I haven’t touched this blog in 3.5 years. I still can’t say why I have held onto it, when I have not felt a desire to write in all that time. Yet, here I am. Trying to cobble together my thoughts in an attempt to help process the recent events I have been struggling with.
Three weeks ago tomorow I said goodbye to three sows. They represented half of my small breeding herd, two generations of breeding, and a whole lot of time, effort, and love. For those that know my girls by name, I said goodbye to Bri, Mandy, and Jenny. It was planned for months, which allowed plenty of time to prepare emotionally, and I was unwavering and absolutely certain in my decision and the reasons. Still, it broke my heart and left me in a bad state mourning the loss of my beloved sows even though I still know it was the right thing to do.
The Necessity of Culling
Culling is a necessary evil for the betterment of breeds/species. In the homesteading or farming world, it is common practice and is an act of love. Choosing to care for, steward, and be responsible for livestock is hardly easy, and there is a reason a lot of people aren’t cut out for it. For most of us that shoulder the responsibility, we love our animals, want to do right by them, and are passionate about our chosen species or breed. Some admittedly more so than others. Ultimately, we want them to have good lives and be happy, healthy, and productive as long as possible. For those who don’t homestead/farm, they may struggle to understand how you can love and care for an animal day in and day out and then turn around and make a decision to cull. It can be difficult to convey that it is for the betterment of the species, the breed, the welfare of the animal and/or future progeny, and for the longevity of the homestead/farm. Some inexperienced onlookers see it through a skewed lens. They are quick to write you off as heartless, accusing you of “using the animal up”, or only caring about your bottom line. My personal favorite is the unsolicited Disnified alternative solutions that are offered. “Wouldn’t they be better off if X or can’t you just give them to X”. No, no they wouldn’t, and no, no I can’t. Again, the lack of experience is blatantly obvious as they do not understand the grass is not always greener, and some fates are far worse than death. Horror stories upon horror stories exist of animals that are given away or sold as a “pet”. I would never, ever subject one of my animals to that fate.
Unless you’ve experienced the heartbreak of the decision much less the follow through, you can’t possibly understand the toll it takes. Particularly on a small homestead, even more particularly when it is an animal that was born and raised on your property. Even MORE when she has served you well and it an act of compassion. It can be heartbreaking, soul crushing, and excruciatingly painful… even when it is the right choice.
Culling is for the greater good. When it isn’t practiced bad genes, poor temperaments, crappy moms, inferior performance, unthrifty animals, bad conformation, etc gets perpetuated in the gene pool. Translation: the bad traits that are a detriment get passed onto the next generation . Not every animal is cut out to be a breeder. Just because an animal has its respective reproductive parts does not mean it should use them for a myriad of reasons. The betterment of the breed, the species, and the genetic line should always be front and center in your mind. Is this animal going to take my herd forwards, backwards, or maintain? Not all animals are going to be superstars and take your herd to the next level, but still these are questions that should be asked.
As the old saying goes “breed the best and eat the rest”. It’s short, catchy, and rings true. If humans weren’t in the equation to interfere, natural selection would be the driving force at work weeding out the inferior as opposed to people. In the natural world, if a sow is such a terrible mom that she consistently lays on and crushes her litter, well, she won’t have many or possibly any surviving piglets to perpetuate her line would she? Nature has its way of weeding out the weak. Instead, some humans despite this glaring offense that screams “not fit for breeding” continue to knowingly breed her. Or, even worse, sell her to some poor unsuspecting victim.
Not all culls are cut and dry. I sure wish they were. It would make decisions far easier, and dull the heartbreak. It is a hell of a lot easier to have to say goodbye to an animal with a nasty or aggressive attitude. The one that’s final offense was the last straw, and you’ve adopted the “don’t let the door kick you on the way out” mentality. This is a stark contrast to bawling your eyes out and repeatedly screaming “I’m sorry”, cradling your deceased beloved mama who has been nothing short of wonderful in every way, knowing you saved her from an inevitable and painful decline. I have experienced both, and will take the former over the latter any day.
The Why
Now onto the reason that I’m sure most of you clicked on this blog post. The “why”. What was my reasoning behind my choice to cull Bri, Mandy, and Jenny? Three sows, three different track records, three different histories, three very different reasons.
Baby Bri
Bri had all the promise I could ever hope for out of a gilt. She had it ALL. The growth, the obvious heats, the incredibly laid back personality and strong maternal instinct. Then, she went on to farrow 12 piglets in 65 minutes completely unassisted her first litter, and weaned all 12. I had stars in my eyes and thought I had a true rockstar on my hands. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
Ever since weaning her first textbook perfect litter, Bri has been a notorious problem child. A sweet, endearing, and absolutely loveable problem child. The one that allll the weird and unexplainable things seem to happen to. The one that you’re always trying to problem solve or troubleshoot. Why she isn’t settling, why she lost her pregnancy, etc. She has been my special case for years. The one that always gave me something to figure out and left me scratching my head. I would be lying if I said I regretted the work and effort I put into her. She is the first sow that I had to truly investigate and figure out the cause for many repeat services. I sleuthed, came up with a theory, executed a solution, and solved the problem. She went on to give me Geillis and Mandy that next litter.
After that, the writing was on the wall and part of me knew it would only be a matter of time before I couldn’t continue to make excuses. It wasn’t if, but when. I have never had a sow with a better temperament or personality and there was no greater mother than her. She loved her babies harder than anyone, and even ones that weren’t hers.
Unfortunately, being an absolute rockstar of a mom isn’t good enough if you fail to breed back and/or have trouble doing so. I simply couldn’t count on her, and when everyone gets bred and carries to term without issue it becomes glaringly obvious it’s a problem at the individual level. The final nail in the coffin so to speak was failing to breed back for a fall litter last year, then settling on a fall breeding for the following spring, miscarrying the litter with no obvious cause as to why, only to get rebred and have a whopping three piglets. An animal that weighs 665 lbs takes up a lot of space and feed. In one year’s time she gave three piglets and ate nearly 1 ton of food herself in the process. Unfortunately, even though she was the sweetest thing ever, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that she was dead weight any longer.
Overall, I lost a lot of money on keeping her around as long as I did over the years. But, working through her problems taught me a lot that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn. I will be better equipped to identify and solve problems early not only in my own herd, but also for those in my Patreon that I support thanks to her. I do not regret my choice to work through the problems as long as I did, nor do I regret the decision I ultimately made to say goodbye.
Mandy
Mandy was one of the replacement gilts that I kept out of Bri’s second litter along with her sister Geillis. I was really excited about the Large Black sired girls, and everything that entailed from a maternal instinct standpoint. There was no lack of that to inherit from Bri, but adding in Large Black genetics too? I was sure that was a recipe for success. Confession: I actually only wanted to/needed ONE gilt and I had fallen in love with Mandy and her pink splotch on her nose just like her mother. But, she would need someone to grow up with as a companion, and I thought well, might as well keep two girls just in case one doesn’t pan out. That is the only reason I kept Geillis and thank God I did.
Everything leading up to Mandy’s first farrowing screamed promise. Her growth rate was incredible, she was hardy and an easy keeper, absolutely sweet as could be with a laid back personality, wildly strong and obvious heats and settled on first service. As a gilt, her underline resembled one more like a second or even third parity sow, and I was chomping at the bit to see what she was made of when farrowing came.
