Tuesday 17th January 2012
A clear night at this time of year means a frosty morning and a stunning sunrise. This morning's was a privilege to behold. The eastern sky was truly ablaze. Such wonders can sometimes make you feel very small in the scheme of things.
The animals' water was completely frozen today, so buckets of warm water had to be carted from the kitchen. And all this before work. The wild birds always appreciate a tray of warm water too. Of course, I am keeping them well fed at this time of year and there are constant comings and goings at the feeders. It is important to remember to carry on feeding them as they will come to rely on this food source as the winter progresses, even if the days warm up.
The point of yesterday's musings over mangel wurzels was that the pigs have gone onto a luxury diet to supplement their pig nuts. I have saved a binful of apples for them from the autumn windfalls (our orchard is too young to be producing, but it's surprising how many people have apple trees and a surplus of apples if you ask around a bit) and they have been munching their way through 2 tons of pig potatoes over the last couple of months. Now they are enjoying a mangel wurzel or two ... or three or four... every day and whatever fruit scraps we can cobble together for them.
The smallholders who provide me with my horse manure also own a small livestock trailer, which they have very kindly agreed to me using when I need to transport the pigs. This is one worry off my mind.
I have also ordered the metal tags which have to go into the pigs' ears before they go to slaughter. Putting them in will be more stressful for me than for them I'm sure. As we originally had 10 piglets, it follows that the two left after we had sold the other eight are the two most adept at avoiding capture!! This could make the whole process of ear-tagging and moving down the land into a trailer a very interesting experience. I have found that patience and calm are the key to operations such as this. Try to hurry things and the pigs very quickly realise what is going on.
Coincidentally, I have also enrolled myself on a pig butchery course later on this spring. It was organised by Theresa at the Fenland Goatkeepers and Smallholders Club and should be very educational. Please take a look at the club's website. They have been a godsend for us as newby smallholders moving to a new area. A real wealth of experience to call upon.
http://fgsc.org.uk/
So far I am very happy that in our first year we have not just kept the pigs alive, but also managed to breed some piglets and raise them to this stage. However, this course and the feedback I receive back from the butcher who turns Squiggle and Curl into tasty produce will all add to my knowledge and experience in the future.
