Days 48 and 49: Shots, bites, and fencing

Weather: quite warm, sunny, around 83F.

Yesterday was fun. A friend and I set up fencing for the sows in the pasture behind the upper barn. They should be happy there.

Today was interesting. We wanted to inject the pigs with Dectomax, so first we practiced with a lemon (to simulate a sub-cutaneous shot), and then did the real deal on 2 pigs that are currently in confinement for 2 other students' projects. They are very used to being handled, and things went smoothly.

Then we trekked up to Virginia Russell Pasture, and one person would deliver a shot while another would mark the piglet with chalk, and a third person would hold the dewormer. By the third pig, when the piglet let out a squeal of pain, Ice Cream, our most protective sow, got mad. She charged at a student who was helping us and snapped at her, grazing her calf. When she bravely went back in to finish the shot, Ice Cream again went at her, this time leaving a bruise and scrape marks from her front teeth on her thigh. The student and I went to the other side of the fence for safety while Stuart motioned to the sow that he was taller than her and not to mess with us anymore. With that we recorded which piglets we had injected (the spotted one, the black and white one, and the big striped one) and got out of there.

This afternoon we'll be moving the sows to new pasture in a trailer, effectively separating them from their beloved piglets. Wish us luck!