She farrowed middle of the night. Piglets came out like rapid fire just like her mother and I was on cloud 9 watching her quickly pass piglets unassisted without moving much less getting up. The dream state quickly turned into a nightmare. Once a good chunk of the litter was born, squirming to the udder and all around her making noise, she came unhinged. Full blown psychosis. Snapping at/biting piglets, lunging at them, trampling them, and literally spiraling out of control. Some were immediately killed by being trampled to death, and the rest I saved by swooping in and scooping them up as quickly as I could.
This is not uncommon behavior out of gilts unfortunately. To make a long story short, I worked some magic to calm her down and she did accept her babies. She loved them hard, was an absolutely fantastic mother, and weaned every single piglet that I scooped up and saved their first traumatic night of life.
With how well she did after the farrowing itself, I gave her another shot. Again, these things HAPPEN with gilts. Because she quickly accepted and loved her babies after the fact, I was certain it could be chocked up to #giltproblems. If it happens as a gilt it by no means is a guarantee it will happen again.
She bred back right away without issue, and then her second and final chance came. Unfortunately, round 2 went much of the same. Rapid firing of piglets only to start biting them and tossing them across the room combined with spiraling out of control. A full blown 550lb tornado out of control with me scooping piglets up, trying to save them and whisk them away from her. Then, much like the first time, when the dust settled, she turned into a completely devoted and nurturing mother.
What was wrong with Mandy wasn’t fixable. She had textbook perfect nutrition as a gilt as well as throughout gestation, no stress environment, etc to set her up for success. What she had was a hormone regulation problem, and was dependent on ME to externally regulate her through farrowing. It was a HER problem, and the only thing that could be done would be for me to have to be there for every farrowing to save piglets and band aid the situation until she got through it and calmed down. This is a trait that is unacceptable in a breeder. If I hadn’t been there both times to intervene, I cannot image the bloodbath I would have walked into the next morning.
Again, I do not regret my decisions I made. I gave her a second chance and I am so happy I did because it just as easily could have gone another way. Unfortunately, it didn’t. But, I know I set her up for success and gave her every opportunity to prove herself. Sadly, she just didn’t have the goods and I had to do what was right and say goodbye.
Jenny
There simply are not enough pages on this blog to sing Jenny’s praises enough. She was an absolute rockstar of a sow in every way imaginable. I have shared plenty on my Instagram about Jenny’s impressive breeding and farrowing history, and I am going to bank on that if you’re reading this you have some understanding of her history. Simply put, she was an absolute powerhouse and a monster breeder in the best way possible. Very fertile, prolific, milky, maternal, and ultimately just a wonderful sow. I could always depend on her. To settle on first service, to bring the litter size, and to have a high weaning rate. She had it ALL and over the course of her seven litters she had an average litter size of 14 (range 11-17) with a born live to weaning rate of 97%.
I have said for years on my Patreon that Jenny’s undoing would be her knees, not her performance. She was the second gilt I ever kept for myself and while I had learned a lot by the time she came around, I still made some mistakes. Mainly, I didn’t set her up for success with proper bone mineralization for longevity. If she were a less prolific or milky sow, her body may not have ever had to pay for my mistake, or at least maybe not so soon. But, that’s not how things worked out. Those large litters and heavy milk production come at a high price, and unfortunately, her body wasn’t properly prepared and paid the toll. With each litter, I saw her knees knock more and more. Her body was breaking down and the writing was on the wall.
This past winter when she far along in gestation, she struggled to walk on the pitted and bare frozen ground without snow as insulation and cushion. She couldn’t leave the shelter because it hurt her too bad to walk on the uneven ground. This meant she couldn’t walk to her water source. So, for a week I lugged buckets multiple times a day to hand deliver her food and water praying for snow so that she would be able to leave. Snow finally came, and she was once again able to leave her shelter.
Several weeks later after she was moved into the farrowing area and had her 7th and final litter, much of the same happened. I didn’t have to deliver her food and water due to the infrastructure, but it quite literally was painful to watch her walk. It was very clear she was hurting despite not carrying the massive weight of her litter anymore, and it hurt me to watch her. I knew she wouldn’t have another winter in her. I bawled like a baby sharing videos of her walking in my Patreon gutted that my prophecy from years ago had come true and I had to do what was right by her. I didn’t have a choice. She had been so good to me, and I owed it to her to do right by her. This meant I couldnt be selfish and keep her around knowing the pain she was in, how hard the previous winter was, and that it would only be a matter of time before she went lame. She deserved better after everything she has done for me and I cared way too much about her to let her suffer. She deserved to go out at the top of her game coming off a carefree summer versus injured and suffering.
August 3rd, 2024
When you get down to it, I have very basic hopes for my animals whether they are a culled breeder or one that is destined to be a feeder from the start. I want them to be born here, live here, and die here. I don’t want them to ever know mistreatment, stress, or suffering. That’s all I ask, and at the end of the day it isn’t too much to ask for.
The easiest thing for me to do would have been to load Bri, Mandy, and Jenny on a trailer and send them off to a processor. Save myself the pain, and not have to see it for myself. But, that would have resulted in an incredible amount of stress for them leaving the only home they have ever known. Easier for me, but harder for them. I believe so strongly in my most basic hope that I would knowingly put myself through more anguish and heartbreak to spare them stress and suffering. Truly putting my beliefs and ideals to the test.
I am NOT knocking those that send animals off to a processor. Do not read between lines that don’t exist. But for me, that was never an option, it didn’t exist. The only option was for them to die at the only home they’ve ever known, without stress or a worry in the world. Thanks to my friend Hogan at Kerev Butchery, my beloved sows got exactly that.
I will not go into the details of their death, but all that matters is two things:
- I was there with them and for them in the end
- It couldn’t have gone anymore textbook.
They died instantly with me by their side, the one face that has been the constant day in and day out over the years. I was there when they were all born, every day in between, and I was there when they died. It was painful for me to be there, but again there was no other option for me. I needed to set my heartbreak and pain aside and put their comfort and needs in those final moments above my own. It was me that they knew best, me they were most comfortable with, and me that should be there. It was every bit as emotionally excruciating as you may imagine. I bawled, whaled, was an absolute mess, and I knowingly put myself through that for them. The last act of love I could show them.
There was not one ounce of suffering or stress experienced on their part. Ultimately, that is what I am most grateful for and I will forever be thankful and in Hogan’s debt for that. I couldn’t have asked for better for them, and as soon as it was done I felt an incredible wave of relief wash over me knowing that it couldn’t have gone any better.
It has been almost three weeks since I said goodbye, and I still miss them terribly. But, in a sense they are still here. I look around at my gilts and sows, and I am reminded that they live on in their daughters. Every time I look at Geillis, I see Bri in her eyes as well as her sister Mandy. I see some of Jenny’s early personality traits in her daughter Maggie. While they may be gone, they will live on in the generation I have, the ones that are still to come, and will never be forgotten.
This past December my new milk cow Lassie gave birth to her highly anticipated 3rd calf. Fortunately, I was able to be there to catch the live calving on video seen below.
Lassie’s due date (based on 278 day gestation for a Jersey) was December 2nd, and she ended up calving on the 7th. As soon as she was a day or two over her “due date” I assumed she was carrying a bull calf, and was proven right. My Moocall calving sensor gave me a notification when she had high levels of activity, to ensure that I didn’t miss the big event.
Thanks to all of my preparations while dry to prevent milk fever, I am happy to report that we didn’t have any issues. This whole experience truly was as good as it could have possibly gotten for my first calving. I largely have her health and high level of care before arriving here, and my continuation of that during the dry period to thank for that.
My love and deep appreciation for Lassie has continued to grow as she has filled my milk bucket every single day all while raising a strong and healthy calf.
