Hello!
Weather today is fairly warm, but with a crisp fall feel in the wind.
Truth be told, I'm frustrated. The piglets won't stay in their fencing, no matter how hot it is or how tight the strands are to each other, delivering a strong shock.
I'm going to put up a 3rd line this evening in an attempt to keep them in, but my hopes aren't high.
The good news is that they haven't figured out how to go gallivanting about the farm yet. So far, they're confined to the area of permanent fencing.
Annnnd...the official weigh in of the biggest male pig: 92.48lbs. I was way off in my previous estimate. So they're growing! And that means their feed should be upped even more! Maybe soon they'll stop escaping.
Finally, I leave tomorrow for the NOFA conference in Amherst, MA and then I'm off to Iowa to visit friends for a few days. So, no updates probably until the 30th! The pigs will be in good hands though. I'll be leaving tips for the people staying over break to tend the animals.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Day 72: Rain
And it rained...hard.
Annnnnd, I went on an all day field trip, then out to dinner to debrief the year with the Residence Life Team.
So, I didn't even see the piggies today!
But, tomorrow, for sure! I'll have bakery goods and kitchen scraps for them as supplemental feed.
Annnnnd, I went on an all day field trip, then out to dinner to debrief the year with the Residence Life Team.
So, I didn't even see the piggies today!
But, tomorrow, for sure! I'll have bakery goods and kitchen scraps for them as supplemental feed.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Days 72 & 73: Rambuctious Piggies
Weather: nice! warm with a breeze, and lots o' sun.
So here's the low-down:
My pigs aren't getting fed enough to keep them from being overly excited (to the point of repeatedly bursting through a 4.5v strong double strand electric fence).
Solutions to keeping them a) contained and b) growing:
1) replace the thin polywire with either polyrope or polytape
2) start bringing the pigs scraps (coordinate with the other people raising pigs on campus this summer to ensure my pigs get priority, seeing as they're the only ones that belong to the school)
3) increase their feed prematurely to 16lbs/feeding.
4) wish for the best.
So here's the low-down:
My pigs aren't getting fed enough to keep them from being overly excited (to the point of repeatedly bursting through a 4.5v strong double strand electric fence).
Solutions to keeping them a) contained and b) growing:
1) replace the thin polywire with either polyrope or polytape
2) start bringing the pigs scraps (coordinate with the other people raising pigs on campus this summer to ensure my pigs get priority, seeing as they're the only ones that belong to the school)
3) increase their feed prematurely to 16lbs/feeding.
4) wish for the best.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Days 69-71: Design Challenges and Wasted Cheese
Weather: huuuuumid! sticky! oh my!
Design challenges: the page wire is actually hog wire in places, so the pigs can get through to the sows. this is because their shimmying under the polywire. time to lower it temporarily and add and additional strand, plus put it on a solar charger so that when the main system gets turned off, I don't have to worry about the rambunctious little ones escaping. plus, i learned today that weeds not just somewhat, but severely, lower the charge a wire can carry. looks like i'll be out trimming more frequently than expected.
also! next semester I'm going to try alternating feeding chores with the chores people each day, so that I feed the pigs 3-4 days/week so that I can monitor them better and come up with changes before problems get out of hand.
Wasted Cheese: I attended the American Cheese Society conference in Montreal. They had to throw away TENS OF THOUSANDS of pounds of already cut cheeses. Next year, if I'm not already super busy, I want to be appointed "Cheese to Pig Coordinator" and coordinate with local farmers (especially since the next conference will be in North Carolina) to pick up the "waste" cheese.
weights and pictures soon, i hope! p.s. my official weight guess is a mean of 64lbs. we'll see!
Design challenges: the page wire is actually hog wire in places, so the pigs can get through to the sows. this is because their shimmying under the polywire. time to lower it temporarily and add and additional strand, plus put it on a solar charger so that when the main system gets turned off, I don't have to worry about the rambunctious little ones escaping. plus, i learned today that weeds not just somewhat, but severely, lower the charge a wire can carry. looks like i'll be out trimming more frequently than expected.
also! next semester I'm going to try alternating feeding chores with the chores people each day, so that I feed the pigs 3-4 days/week so that I can monitor them better and come up with changes before problems get out of hand.
