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Our 3rd weekend was very busy and we actually got things done which was great! Eddie got the digger fixed and we were able to dig the holes for the fence post put them in place, hang the panels and use the huge shovel to transport loads of heavy rocks which are to be used in the garden that's going on the side of the cabin.
Dominik and Kyra had started building a wall on the side of the house which is eventually to be Abbie's sewing room, so Steve and I decided to carry on with what they started and explicitly told Abbie that we had no experience at all in making walls and that she should know that it will probably fall down, we were told to use gravel from the creek instead of sand and also weren't sure of the quantities needed. She didn't mind at all and said the purpose of us doing a helpexchange was to do something that we hadn't done before and stop being so worried, I just hope it doesn't all caves in around her!!
During this week we also had to move the other expecting pig to be with the other new mum, this did seem like a good idea until the other 6 piglets were born, so then there were 12 piglets all aged within a week of each other and 2 rather grumpy mums. The older babies were loving the fact that they had 2 lots of feeding machines and kept pushing the new babies out of the way and fighting for their place in the hierarchy.
The new litter are so cute (I think Steve and I are turning into pig lovers) there's one ginger saddleback, one golden blonde colour, one white with black spots, two black ones and another black and white saddleback with what looks like drawn curtains on the side, a very varied bunch this time. They all seemed happy enough bundled up together with snouts and bums piled up in the air.
The next morning we got up and went to see the babies straight away before breakfast and it seemed that in the night one of the mums had sat on one of the older piglets and it no longer had use of its back legs, it was running around ok but dragged its backend everywhere. It seemed fine and wasn't fazed that it was half a pig - it did look odd, but funny. Abbie had decided she wanted to keep the ginger and white saddleback to have as the farms mascot so needed to start hand raising her to become used to human contact, so at the same time we decided to take our little broken pig and keep him away from the others for a while just to see how bad his back was.
He squealed like nothing I've heard before, not surprised really but we had its best interest at heart, that whole day was then spent looking after the piglets. Steve named our little invalid "Brokeback" quite cruel but it still makes me giggle. Steve and I kept him warm in a blanket and fed him from a syringe, which was a bit of a fight Brokeback didn't like that much. He still had feeling in his feet, so not actually quite broke back and could manage to stand if we helped him but quickly fell over. It was quite touch and go because he wouldn't survive with the litter if he couldn't get around and out of the way quick enough, which seemed to be his problem in the first place!
As I said, we spent the whole day taking care of him and letting him rest up hoping it was just really bruised, he still wasn't making progress enough to go back with the others so we took him to bed with us for the night. He had a little cat cage next to my side of the bed and a blanket, we also took the powdered milk with us because we were warned that it would be like having a baby he would wake up, cry, need feeding, poop then go back to sleep.
So down in the cabin we tucked him in started watching a film which Brokeback slept through but once the light turned off the oinks started and got a bit louder and then somehow he was almost out of the cat cage, hhhmmm is someone's legs getting better???? Steve made the milk up and took hold of him as I tried to get the syringe into Brokeback's mouth. This really isn't easy, piglets squirm about something chronic and don't like to be restricted then squeal at the top of their lungs, he was hungry just hated being held for it.
It also turned out that he wasn't very keen on the cage, after the feed he went to sleep with little grunts of contentment but less than 45 mins after he was awake getting agitated and trying to escape again. Now, much to Steve's disapproval I brought Brokeback onto my side of the bed to calm him down which ended up with him nuzzling into my shoulder and falling asleep on my pillow, by the way the kittens had also done this for a few nights too until Steve evicted them from our room. I must admit that our little invalid did sleep for longer intervals but we were woken up frequently although Steve still managed to get a bit more sleep than me, I know this by the snoring. A piglet grunting in my ear and Steve snoring is not the making of a peaceful night sleep.