Hypocalcemia also known commonly as “Milk Fever” (MF) is a metabolic disorder that affects newly freshened animals. It can commonly be seen in goats, sheep, and cows, and is particularly more prevalent (though not exclusive) in dairy breeds. Typically dairy animals that are high producing breeds and/or older cows are most at risk for developing MF. With that being said, there are many factors that can come into play. Some breeds being more prone than others, body condition during gestation/calving, and of course the biggie, nutrition. There is no guaranteed 100% way to prevent milk fever – hence this being my “prevention” plan. Emphasis on those quotations! However, there are many things that can be done to help reduce the chances. When I knew I was going to bring Lassie home, I immediately started working with my vet on a MF “prevention” plan. With some helpful suggestions from Zack at Orb Weaver Creamery as well. Like so many things when it comes to animals, proper nutrition reigns supreme, and is a critical component to reducing the chances of MF.
What is Milk Fever?
First things first, Milk Fever is a misnomer, as a fever doesn’t actually present when a cow/goat/sheep is affected by it. So let’s just get that straight right out of the chute. In its simplest definition, hypocalcemia is ” a deficiency of calcium in the bloodstream”. In a nutshell, what happens is leading up to calving when the cow is dry her body has a low demand for calcium production. This causes the parathyroid hormone that’s responsible for calcium mobilization to go into a somewhat dormant stage of sorts. Then, right around calving, her body has a sudden onset high demand for calcium for the calf and to produce colostrum. This demand is 8-10x more than what her blood requires, and is more than can be achieved through diet. When her body cannot meet the demand, she goes into homeostatic failure.
Calcium is vital to smooth muscle contractions, as well as proper rumen and cardiovascular function. In its clinical form, the cow can quickly lose control of muscle function. This makes her unable to stand and she goes down, ears go cold, rumen shuts down, abomasal can be displaced, coma occurs, and death can quickly follow. In its subclinical form, the symptoms are not as severe because the disparity between the body’s production and the requirements is not as large. However, it is equally important as statistically it is much more prevalent than clinical MF and is responsible for loss of milk production. The cow is also at a higher risk for infection such as mastitis or secondary metabolic disorders.
The Dry Period
A proper diet to prevent milk fever starts as far back as the dry period. Most will dry off their cows 2-3 months prior to their due date. This time of no milk production allows the cow to recover from lactation, while putting the nutrients and energy into her growing calf.
A mistake that can be made during this dry period is that cows are fed the same as if they were still in milk. This should not be the case. While lactating, cows are fed a high calcium diet to meet their bodies demand whether that be in the form of calcium-rich forages such as alfalfa and clover, a grain ration, and mineral supplementation. As I mentioned previously, while dry, a cows requirement for calcium drops significantly. By continuing to provide more calcium than needed via diet, the parathyroid that is responsible for calcium mobilization goes into a dormant stage. Then when the call for high calcium is put on the body at freshening, the parathyroid struggles to snap out of this latent stage to meet the demand.
The goal during the dry period is to reduce the calcium. So, if you’re feeding alfalfa pellets, stop. If you’re providing a mineral supplement that is high in calcium, stop. If you are feeding out legume rich grass hay and can possibly help it, stop. The key is to reduce calcium intake so that her body goes into a slight calcium deficient state. By being slightly calcium negative, her parathyroid doesn’t go into that dormant stage to begin with. Which means that when her body says “we need a lot of calcium, stat!” it’s already active and can more easily mobilize the calcium in her body and ramp up production.
At the suggestion of my vet, I am taking all of the measures I mentioned above. Low calcium mineral (1.25%), minimal legumes, no alfalfa. In addition, starting right around the 21 day mark prior to calving, I am feeding out a specific “pre fresh” grain ration. It is specifically formulated to provide the vitamins, yeast, and trace minerals her and her growing calf need, while specifically being designed with MF in mind. Dietary Cation-Anion Difference (DCAD) diets are also popular and something I heavily researched, but my vet suggested that for my single milk cow it was unnecessary and so we went the aforementioned route.
At Freshening
The goal is to provide the best prevention diet during the dry period to set her body up to naturally ward off MF on her own. However, things don’t always work out as planned. Depending on your location, maybe your cow is on pasture when she’s dry that is loaded with alfalfa and clover and you can’t avoid it. It happens. For me, Lassie is dry in late fall/early winter when I am starting to feed out hay, so I have a bit more control over what she eats by feeding out different cuts.
Maybe you have followed a low calcium diet to the letter, but just want that little extra added bit of insurance. That’s me! I am big on doing everything I can to prevent something (especially as serious as MF) from happening in the first place and if I can spend $20 for something that’s going to make all the difference, I’ll do it.
Bovikalc is a calcium bolus that I will administer immediately after calving, and then again twelve hours later. It has two different types of calcium: calcium chloride for immediate absorption and use, and calcium sulfate for slower absorption and sustained use. The administration of the bolus will provide the additional calcium her body needs at freshening if her body is struggling to mobilize calcium on its own to prevent the deficiency. It’s like a calcium insurance policy and is $20 very well spent.
Despite doing everything I possibly can to set Lassie up for success and to prevent milk fever, it still could very well happen. There are no guarantees! So, I will still be very diligent and observant of any early signs of MF and will make no hesitation to call the vet. Milk Fever is literally life and death and a cow can go from having cold ears and standing, to down and comatose in an hour. It is nothing to mess around or gamble with.
Like with anything else, there is more than one way to skin a cat. This is the route that I have chosen to go after much diligent research on my end and conversations with my vet. Some may use an oral paste after calving versus a bolus, fine. Some may feed a different diet, that’s fine too. People have different opinions on how things should be done, and I’m certainly not toting my way to be the best or only way, just merely sharing what I do and why. Here’s to a hopefully uneventful calving in just three short weeks!
Happy Calving,
Today feels like the end of an era. After many talks with my husband, serious reflection, and hard thinking on the direction of our homestead going forward, I sold my beloved dairy goats. My Nubians Ruby and Rory to be specific, and they are getting picked up today. We originally got started with home dairy a few years ago, and for many reasons we went with goats over cow. They were 100% the right choice for us at the time, and have served us well the past few years. I owe so much knowledge to them, and they have repaid me with all the milk for delicious recipes.
But, not all animals are permanent. Some you raise and love, and they are a standing member of your homestead/farm forever. Others you don’t particularly care for and are here and gone. While others, are temporary stepping stones along the homesteading journey. They become a source of your knowledge, confidence, and the lessons they teach you and the mark they leave stay with you long after they’re gone. This does not make them any “less”. Dairy goats for me are the latter. I learned so much from them about fencing, housing, and most importantly, keeping a dairy animal. Deciding to sell them was no reflection on them, or anything they did wrong. If anything, how good they are is what made this so much more difficult. It would be an easy decision if they weren’t such good girls. What it was, was a necessary step to take our homestead in the direction we desire.
A cow has always been the end goal for us. I want the heavy cream, and the abundance of milk to fatten our pigs and offset our feed costs. We have no allergies or intolerance in our household, so goats are not our only option from a dietary standpoint. But, for all the reasons mentioned in my blog post on our choice to raise goats for dairy, they really were our only logical option before. But, things have changed. After spending a few years clearing our land and creating pasture, and creating even more this year for next spring, we have reached the point where we feel we are able to sustain a dairy cow.
