More meat for the grinder

Today was supposed to be the day that Nessa and Stacey our large Oxford and Sandy Black sows came to Rock HQ where they would be waited on hand and foot until they dropped their litter of expected piglets and so contribute to the successful running of the smallholding. Having gorged themselves on Stable Sprites bed and breakfast facilities they were on the point of outstaying their welcome and Chloe his nice old Berkshire sow would be very happy to see the back of them.

Coaxing two obstinate sows the size of rhinos into a small trailer is an art in itself. Patience is called for, and it helps if the pig is very hungry so greed overcomes fear of closed spaces with wheels and all goes smoothly with piggy following bucket into trailer and door slams shut, opening again to a new sty if they are lucky or piggy heaven if they are one of the chosen few.

Just as we were preparing to hitch Trixie to Rene to do the deed Stable Sprite phoned to say we might as well not bother. As he separated Nessa and Stacey from Berky the big boar and Chloe, Berky spotted the gate was about to close on the new loves of his life and he charged the gate knocking it, and Stable Sprite, over, galloped into the pig ark and in the words of a vexed and muddy Sprite gave her a good seeing to.

This can only mean one thing.

As pigs do not get down and dirty with each other for fun, it means that the lady pig at the bottom of this mornings unexpected event is not pregnant. She has done whats known as a Misty (see previous entries for tales of ponies masquerading as pregnant ponies) and nothing piglet like will be appearing from her vast behind in the near future. There was always a question mark over these two ever since we swapped the goats for the pork, er, bacon, Sausage! I mean pigs, they had lived with a boar for two years before we took charge of them and they had never had litters. Now there may have been a problem with the other boar, but Berky is a marksman, always on target and has a string of litters to his name.

But not with these.

So, now we are left with a problem, well two actually.

Not sure what to do with them but I am sure if I think about it something will come to mind. There must be some use for a 135kg pig.