7am came and Brokeback's body clock must have been awoken by the roosters, who by the way crow at all hours of the day and night, he seemed much better and to be putting more weight on his hind legs now so we decided to try and put him back with his mum and siblings. He now pulled himself along on his front legs and then somehow got his hind legs underneath to make a few normal piggy steps, only time will tell if he makes it or not. Unfortunately one of the new ones didn't, and by the looks of it was definitely squashed in the night, so we put one injured (but on the mend) baby back and took the body of the other, almost being attacked by the mum in the process.
The other baby was doing well; she too had kept Abbie up most of the night and was back in the pen for a few hours to get the good bacteria needed from the mother's milk. We had a chat and decided to separate the mums as it was obvious that they needed more space so a new pen was made up and a strangely easy removal of one mum and piglets followed, all you need is food does wonders everytime!
The day after and Brokeback is looking so much better, he really is some pig!!! His back / hind legs must have been badly bruised and us taking him away to rest obviously done the trick, we feel so proud!! There is something wrong with the new litter though, they are all very lethargic and don't seem to move a lot, this could be down to the fact they couldn't get any milk as the others were pushing them out of the way. So we brought the little spotty upstairs to feed but it didn't make it, then little curtains was having trouble walking as its joints were swollen so we took him in to feed and rest we thought that he was getting better as he really perked up and got out of the piglet box that was made, but he passed on to piggy heaven too the same as the other black one.
So now there are only two left from that litter the golden one is doing great and is in with Brokeback who is thriving and looking so good now, a right little porker!!! And then there is missy Marmalade who isn't doing so well, we think that the litter had a virus that causes problems with their joints and is caused by bacteria that can be contracted through cuts or their umbilical cords. All the little ones fell ill really quickly but it was only that litter, very sad but they have been buried in the garden that is to be by the side of the cabin each with their own tree.
We have seen quite a bit of death here 4 piglets, 3 chickens, one chick and just yesterday a calf. But when you're on a farm where there are so many animals I think you can expect to see a lot of them pop their clogs.
More animal related news… In this area there are known to be brown snakes which are of the deadly variety and if no anti-venom is administered within 30 mins you're dead, great thought! A 6m brown snake came through the farm about 3 months ago and the only thing to do is kill it, Abbie and Eddie can't risk the potential loss of stock, there are enough problems with the massive eagles in the area picking the chooks and geese off.
So when this last visitor came along it was a case of get a shovel and take its head off without getting bitten, luckily the last one was disposed of accordingly and no one was hurt. The other day Eddie was walking past our cabin and saw a baby meter and half brown snake dash into some long grass, so the hunt was on to get this thing away from where we sleep and out of the animals area too. We had to set fire to the grass to scare it out and get ready with the shovels. Steve, Eddie and Tom were standing in a circle waiting for it to make a break, which did take longer than I had expected, but when it did move it went like lightening and straight in Steve's direction!!!! Thankfully it wasn't interested in biting him just getting the hell out of there, which not so thankfully was right towards our cabin. All the guys ran after it but it moved so fast, blink and you've missed it. Eddie had a good few jabs at where we saw it go last but the little snake of death has lived to see another day, and consequently grow up to come back and kill a whole farm!
We leave for Brisbane tomorrow and have had a lovely Easter weekend, we spent a few hours in the spa on Friday, went to a poultry auction on Saturday and had a great roast dinner yesterday followed by chocolate mud cake, trifle, rocky road and our failed attempt at a cheesecake it only failed because we used the lemons that are growing from the tree out the front and if you get the tiniest amount of pith in the mixture the after taste it leaves is so bitter that it ruins the lot, which is what happened to us, but never to be deterred we plan on making another again soon!!
We are really pleased we stayed here, we get on well with the family and it has been a totally different and new situation we found ourselves in. They made us feel welcome and it's turned out to be a really good experience for us and certainly shown us how adaptable we are and that we really can do anything if we put the effort into it. Steve and I both thoroughly appreciate what we have learnt and experienced here, which I guess is what Help Exchange is all about!
Please keep your fingers crossed for Wednesday as that could well be our next big adventure!!!
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Lorna Read Your blog entries make compulsive reading. Poor little piggies! Good luck for your next big adventure xx