We are practical people however. We cannot and do not want to have a cow and two large dairy goats that aren’t producing milk. Not to mention our Nigerian Dwarf males I am selling as well. The reason why I am able to give every single one of my animals such a high level of personal care and the best in terms of nutrition, is because I am intentional with who we keep. If I had twenty goats “just because”, the quality of care would suffer. I couldn’t feed organic 2nd cut hay, provide the chelated mineral supplement, or the organic grain ration to that many animals. With greater numbers, the quality of care would suffer. To me, it’s quality not quantity.
Every animal here (except for Wyatt 
) serves a distinct purpose, and we don’t need four goats to help with clearing. Our two Nigerian Dwarf does Audrey and Alison are still needed here for this, and so they are staying. But the two Nubians as well? It just didn’t make sense, so we had to choose. Pursue a dairy cow now, or continue down the dairy goat road and acquire the necessary breeding stock for our existing does. This would just mean more goats to sell later. So, we decided it was best for us to bite the bullet and go through this transition now.
It was not an easy decision, but one that had to be made. I know that I made the best decision for us going forward. As far as Ruby and Rory are concerned, before listing them for sale I made them a promise. I would not allow them to be separated, nor would I sell them to a farm that was any less in terms of accommodations they were used to here. I can’t bear the thought of this bonded mother-daughter pair being split up, or them being confined to cramped accommodations.
Not only did I come through on my promise, but I am not ashamed to admit they are moving on to bigger and better things themselves. They are going to the Remick Country Doctor Museum Farm in New Hampshire where they will become part of their new goat milk CSA program. Not only are they moving on to a farm bigger than our small homestead, but they will be fulfilling their higher purpose of providing the community with fresh goats milk. They will be well cared for, and have no shortage of attention or pasture to run in. I couldn’t have asked for a better home for my beloved girls.
Send in the Cows
Behind the scenes I have been looking for a Jersey cow on and off for the past few months, and got really serious about it over a month ago. First of all, I cannot get over how difficult of a time I had finding potential quality prospects. I’m not entirely sure what I expected, but the process has been more difficult than I anticipated. I scoured Craigslist, called farms, asked everyone I knew, put it to Instagram, etc. I came up empty handed a lot.
We had an ideal scenario that we were looking for. We wanted to avoid a heifer (never calved) at all costs, because we wanted a cow with some experience under her belt. We also wanted to steer clear of a cow that wasn’t already bred back. I am still working out the details of AI and talking to my vet about it, so I didn’t want to have to scramble. Plus, if an animal hasn’t been bred at this point in September, we wouldn’t be looking to calve until late next summer, which just doesn’t work for us. Why would I want a dry cow during the summer when I have my feeder pigs and quality pasture?
The biggest part of the hunt of course was the quality of the cow. A family milk cow can serve you for many, many, years in a homestead setting. And if properly cared for, can be productive into their late teens. I want this long term relationship, and wanted to get it right the first time. So, I was doing my homework, asking the questions to weed out the cows that wouldn’t work for us, or had more question marks than answers. I wasn’t afraid to take a pass on a cow I felt was a risk even if it meant not finding anything.
Finally, the Jersey Cow gods took pity on me and sent me a lead via an Instagram follower (thanks Natalee!) who personally knew some farmers that were selling some of their bred cows. I wasted ZERO time making the 7+ hour round trip visit to Orb Weaver Creamery in Vermont to meet Zack, one of the owners. They’re a farmstead cheese creamery that raises Jerseys, and specifically breeds for udder longevity, high butterfat, and high protein. Check, check, check. Upon my arrival, it took me all of five minutes to decide that I needed one of their cows.
As if the bucolic setting wasn’t enough, I consider myself a good judge of character when it comes to what kind of stewards people are to their animals. Maybe it’s because I’m a helicopter mom myself with my livestock, and am fanatical about their care. So, perhaps I recognize some of these traits in others. Whatever the reason, I see when people care, truly care, and that is reflected in the quality and personality of their animals. While standoffish with me being a stranger, the cows were affectionate and personable with Zack as he showed me around. He knew everyone’s name, age, individual personality quirks, and who would be the best “hand milker” for me in terms of teat size and milk flow. I didn’t just want a cow, I wanted one of their cows.
A Bonny Lass
Based on the personality I was after, the size of our homestead, and being a hand milker, Zack already had a few prospects in mind for me. One of which was Lassie who immediately caught my eye. Lassie or “Lass” as I will surely refer to her as, is a 4 year old cow who is pregnant and due in December. This will be her third calving so she is old enough to have the experience we were after, but is young enough that she has a lifetime ahead of her of productivity.
One of the first things that I noticed about her was her shorter stature in comparison to the others. In comparison to other dairy breeds, Jerseys are smaller but can range in size from a mini (which I didn’t want) to a standard size. She is 47″ at the withers, which puts her right in that mid-sized range we were after. Given our smaller homestead, this is the sweet spot. The other thing that caught my eye was those hand milking teats. One thing Zack cautioned me about just in general education when looking for a cow, is the teat size. Because so many dairy farms milk with machines, larger teat size has largely been selected against in breeding. While teats will get larger with each calving to an extent, like I experienced with my dairy goats, some just naturally have larger ones than others. This is a mistake I was not going to make twice, and her larger teat size was a major selling point for me.
I left Orb Weaver and thought about Lassie the whole way home. When I got home, I couldn’t stop talking about her or Orb Weaver Creamery to my husband. Then, when it came time to go to bed she’s all I thought about. I woke up the next morning, and put down a deposit on her. She is officially mine.
So, where do we go from here? We are in the process of doing some infrastructure changes in preparation to bring Lass home. When that will be, I am not sure of yet. We are knocking out the dividing stalls of our goat mini barn and opening it up, siding in the overhang, reconfiguring fencing, and figuring out a covered round bale feeder. Lots of moving parts and things happening, but we are very excited about it in anticipation of bringing our first milk cow home.
It is a bit nerve wracking for me, starting over with an entirely new species. But, I know I have a mentor in Orb Weaver, and I will figure things out and make it work just as I always have in the past. I am anxious to start bonding with Lass, and am looking forward to the strong bond we will develop over the coming years. I am hopeful and excited for this new adventure ahead, and hope you will stick around to watch it all unfold!
Moooooooo,
If you have been following me on Instagram this summer, then you already know we decided to completely overhaul and expand our existing farrowing barn. We knocked down the right wall, doubled the sized, busted out and re-poured a new concrete slab, hard wired electric, put on a metal roof, and completely redid the fencing and configuration of the paddock. It was a bit of a project, but it is officially complete and it feels great to have such an awesome set up in place.
If you follow closely, yes this farrowing barn is now our third revision. Our first set up we used when we had zero experience whatsoever. Some things worked, most things didn’t. Enter our second set up, based on things learned from the first. We tossed out the dog kennel creep and went with the “pitched roof” style, and increased the size. It worked well for us, but there were some functionality aspects that could be improved. Plus, it was only big enough to accommodate one sow. Because we have retained several gilts for breeding to increase our operation size, we needed something bigger. Hence the doubled in size farrowing barn.
Below is a video tour where I walk you through the setup. At least as much as I could in the 15 minutes allotted to me by Youtube. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read the previous posts that I wrote on each version. We didn’t start out with this set up, it took a few years of trial and error, and failure. While it may not be perfect, based on our previous experience we think it’s quite fitting for our needs.
We are extremely excited about this new farrowing barn set up and all of the piglets that will be born here in the coming years!
