A few months ago it became clear that for a few good reasons we needed to purchase a sow for our meat program to continue to grow. So the learning curve has been steep but exciting and enjoyable.
Matilda came to our farm without a due date but with visual evidence of being pregnant. So we have been busy customizing her maternaty ward for baby piglets to come! Thanks to great resources of pig husbandry information on the web we have put bumpers on the wall and built a piglet nursery for the babies. When I say we I mean Gene has built this stuff!! It’s a team effort in that I gather the information and he executes it! We are a great farming team, I think!
So, Matilda has settled in nicely to the rhythm of Blooming Joy Farm, wandering the pasture during the day and eagerly awaiting her bucket of milk and kithen scraps in the evening. She is a very docile girl, appreciating a rub on the head and a word of affrimation “your a good girl, Matilda” answering with a deep throated oink!
Our farmer Z’s have enjoyed getting to know Matilda as well. They like to talk about when Matilda will have her babies and why does she love mud so much?! She is a big girl so no unsupervised visits but sitting on the fence watching her munch grass works just fine!
I am sure we have lots more to learn about taking excellent care of a sow. Matilda so far has been a great addition to the farm. We are anticipating the day the piglets arrive! Stay tuned in as we continue to learn and grow our farm!
