, watching them grow up, give birth, raising the offspring for sale and the freezer, and watching the little pigs become 700 plus pound sows and a 900 pound boar!
I hope your first experience with birthing piglets can be as successful as ours was. We really had no idea what to expect when we started raising pigs almost two years ago, and I am amazed at how smoothly it has gone for us.
One other thing; you might want to brace yourself for some of the piglets not making it. Maybe the rail walkway you've constructed will help, but our experience has been that not all of them make it. It is not because the sows have gotten vicious toward the piglets, it just seems to be a natural part of having large litters.Of our three times, only the first had no casualties, and they only had 7 and 8 piglets. The second time they had 10 and 11 piglets, but only 19 survived the first week. This last time was really rough. One had 13 piglets, but 3 died (one was maybe born dead?) and the other had 10 piglets, but 4 of them died in the first week (they were all rather puney). Instead of thinking about the ones we lost, we thank God that we have 16 healthy piglets to sell and raise!
I hope this message is in time to be of some help to you. I will be looking forward to hearing about how it goes.
God Bless,
Eric
——————————
Original message from HandsNHearts:
We have a couple of new expecting sows here and it's all new to me. (We have had 1 hog — butchered and in the freezer ) Pregnant sows is totally new to us, so I have a question…
This pair is a mother and daughter, both expecting approx. the same time (give or take 4 weeks now we are told). Right now, they are living in our barn and horse pen, together. They get along fine with one another, but what about when they begin having those babies? Should we separate them, or is their being together not a problem?
We have started some rails along the walls of the barn room for the piglets to be able to move away from momma (just standard from one of my hog resources…about 10" tall and a foot away from the wall itself…a walkway of sorts for the babies).
Nothing in my books says anything about separating the ladies for birthing, though. I just want to make sure we don't have any casualties from someone getting upset or hungry….
Deanna
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Hello Deanna,
Sorry I am just now replying. I haven't had much time with the computer lately and only found your message tonight. And thanks for the blog award! Very flattering, especially since I have not been writing much of anything lately. I saw the comment, but haven't gotten around to acknowledging it publicly.
You may have already decided on what you are going to do with the pigs, but I wanted to reply anyway. We have two sows that were sisters and raised up together from piglets and they each had their third litter a month ago. We never knew exactly when to expect the piglets, but I did separate the sows the day we thought they were going to give birth.
The first time, we had the sows separated before they gave birth, but both of the other times they were together and we just found the piglets in the morning. At that time I would separate the sows with their hours old piglets for "proper bonding". (I never read that "bonding" was needed; it's just what made sense to me.) I always tried to give them plenty of straw so they would be less likely to accidently squash one of the babies.
The first two times we had the litters the sows gave birth on the same day, and they didn't mind swapping each other's piglets for nursing. This last time they were 5 days apart, and they tended to keep their litters separated and would not let each others nurse. They were not mean to the other piglets, they just snorted at them when they came around and maybe a gentle snap to scare them away.
After being separated for a week or so, however, the sows did go through a few hours of "fighting" with each other when put back together each time. I guess they have to re-establish the pecking order? Neither sow has ever shown any hostility toward any of the piglets at any time, though. (They are also happy to have chickens in their lot eating the corn right next to them, and dogs, too. We may have an unusual group of animals?)
Thinking of your chicken casualties, I would be more concerned with the sows eating the piglets; even their own. I have heard that such a thing is common sometimes. If you could be present when they give birth, it would be an awesome experience and you could make sure the babies are safe. My thought is, once they are nursing good for a while, the mothering insticts should kick in and she won't mistake any of the piglets for the after-birth. By the way, we always take away and bury any of the after-birth we can find, instead of letting the sow eat it.
Have you gotten to look at the birthing pictures of our first litter of piglets? I am so glad the Lord let us have that experience. If not, you might want to go back to our blog and go to the category "Learning About Pigs". It has been fun chronicling raising our own pork, getting the little pigs when they were just feeder pigs, building the lots for them, watching them grow up, give birth, raising the offspring for sale and the freezer, and watching the little pigs become 700 plus pound sows and a 900 pound boar!
I hope your first experience with birthing piglets can be as successful as ours was. We really had no idea what to expect when we started raising pigs almost two years ago, and I am amazed at how smoothly it has gone for us.
One other thing; you might want to brace yourself for some of the piglets not making it. Maybe the rail walkway you've constructed will help, but our experience has been that not all of them make it. It is not because the sows have gotten vicious toward the piglets, it just seems to be a natural part of having large litters.Of our three times, only the first had no casualties, and they only had 7 and 8 piglets. The second time they had 10 and 11 piglets, but only 19 survived the first week. This last time was really rough. One had 13 piglets, but 3 died (one was maybe born dead?) and the other had 10 piglets, but 4 of them died in the first week (they were all rather puney). Instead of thinking about the ones we lost, we thank God that we have 16 healthy piglets to sell and raise!
I hope this message is in time to be of some help to you. I will be looking forward to hearing about how it goes.
God Bless,
Eric
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