Wasted Cheese: I attended the American Cheese Society conference in Montreal. They had to throw away TENS OF THOUSANDS of pounds of already cut cheeses. Next year, if I'm not already super busy, I want to be appointed "Cheese to Pig Coordinator" and coordinate with local farmers (especially since the next conference will be in North Carolina) to pick up the "waste" cheese.
weights and pictures soon, i hope! p.s. my official weight guess is a mean of 64lbs. we'll see!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Day 68: Full pigs=tired pigs :)
Weather: brilliant blue skies offset by puffy white clouds, high around 80 F.
The pigs got a full 12 lbs. of feed this evening + a little extra I threw them + a bucket full of calorie-laden bakery seconds. They waddled away content to nap in the shade of their A-frame, all getting their full. The little guys are finally fattening up. Looks like the de-wormer did its job.
Measurements of weight (and hopefully pictures!) to come soon!
Cheers,
Eliza
The pigs got a full 12 lbs. of feed this evening + a little extra I threw them + a bucket full of calorie-laden bakery seconds. They waddled away content to nap in the shade of their A-frame, all getting their full. The little guys are finally fattening up. Looks like the de-wormer did its job.
Measurements of weight (and hopefully pictures!) to come soon!
Cheers,
Eliza
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Days 66 & 67: ESCAPE!
Weather: beautiful and warm (but not too warm)
Tuesday was a pretty busy day but I managed to turn the 250 gal. water tank with some girl-power from friends so that it now faces off the edge of the haywagon. This eliminates the need for a hose, and makes filling buckets much faster.
Today I meant to go out to move fencing for the piglets, but didn't get around to it. On my way back from Ultimate Frisbee playing, as I was approaching the dining hall, I got word that the piglets were escaped, and last spotted on the ROAD. Trouble.
Hannah and I managed to lure them back to the pasture where they escaped from their uncharged fencing (the source of the problem) several more times until we ensured their bellies were full of feed and we connected a solar charger to the fence to enable a strong charge.
We'll see what adventures tomorrow brings and whether they (fingers crossed) stay in!
Tuesday was a pretty busy day but I managed to turn the 250 gal. water tank with some girl-power from friends so that it now faces off the edge of the haywagon. This eliminates the need for a hose, and makes filling buckets much faster.
Today I meant to go out to move fencing for the piglets, but didn't get around to it. On my way back from Ultimate Frisbee playing, as I was approaching the dining hall, I got word that the piglets were escaped, and last spotted on the ROAD. Trouble.
Hannah and I managed to lure them back to the pasture where they escaped from their uncharged fencing (the source of the problem) several more times until we ensured their bellies were full of feed and we connected a solar charger to the fence to enable a strong charge.
We'll see what adventures tomorrow brings and whether they (fingers crossed) stay in!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Days 64 & 65: Warm weather brings zucchini!
Hello again!
Yesterday (Sunday) I fed the piglets 7 enormous zucchini. They were shy at first about eating their vegetables, but eventually warmed up to them.
I also did some routine "maintenance" on the flexinet fencing by moving dirt clods away from the bottom.
Today is another 9 hrs of class day. I was going to spend some of my class time in Farm Workshop learning to use a tractor and harrowing the plots where the pigs have been and reseeding with annual ryegrass, but the tractor blew a fuse this morning, so I'll just have to be patient until it gets fixed.
Cheers!
Eliza
Yesterday (Sunday) I fed the piglets 7 enormous zucchini. They were shy at first about eating their vegetables, but eventually warmed up to them.
I also did some routine "maintenance" on the flexinet fencing by moving dirt clods away from the bottom.
Today is another 9 hrs of class day. I was going to spend some of my class time in Farm Workshop learning to use a tractor and harrowing the plots where the pigs have been and reseeding with annual ryegrass, but the tractor blew a fuse this morning, so I'll just have to be patient until it gets fixed.
Cheers!
Eliza
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