Lots of piglets and update on the little bull!

First off I want to update everyone on how the calf is doing.  I am feeding him milk from Steven's farm next door.  I bottle fed him the first three feedings over the weekend but it takes about ten minutes to feed him with a bottle and I do not have the time in the mornings to do this before work.  So Monday evening I decided to try him on the bucket.  He immediately started drinking and didn't miss a sip! 

He is quickly gaining weight and is becoming friends with his little piglet sleeping buddies.  Every morning when I go out to feed him they are all cuddled up under the lamp in the corner. 

My son absolutely loves to pet him whenever he has a chance.  He and my daughter are greatly enjoying all the babies right now.  This is the first time I have had a calf penned up and able to be petted this way.  Usually they let us get close but not touch so this is a unique situation.

I have decided to keep him to use as a bull.  I need a good angus bull in a couple of years anyway so this just makes sense.  By raising him this way he will always know us and will be calm and gentle for the rest of his life. 

I have also decided on a name for him.  His full name will be Erica's Legacy.  For short we are calling him Legacy but I found it fitting and everyone likes it so it stuck quickly!  I need to get him registered as well.  I am new to that so it will be a learning experience but well worth it down the road.

Next up we delivered meat to several new customers in Columbus Ohio over the weekend.  I already knew most everyone from school or choir and I also made a new connection with a friend of my one classmate's wife.  Everyone has already tried their meat and have been very happy!!  I am quite glad and look forward to more sales trips to bring them and hopefully new customers more!

My wife and I have both been very busy for the last year and haven't had much time to ourselves.  Actually, our trip to Columbus was only the third time since we got married that we have been away from the kids together for more than a couple of hours.  So, since we were in the big city I wanted to have a peaceful dinner with my wife to celebrate making new friends, selling some great meat, and a belated relaxing valentine's day dinner.

 I absolutely love sushi.  My entire childhood I swore I would never eat such a thing.  However, after going to college, meeting new people and seeing new cultures, then meeting my future wife, I learned to try new things.  Sushi was one of these things.  I loved it.  In Columbus there is an authentic Japanese restaurant by the name of Akai Hana.  The food is awesome, the staff is very nice, and the food is awesome.  Yes I said it twice because I mean it. 

 I miss going to Japan for two reasons.  Seeing my extended family, and, THE FOOD.  So whenever I get a chance to eat somewhere that is close to the experiences I have had in Japan I jump at the chance.   Now, if I could just get them to use some of my product it would give me an even more frequent excuse to go there to eat!!

Next up we have two new litters of piglets.  Pig and Pig Pig both had babies the first part of the week.  Pig Pig had hers on Monday night and Pig had hers Tuesday morning. 

 Both had twelve per litter.  However they both had three stillborn.  Pig had one that got away from her in the night and ended up getting laid on and didn't make it leaving her with eight.

Pig Pig is another story.  She managed to step on two of her little ones, neither survived.  The same is true with animals as it is with humans.  Some make great parents and others do not.  When a pig is not careful she can hurt and kill her babies very easily.  She weighs between 400-500 lbs.  Her babies are barely a pound when born.  Pig Pig has a very bad history of being very reckless with her little ones.  

 Most large scale hog farms in the US use crating systems for birthing pigs to keep babies from being laid on.  I do not use them and normally do not need them.  I prefer to let them birth naturally and we know from our experience so far that we do not have problems when we have a good mother.  This has led us to a tough decision but one that had to be made.  This will be Pig Pigs last litter with us.  We will be selling her after she weans this litter.  It hurts me to know how uncarefull she is and cannot stand to see the results.  I would rather work towards having a herd of momma pigs that I do not have to worry about hurting their little ones. 


While we were in Columbus we picked up three new little Berkshire girls for future sows.  They are from the same farm as Lady and should make great mommas.  I will miss Pig Pig but I know I am making the right decision.


I want to leave everyone with a little personal reading suggestion.  A coworker of mine brought me a book to read a few weeks ago.  To be very honest, after finishing college I have not read a complete book since.  I have never been much for reading but if something grabs my attention I  will read it through.  Usually I get into the beginning of a book and lose interest and never finish it.  This book however peeked my interest and kept it through the end.  The book is called "Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh.  It is a story of his life and experiences building his own business and finding his true calling and then helping build another.  I didn't know at first who he was till I got into the book and realized he is the CEO of Zappos.  If you read one book this year this is the one that I recommend.  There are a lot of great stories and a lot of very good knowledge and value in it . 


Have a great evening/day everyone.  I am hoping to get some updated pics of everyone over the weekend, weather permitting, and do another post over the weekend. 

Kenny