Happy Farrowing,
Farrowing season is a very exciting time on the homestead, and personally is my favorite of all. It can be a bit nerve wracking (especially that first time) but just like with kidding, a well stocked farrowing kit is a safety blanket that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Our vet that “treats” pigs is over an hour away, and to be honest I have more experience with farrowing than they do. I have learned the hard way some of the difficulties and issues that can arise, but I’d be lying if I said that my farrowing kit hasn’t saved piglets lives.
I detail the purpose of many of the items in my kit in my post on caring for piglets from birth to weaning, but not all. And some of the items I discuss in that post are not in my “farrowing kit” because they aren’t relevant to the farrowing or moments surrounding it, but later down the road. In addition to all of the items mentioned in both, there are medications I have accumulated over time that are multispecies and not necessarily “pig specific”. When you raise enough animals, there is a natural build up of medical supplies.
When I refer to the farrowing kit, I am referring to what is by the door waiting for me to grab on my way out when we have a mama in labor. As always, let this be my disclaimer this is what I use and have accumulated over time. There may be things that you may need that I don’t use, or vice versa.
What's In the Kit
For the Piglets
- Mistral Powder
- Nutridrench for Pigs
- Iodine with spray nozzle
- Puppy Pads
- Frozen Goat Colostrum and small syringe for administering (not “in” the kit but something that I always have in the freezer in case a piglet needs a little extra help)
- Livestock Marker for marking litters
- Chlorhexidene Solution
The mantra around here for any baby being born is “dry, dip, drench, colostrum”. Mistral powder is used to dust on the piglets and dry them off (this is most important during winter farrowing not so much summer or fall), spray their cords with iodine, give them a couple pumps of Nutridrench in the mouth, and make sure they get that oh so important colostrum. The mistral powder is used for drying versus rags or towels, but I do keep some puppy pads in my kit to wipe my hands off as well as to help stimulate and revive piglets that are born close to death.
Chlorhexidene solution is always good to have on hand in any kit in the event of a cut or abrasion. I did have a piglet born with Epitheliogenesis Imperfecta. While it can be severe enough that the piglet should be euthanized, it wasn’t severe enough that didn’t clear up on its own with some antiseptic. It can come in handy.
For the Sow
- Thermometer
- Chlorhexilube
- Shoulder length disposable polypropylene gloves
- Slapshot with various size syringes/needles if you need to administer meds to an agitated or ill sow
- Oxytocin
- Nutridrench
- Molasses/Corn Syrup
The administration of Oxytocin is another protocol that some feel very strongly for or against. While I do agree that it is very much mis and overused, there are circumstances where I do believe the benefits outweigh the risks when properly administered. I try to use it as an absolute last resort measure if I suspect there may be a retained piglet or placenta. For me, if I’m faced with the risk of infection and sepsis in my sow or administering a dose of oxytocin, I’m going with the oxytocin.
If I think the farrowing is over but I have not seen the placenta pass after quite some time, I will first sleeve up and go in to see if I can feel any piglets blocking the birth canal and pull them. If the birth canal is clear, and after more time there is still no placenta, I administer a dose. For several minutes after administering a dose, the hormone strengthens smooth muscle contractions which can help pass a retained piglet/placenta.
Throughout the farrowing I will occasionally give the sow some Nutridrench to help keep her energy up, and give her bumps of selenium that helps release the placenta naturally. You can also use molasses/corn syrup as well, that can be poured into the mouth or rubbed on their gums. Fortunately we have always had relatively quick labors that only last for 2-3 hours. But, if things aren’t moving along so quickly it can last as long as 8. So, a boost of energy to keep things processing along can prevent stalling.
Generally speaking, when it comes to farrowing for the most part the sow will get the job done on her own. I however am always of the mentality “I’d rather have something and not need it, than need something and not have it”. Especially considering our vet is largely useless when it comes to farrowing, not to mention over an hour away. Even if they were helpful, the chances of them getting here in time to be of any use are slim. Even more especially since farrowing always seems to happen here during the wee hours of the morning, when no one is awake much less open!
The ideal scenario for farrowing let alone any birthing is that mom does it all on her own unassisted, and without issue. Obviously this is the gold standard everyone hopes for. Sometimes no matter how good of a mother you have on your hands, or how good things have gone in the past, stuff just happens. We all need help now and then, and these are living animals we are talking about! We breed pigs to provide a source of feeders for our own consumption, as well as to sell to fund projects on the homestead and offset feed costs. So, I want as many healthy and live piglets as possible, and if that means occasionally I need to lend a hand, I will do it. It is for this reason that I always have my farrowing kit stocked and ready on hand.
Happy Farrowing,
It is no secret that we utilize every single animal we have to clear our land, fertilize, and produce delicious food in the process. Each animal is at the very least dual purpose, some tri, some quad! In order to do this, proper fencing for the homestead is paramount.
Our Icelandic Sheep rotationally graze our pastures and fertilize while producing delicious grass fed lamb and fleece. The pastured meat chickens follow the sheep, and scratch and peck through the freshly mowed grass while dropping their nitrogen rich manure. Our dairy goats clear brushy and overgrown areas to convert into milk. Then, our wonderful pigs till and turn over the soil in our woods in preparation of converting it to pasture while packing on the pounds with all of the forage the land has to offer. Before fulfilling their higher purpose of feeding us, our animals heal and reclaim our land.
With all of these animals moving around in different frequencies and areas of our property, it can be a complicated choreographed dance. Through this, we have gotten quite skilled at fencing and have accumulated many different types as we have fine tuned our processes. I have touched several times on fencing for the homestead as it pertains to our different animals specifically. But, I figured I should break it down for each animal in one comprehensive and digestible post to refer back to.
General Set Up
Understanding what we use and how we use it will probably be easier if you understand our set up. My (crudely) drawn map below shows an aerial view of our property, with different colored lines each representing a different animal’s area. PS it is soooooo much more open now, I can’t wait for a google earth update!
- Aqua X: Location of our AC electric fencers. One in the goat barn, one in the garage. Each one feeds its side of the property with power via travel lines to allow us to easily hook up our netting to
- Red: this is our “new” sheep silvopasture that we have recently reclaimed from thick overgrown woods. The entire perimeter is fenced in with permanent perimeter fence and has an electric travel line that runs along the inside.
- Blue: Goat silvopasture off of the barn. Perimeter is fenced in with a combination of a couple different types of permanent perimeter fencing. This is the first area we established when we moved here.
- Yellow: Our pigs areas (both feeders and breeders) The area off the farrowing barn has permanent perimeter with a training line of electric on the inside. Everything else is 100% electric.
Sheep
The sheep without question are the most frequently rotated animal we have. Because we want grass fed lamb, we rotate our sheep everyday to fresh ground. This way they have as much as they can eat that particular day, but don’t stay in a place long enough to over graze and stunt our pasture growth. They move around our newly created pasture (red) that we break up into paddocks with our netting, as well as the front and side lawn, logging trail, and anywhere else we can stick them. If there is a travel line to hook up to nearby and there is grass, we will put them there. Each year we are creating more pasture, which gives us more opportunity to graze. The frequency of rotating the sheep would be impossible without the use of electric netting and the tools we use.
- Permanent perimeter fence: Red Brand Sheep & Goat Woven Wire 4×4 Square 48″ high with a galvanized travel line running along the inside via T-post insulators
- Premier One Electric Netting – my life will never be the same after discovering this. This netting is essential for us for easy rotation and security of our animals
- Premier One Power Links – allow you to quickly connect two strands of netting together, gate to the netting, or netting to travel line. We have about ten of these, we use them everywhere!
