Killed the first hog today. I wish I had more time to let it hang but I will have to take it down tomorrow. I will probably quarter it up and put it on ice for the next few days. I can cut it up and get it in the freezer it a little each night afer work.
The hog looks smaller than it really is. Using a string to calculate the weight I came up with about 190 lbs. The formula is GxGxL/400 where G is girth and L is length.
We registered our first litter and sold our first registered AGH piglet Thursday night. Until now all the pigs sold were either pets or pork. Mostly pork around the holidays. Tammy, I hope the little guy grows up and produces many great little pigs for you. We love the name “Frank Swinatra” too.
We had been using him to keep a little guilt company that we are doctoring after a dog attack. This little guy was pretty well spoiled already. He was destined to be a breeder or some ones pet.
Well, tonight is going to be the coldest night of the year. 14 degrees and feels like -6 with humidity and wind chill. Of course tonight is when the last sow decided to have her piglets. I only saw 2 so far but I don’t think she is done. I don’t think she could be because she was big as a barn.
I thought she might be ready because as I was leaving for work i saw her rooting and digging in the pig house. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay and seperate her. Ijust hope that she didn’t have more and something happened to them before I got home. She is locked up now and I’ll know more in the morning.
UPDATE
Well the sow only had 2 piglets and lost one the second night. The other little guilt appeared to be doing well. She was small and always seemed to be cold but healthy otherwise. That is until Friday morning. I found her dead in the pig house. No marks, or sign that she had been rolled on. It’s odd that she lasted 17 days. If something were wrong with her from birth but that is what I’m thinking. I’m not sure this sow is going to be around much longer. The last time she only had 5 piglets and this time 2. She is a little heavy so I am planning to try and get some weight off her and breed her again to see if she does better.
Not too long ago our two boars Hank (KuneKune) and Willie (AGH) got into a fight. Not the first time but they now have tusks that can cause serious damage. We will be fixing that problem in the near future. Anyway they were not supposed to be in the same area in the first place but the gate didn’t get chained right. Fortunately Lisa and I were close and were able to separate them quickly.
There was a gate that had not been installed yet leaning against a tree so we each grabbed an end and dropped it down between the boars. This prevented them from getting at each other but we still had two agitated boar hogs to deal with. One decided to walk away but the other still wanted to fight and kept trying to go around us. Finally I was able to grab him by the hind legs and “wheelbarrow him back to where he belonged. Not once did he show any aggression towards me or my wife. Try this with one of those commercial hogs and see who wins.
These guys are very docile the vast majority of the time. The only time they ever act up is when they have been separated and then brought back together. I guess they just have to reestablish the pecking order.
Being able to manhandle them if needed is one of the many reasons we raise AGH’s and KuneKune crosses. It’s kind of nice to watch a boar sit for a treat without fear of losing a finger too.
