2009's sliding out the door.

Seems like 09 just started, but here it is slipping out the last few days of Dec. In reflection, it's been a good year. We've met a lot of good folks, and shared our products with an ever increasing clientele.

We just delivered the last of our chickens this week. It's kind of a rush to stop at the designated meeting place, and greet the good folks who are so pleased to receive the locally grown unadulterated chickens. It always buoys up my spirits to see their enthusiasm. In deed I do make a few bucks off of the project, but it's hard to put a price on the intangible.

The cold weather moderated this week, which made us all happy. The laying hens are feeling a little less fatalistic, but the molt is in full swing, so we're only getting about a dozen eggs a day. The customers are whining, but it is what nature does, and it will be over in a few weeks. I hope. We have two small stores plus lots of individuals waiting patiently for the molt to end.

I put the boar (Thumper) in with the new Gilts, Ziggy, and Reggi, and Teana, so spring should bring us quite a bustle of little black and white babies. I must admit that when I go out to feed the hogs, I spend a few extra moments in the hutch with the little ones. They kind of charge up my batteries. There just isn't anything like the babies, to remind us what it's all about.

Happy Holidays to All, and here's hoping 2010 is as good or better than 09.

TOOO Darn cold

What a discouraging day! I arrived home from work this morning at 5:30 am, and rushed out to check on "Grandma" our oldest sow, due to farrow on the 5th. No such luck. Denise and I both had to work last night, so Grandma was left in the farrowing pen with the heat lamps blazing and the heat mat warm. Boy was I discouraged as I counted out the frozen piglets. Not one of the 12 had made it to the light only 3 or 4 feet away. I had plans to put down a bigger heat pad for the sows and even an electric space heater today, but so much for plans. A day late and thousands of dollars short. The thermometer said it was 13 below zero, so I guess without help, the little guys didn't have a prayer. Grandma was agitated yesterday, so I knew she was close, I should have stayed home last night.

Lots and lots of "should haves".

The one bright spot today was that the 8 little ones from Missy are still holding on, pretty cold but active. They are about 8 days old. Missy snuck them in before I got her home to the farrowing pen. So go figure, Missy has them alone, still in the sow pen without help or heat and appears to have saved every one she had, while Grandma with all the heat close at hand looses the whole litter.