- Premier One Gate – easy electrified gate that comes in different widths for either walking through, or driving a side by side. Depending on set up this can be extremely handy.
Goats
The goats are rotated less frequently than the sheep. I try to keep them as close to the barn as possible due to milking, so they spend most of the time in their blue pasture. However, there are several times in the summer when we put them to work clearing a stone wall or some brushy areas. When we move them around, they are contained by the same Premier One netting as the sheep. Their blue pasture is surrounded a hodge-podge of permanent perimeter fence. Some we bought initially and have since replaced because it was the wrong kind, some we got for cheap, some we got for free. Below are the different types we have ripped from another blog post:
- Cattle Panels:
- Feedlot panels (6′ x 16′): These are by the far the most expensive panel I have ever seen or purchased, but in the small paddock directly off the back of the stalls of the barn this stuff is what encloses it. This panel is tall enough to deter anything from jumping over (whether that be out or in) and the squares are so small the entire way up that even the smallest Nigerian Dwarf baby goat can’t squeeze through. When the kids are very young they don’t get to go out into the big pasture quite yet, so they stay in the smaller paddock with mom. This allows them to be truly contained and safe.
- Feedlot hog panels (50″ x 16′): These are cheap at a local TSC in comparison to the aforementioned Fort Knox grade panels. These are used in approximately half of our big pasture and make setting up fencing really easy and are much more aesthetically pleasing than spooled fencing. They also have small enough squares on the bottom half of the panel to keep babies from slipping through.
- Woven wire: Used in approximately half of my large pasture for the goats. It can be a little bit of a pain to get set up because you have to do a lot of pulling and stapling to prevent a saggy fence, but it does hold up very well to rubbing and is cheaper than panels if you’re fencing a large area. My recommendation is to get the tallest one you can to deter jumping, and with the smallest squares. We use Red Brand 48″H 4″ x 4″ square. If you end up getting goats with horns, if they can stick their head through they will get stuck and can strangle themselves. Small squares keep this from happening and help prevent baby goats from being able to slip through.
Pigs
I talk a lot about using our pigs to clear our land and how big of a difference they have made in turning overgrown woods into pasture. This year we opened up a new wooded pasture for our breeding stock yellow pasture that’s on “top” of the map. This is a virgin area of woods that we fenced in with our three strand polywire set up. The girls have been digging, rooting, and turning over the soil for us and come fall after they’ve been moved back to the farrowing area, we will come in and drop trees, rake, and seed or bale graze this winter. The yellow pasture that’s on the “bottom” of the map is also fenced in with our three strand polywire set up. This is a heavily wooded area that we rotate our feeder pigs through. Just like with the goats, we use a combination of different types of fencing for the pigs depending on where they are physically, as well as their stage in life.
- Farrowing area: off the back of the farrowing house we utilize 34″ x 16′ long hog panels to fence in their farrowing pasture. We have a single line of polywire that runs along the inside for training purposes.
- Premier One Hog Netting– we utilize this netting for training piglets on electric fence
- Three strand polywire set up – once the pigs are sufficiently trained, they will be contained with this set up from thereon out.
Meat Chickens
The meat chickens are kind of the unsung heroes in terms of the power they posses to transform your land. After seeing with our own eyes the incredible difference their manure makes in pasture grass growth, we have become obsessed with utilizing them as much as possible. Thanks to our mobile chicken coop, we are able to easily move them wherever we feel the pasture needs a little something extra in terms of fertilizer. They scratch and peck around, nibble on greens, pack on the pounds, and drop their gold-like manure onto our soil. Like anything else it’s about finding a balance. The frequency with which we rotate varies greatly depending on their size, and the condition of the paddock they’re on. You want them to be on a particular piece of land long enough to make a positive impact but not a moment longer. They leave the land richer than they found it. Just like any other frequently rotated animal, we would be lost without the use of our electric netting:
- Premier One Electric Netting – keeps the birds in, the predators out, and makes moving a breeze
- Premier One Electric Gate – essential for easy entry and access, bringing in water, feed, etc. Ours is wide enough to drive our side by side through
- Premier One Power Links – like I said before, we use these constantly!
We have learned a lot over the past four years here and have fine tuned and improved our methods as we have become more established. I like to think of myself as a bit of a fencing connoisseur, and it is one of my favorite things to do. It didn’t always use to be so easy moving this many animals though! Through the use of quality fencing for the homestead, we have a good system in place and strong fencing to keep our animals contained and safe, while improving the quality of our land in the process.
Happy Fencing,
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Proud Premier 1 Partner
We have finally done it. After years of raising Ranger meat chickens we have FINALLY designed and built the ultimate mobile chicken coop to fit our needs. No more hoop houses or chicken wire lined wooden frames that need perfectly level ground and constant repair. No more brooder boxes and transitioning to a coop. And best of all, NO MORE TARPS! It has taken us several years and a lot of headaches and grief, but by Joe we have finally done it. Last year we started it, this year we finished it. Our mobile chicken coop dubbed “Big Daddy’s Meat Wagon 2.0” is officially completed with its first flock inhabiting it.
The ultimate goal for this chicken coop was very simple and basic: Something mobile that would allow us to easily rotate it around our rocky and sloped pasture. I never want to have to shovel chicken poop again, and it had to be set up for use from day old chick brooder until butchering day. It also had to be largely made of existing material we had lying around from other projects, but couldn’t be a hideous eyesore. Seems simple enough…
The Basic Design
Dimensions and Floor
The design is extremely basic as it’s built on the frame of a 6 foot trailer that we already had and rarely used. Nick welded a two foot extension, giving us 8 feet total of coop length. With its ~4 foot width, it gives us an area of 32 squarish feet total with two (easily) removable roosts running the length of the coop. We are at the point where we no longer need to raise a million chickens a year thanks to the abundance of pork and lamb we raise. So for our 30+ birds we are shooting to keep for butcher, this is a fine size considering that the coop is merely serving as a brooder and a place to roost at night. From sun up to sun down they will be outside foraging on our pasture.
We have an abundance of hardware cloth leftover from other projects, so the “floor” of the mobile chicken coop Is 1″ hardware cloth. Not only is it strong and able to withstand the weight of 30 full sized grown birds, but it is more adept to keep a predator out than something like chicken wire.
The first two weeks of life the chicks are small and there are concerns about them hurting a leg or foot walking on the wire floor. They could potentially drop a foot through and get stuck, break a leg, etc. But remember, one of my requirements was that this be all inclusive, so it has to easily be adapted to be used as a brooder. To protect the chick’s feet (as well as help retain heat) we popped out the roosts and lined half the coop floor with pieces of cardboard with a cardboard dividing “wall”. Shavings go on top, hang a heat lamp from the roof frame, and voila, we have a brooder! Once the chicks are feathered out and bigger around the 2 week mark, the roosts will be put back in, and the cardboard can be taken out and composted. This 1″ square floor will support their feet, but most importantly when they go to roost at night their manure will directly fall through and onto our pasture fertilizing it. Added bonus: no more shoveling chicken poop for me!
We keep the food and waterers in the coop for the next couple of weeks to help train the chicks to go back to roost at night. They learn this is where they sleep, eat, and drink. Once they’ve gotten bigger and need more space in the coop, we switch to our large waterers and feeder that will go outside. At this point the coop is strictly for sleeping.
The Roof
The roof is a simple A-frame style roof made from leftover galvanized metal roofing. But, we knew we would have to reach in to change water, feed, and adjust the heat lamps when the chicks were young. Then we’d have to reach in to grab full grown birds on butchering day. Knowing this, we made one panel of roofing on each end and the opposite side hinged to allow us easy access inside the coop. So, the front and back of the coop each have a hinged panel on opposite sides.
