Yesterday, was a very good day here at the farm. Yesterday was proof that miracles do happen in the strangest places. I am not one to believe in coincidence, I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, the reason is unclear but if one sits down and really examines, one can begin to connect the dots and see how interconnected everything and everyone truly is. We lost one of our beloved farm families two weeks ago. Yesterday, we had the surprise addition of four new members to our little farm.
Sugar, our mystery pig, our enigma gave birth to four healthy little piglets yesterday. If you have read previous posts, you know that Sugar’s future was balancing on a very precarious precipice. She has only ever gotten pregnant one other time, the babies did not live past a week, and she never got pregnant again. Eric had been struggling with culling her and has done a lot of talking but did not take action. Thank goodness, he didn’t take action.
When my bibbed wearing buddy went to feed his little orphaned piglets yesterday morning, he saw a small black piglet running about in the common area of the barn. His first thought was that the runt of Eddie’s litter had somehow gotten out of the stall and away from Eddie. No one else was in the barn, other than Sugar. He picked up the little explorer, went to put her in with her mama, and realized all Eddie’s babies were accounted for. He turned, and there was another tiny little black piglet running about and this one still had a bit of her embryonic sack around her.
He looked in disbelief, and there lay Sugar, quietly delivering another little baby. The Bibbed Wonder got a nursery stall ready and gently guided Sugar and her little ones into a clean, dry, safe stall. She delivered one more piglet and settled into being a good mom. We were just as shocked over Sugar having babies as we were over Scarlet passing away. Sugar never shows signs of cycling, she never looks pregnant, and the only way Eric knows she is pregnant is that her checks her milk. He hasn’t been checking her milk because she is mostly just a large black lump that hangs out in the barn.
To be honest, it is probably best that she was alone, where she wanted to be to deliver. She seems to do much better with no human interaction. To place her alone in a stall too early probably would have made her anxious and angry. An anxious, angry pig is a dangerous pig and not a good mama. However, she now seems to appreciate the privacy she has with her little ones. She is content to go out into a small common area where she can see Boris and Charlotte but cannot get to them physically. I believe, if she could get to them physically, there would be some porcine violence and much unrest.
We quietly went out to the barn on several occasions yesterday to bask in the happiness of our small miracle. The Bean was with me on one occasion. As we stood with our arms around each other, we discussed how wonderful it is that Sugar had babies and her future is more secure. My darling little bean patted me on the back, smiled her charming smile, giggled her delightful giggle and informed me, she and her dad discussed it, my future is still unknown. After all, I still don’t like diets, I can’t have babies, and I’m still pretty mean by six o’clock in the evening. Sigh…is it wrong to regret not eating ones young?
It is said there cannot be happiness without sadness. The last two weeks were filled with sadness. Yesterday, showed us how small miracles work to balance the sadness with the happiness. Fingers crossed and say a prayer that Miss Sugar continues to be a good mama and her little ones remain healthy and thriving.
As always dear reader, stay safe, stay smart, look for the little miracles, and wash your hands.