With this hatch set up, a standard metal roof cap wouldn’t work because it doesn’t allow any flexibility at the hinge. So, to overcome this we used some scraps of rubber roofing. It gives protection so the rain doesn’t come pouring through, but allows that much needed flexibility in the two hinge points in the roof. PS this was my idea. Nick wanted to cut some tarp and call it good, I said no tarps, this is the year we are tarp-less! And then I got some rubber roof scraps from my father in law. Problem solved 
The Ramp and Door
I wanted this coop to be as functional and as easy to move as possible. I didn’t want to have to carry a million things with each rotation, and I didn’t want a thousand different hooks, chains, etc hanging off it either. Simple was the goal and remember, a requirement was it needs to look good!
The door is a very standard hinged door. It flips up and is held open by a hook on the door, that loops through a chain that is secured above near the roof’s peak. It has a simple sliding bolt to lock the birds in at night as well.
The ramp is connected to the coop in a secure but easily removable way. Long bolts are screwed on both sides at the top of the ramp, and they each go through the opening in a short length of metal chain that’s fastened to the frame. It’s strong, will support the weight of the birds, and will not go anywhere. Last year when we would go to move the coop we had to remove the ramp and carry it. It easily pops out no problem, but it was just another thing to carry. So this year, I put an eye bolt at the bottom of the ramp. On the same chain that the door hooks onto to stay open, there is a carabiner clip that hooks to the eyebolt on the ramp. Holding the ramp up at an incline gets it off the ground for transport, while simultaneously putting tension on the hinge point to keep it in place.
Finishing Touches
What would a project be without the finishing touches? I think that for the first time ever we actually put the finishing touches on a project. Basically, everything else we have done we get it to 98% and then it comes down to the little details that really pull it all together aesthetically, and we’re like ehhhhh we will do it another time. Then we don’t.
Any opening was covered with hardware cloth or chicken wire for ventilation. While chicken wire isn’t “predator proof” like hardware cloth, nothing is guaranteed. If an animal is that determined, they will find a weak spot. Thankfully we aren’t really concerned with predators because we have three levels of protection: our LGD Annie that patrols the permanent fenced pasture at night, the electric netting that surrounds the coop, and then the coop itself that houses the birds. Despite this, we try to make it as impenetrable as possible.
For aesthetic purposes (remember, not being a hideous eyesore was a requirement!) we used rough cut wood to cover part of the roof’s peak so it wasn’t completely open. We wanted to allow enough open for ventilation, but not so wide open that it would allow rain in. Finally, the cherry on top was paint. Using leftover SW Rookwood Red from painting the house doors, I painted the body of the coop, and used Rustoleum white spray paint on the metal frame and edges that happens to look like trim. It looks like a little mini barn on wheels rolling around the pasture.
The only thing we didn’t get to that we plan to incorporate into the design next year is a watering system. For now, we use a couple of 7-gallon waterers from our local co op that sit out on the ground. Next year, we plan to weld a bracket to the neck extension of the coop to mount a water tank attached to some kind of watering system. We didn’t get to it this year, so we have a year to figure it out.
Moving Day
The meat chickens will follow our sheep being rotated around our pasture with Premier One Electric Netting. They will spread out the sheep and donkey manure, eat grubs, bugs, and grass, and fertilize our soil with their own nitrogen rich manure.
This mobile chicken coop has made our moving process incredibly easy, just like our mobile livestock shelters have for our other animals. In the morning while the birds are still locked in the coop from the night before, we take down the electric netting and toss it over the top of the coop. We back up the tractor to the hitch and hook it up. Waterers, feeders, and the wooden stand we use to prop the wagon up when it’s parked is thrown in the bucket of the tractor. Then, away she goes! Once it’s moved to the next location we unhook the wagon and prop it back up with the stand, put feeders and waterers in place, put the netting back up, chock the tire, and then open the door to let the birds out.
This is an incredibly simple process that start to finish takes less than a half hour. No chasing or herding birds, no repairing ripped tarp roofs. Just simple, easy, stress free rotational grazing which makes for happy birds and happy homesteaders.
Finishing this project has been a huge weight off of our shoulders. We have created for ourselves the tools that allow us to be more efficient, which in turn will allow our animals to be more productive. Not only in aerating and fertilizing our soils to improve our pasture, but by providing them a fresh natural diet that allows them to express their natural behaviors while creating the best nutrient dense chicken possible.
It may have taken us a while to get to this point, but without trying all of those other aforementioned housing options, we wouldn’t have been able to really hone in on what worked and what didn’t for us. Or, truly appreciate what we have now in this mobile chicken coop. So as it always seems to go, the headaches, late night repairs, and moments of regret were worth it.
Happy Building,
**Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. I only link to products I have used, abused, and believe in. While I do not make commissions on these, they do allow my partners to track business I have generated for them. I wholeheartedly appreciate you using my affiliate links for any of the products I recommend you may purchase! It keeps the educational and informative content coming.
Proud Premier 1 Partner
Well, the day finally came. Integration Day. Big Marie our resident sow is officially fully retiring (for reals this time) and it was time for her to join our gilts Red Jamie and her daughter Claire.
A quick trip down memory lane on Big Marie: When we got her over two years ago, she had up until that point been a solo pig. Aside from when she was rearing a litter of piglets, that was the case here as well. With the addition of new gilts we are retaining for breeding, and the feeder pigs we raise for meat, we weren’t going to keep Big Marie separate too. She needed to join the rest of our breeding stock if she was going to stick around.
Doing this isn’t as simple as just putting them all together and walking away. Well, it could be, but it could also take a very nasty turn very easily. Some pigs will brutally fight and if you’re lucky, they are only bloodied and beaten up a bit. I have heard first hand accounts of some pigs killing each other when integrating. If this was the case here, Nick and I both know that there is nothing we could do but watch if 1,500 pounds of pig are duking it out to the death. It’s a very scary thought.
Pigs (like most other animals) have a pecking order that they need to sort out. When you throw a new animal into the mix, it upsets the current order and things need to get re-established and settled amongst themselves. While there is nothing that we could have done to make 100% sure that without a doubt nothing really bad would happen, we took some precautionary steps to help ease everyone into the integration and minimize the chance of a really bad scenario as much as possible.
Look But Don't Touch
Like I said previously, aside from when she had a litter, Big Marie has always been a solo pig. So, I was worried about her not only because of her physical size advantage and ability to hurt Claire or Red Jamie, but I didn’t know what kind of social skills she possessed or lacked. She didn’t know what it was like to be a part of a passel. Would she just instinctually know how to act? Would her otherwise very mellow and laid back personality suddenly shift towards the aggressive? Or, would she just not care and be indifferent?
After weaning her last litter, we moved Big Marie back to the woods into a paddock adjacent to Claire and Red Jamie. The only thing dividing them was a three strand electric fence set up. They could see each other, smell each other, and to an extent, interact with each other. This is the closest contact Big Marie has had with other pigs, and we wanted them all to get used to each other. Being able to see and interact with each other all day every day allowed them to get familiar with and used to each others presence.
We kept them separate like this for two full weeks, and by the end of that time they were completely indifferent to each other and it was old hat.
Keep the Hormones Out of It
At this point Claire and Red Jamie are both well over a month post breeding and pregnant (yay!). Big Marie on the other hand, is fresh off of weaning her last litter of piglets. So, during that two week transition period where she has been adjacent to them, her hormones have been all over the place. Not only has she been extremely hangry from having her food cut back from a lactation to a maintenance ration, but she also went into heat shortly after moving into her new paddock. In my experience, this first heat cycle post weaning is always a bit on the extra crazy side. It always seems to me like the proestrus phase is way longer, and more exacerbated and volatile than normal. Simply put, she is out of her mind with hormones and I don’t even want to be in there with her. This again is being compounded by how incredibly hangry she is, I’m sure.
Nothing is ever easy to do with pigs when they are in heat, so I wanted to make sure that this was not a factor whatsoever when integrating. I wanted that first cycle to be over and long passed, so that we weren’t dealing with any extra crankiness thrown into the mix adding more stress to the situation.
Other Key Factors
In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are some other key things I took into consideration that I feel are just as important:
- Keep the food out of it as much as possible and always do the full integration when everyone has had a nice big breakfast. Food will only be another thing to fight over, and it’s a good reason to fight too.
- Give them as much space as possible. When integrated, the area that Claire and Red Jamie are in combined with Big Maries paddock is about 1.5 acres. Even if it’s not sunshine and rainbows at first, all of this space makes it so they can get away from each other if they want and they aren’t forced to be together. Keeping them tightly restricted will only cause more fighting and issues. We also have two shelters, (one in each other their former “separate” areas) so that again, they each have their own space to go to and don’t have to fight over one.
- Personality and the animal’s breed also plays a pretty big role in how rough or smooth your integration will go. Some breeds (and individuals) are naturally more aggressive than others, while others are more docile. Personality is always something I harp on with any of our animals, and is another reason why we stick with the heritage crosses with pigs. We like our laid back ladies.
The Big Day
So, after two weeks of being near each other and used to each others presence the big day arrived. Big Marie’s heat cycle was long over, and her hangriness was starting to subside. It was time to officially integrate. So, we fed the ladies a nice hefty breakfast to make sure that they were extra satisfied with full bellies. Once everyone finished their prospective dishes, we removed the three lines of fence that divided their paddocks and hoped for the best.
Like I said before, there really is nothing that can be done by humans once you’ve reached this point. You just have to let them sort things out for themselves, and hope they are able to get it all out of their system with as little physical harm as possible. Blood can and usually will be drawn. They’ll bite, chase, and knock each other around. This is all normal. There is no way to sugar coat it, it sucks to watch your animals beat up on each other. But again, it’s just the way it is and you just have to hope for the best.
There were some initial squabbles that were to be expected. But for the most part, Big Marie didn’t want to be bothered by Claire and Red Jamie. True to form, she was just doing her thing and taking in the new space. Claire and Jamie were way more interested in her than she was in them. There was some pushing, chasing, some biting (as seen below), and only a little bit of blood. The interest in each other only lasted for about an hour, and then everyone basically went back to their regularly scheduled day of wallowing and napping.
By dinnertime less than twelve hours later, they were eating within eyeshot of each other followed by a post dinner wallow session. It was like they had been living together all of their lives. I am extremely happy with how well the integration went, and I don’t think there is one thing I could have done differently to make it go smoother than it already did. Considering the fact that I had two pregnant gilts that are under 400 pounds integrating with a 900 pound sow, I’d say it went swimmingly.
Now all three ladies will spend the remainder of the summer back in the woods together. Come late summer, we will have to move them back to the farrowing house in preparation for Red Jamie and Claire’s farrowing. Jenny, the gilt that I retained from Big Marie’s last litter is growing out with her brother and sister that we are raising to harvest this fall. Once she has grown and is big enough to handle herself, we again will have to go through this again when we integrate her in with Red Jamie, Claire, and Big Marie to make one big happy family.
Happy Integrating,
It’s no secret that we put all of our animals to work clearing our land. The pigs turn over the soil in the woods as we clear trees to create pasture, the goats clear brush and maintain our stone walls, the sheep graze our pasture and the meat chickens follow them fertilizing and aerating the soil. Between the animals themselves, the electric netting, and the mobile livestock shelters, there are a lot of moving pieces…literally.
In the summer we are moving animals daily. Depending on where they are and what we are trying to accomplish we could be only moving the sheep, or maybe the sheep, goats, and chickens. Just like with anything else we do here, we have evolved our methods based on experience. All of our mobile livestock shelters used to be hoop houses made out of cattle panels and tarps. Not only were these eyesores, but they were hard to move and didn’t hold up well to the animals. We were repairing them a couple of times a season. When you’re doing something daily, you want it to be as efficient of a process as possible.
We have since evolved to making all of our mobile livestock shelters for pigs, sheep, and goats with metal roofing on a simple wooden frame. Because these are for warm weather use, they merely need to provide shade and protection from the rain. They do not need to be enclosed, or even three sided which allows them to be lighter and easier to move. We make the frame out of whatever scrap lumber we happen to have (ideally pressure treated for the boards that make contact with the ground) and size it according to the animal it’s intended for. Some are larger to accommodate more or bigger animals, while some also have a steeper or shallower pitched roof for more space. It all depends on the animal that it’s intended for. Metal galvanized roofing is secured down onto stringers and voila, we have a shelter.
Our land is rocky, sloped, and a bit “cut up” in terms of where we graze/rotate our animals. The sheep will be rotated through our pasture where it’s simple enough to drag the shelter over when the fence is moved. Because it’s so light, we have never felt the need for tires. But, we will also move the sheep to say, the front yard, or up behind the house on the logging trail. This is a far distance to carry it, and the boulder blockades would make it impossible to drag even with tires.
This is where the tractor comes in handy and makes short work of it. We used to lift the shelters with the forks of the tractor and move them. This “worked” but required someone to be on the ground to help man handle and balance the shelter. It also inadvertently led to some accidents with the forks colliding with something it shouldn’t, resulting in some repairs. This year we decided there was a better way, so dusted off our geometry skills. With a little math, a rope, and some U bolts, the shelter (no matter how big or small) can be easily lifted and perfectly balance en route by only one person.
To find the “sweet spot” aka the spot to mount the u bolts where the angled shelter will self balance is simple. Looking at the shelter from the side, you go from the bottom front corner (bottom front left in photo below) and go up at a 45° angle to where it bisects the rafter. Where the angle meets the rafter is where you place your U-bolt, and repeat on the other side. We have used this same math for the smaller sheep shelter seen below, as well as the very large Big Marie sized shelter and it was spot on both times.
We have a strong length of nylon rope that already has a loop in one end. The free end of the rope goes through the loop and the u-bolt. It then goes up and over the roof, looping around both forks in opposite directions to prevent sliding, and then secured to the other U-bolt with a knot. Lift, and up and away she goes.
Super simple.
This mobile livestock shelter design have served us well for going on two years now. We love the style and simple design so much, that we have made two additional ones this year for our pigs. They serve their purpose: provide shade and protection from the elements. They’re light enough to drag from one rotation to the next, but strong enough to withstand the constant rubbing of the animals. When we do need to move them over long distances, some simple mathematics allows the shelter to be moved easily while maintaining perfect balance by one person.
If we wanted to adapt these for winter use, we could easily enclose the two sides or even half of the front. But, because we use more permanent infrastructure in the wintertime, at the end of the season we set these up on cinder blocks to get them off the ground until the next year. The beauty of these, is not only are they not eyesores sitting in the pasture, but they are quite inexpensive when you factor in the longevity you get out of them. Even better, they’re highly customizable and flexible depending on the animals you’re sheltering and your terrain.
Happy Building,