Village Squire, 1976-10, Page 9Thus even a 115 Ib. weakling with a set of mammary glands can
hold them. All the poor pig has to do is charge rather than hack
away but, alas, in his anxious attempt to back away he never
thinks of that.
Not being able to see too well makes pig, ext e,s>xely leery of
new territory. Sometimes, they will avoid ne\\ territory at all
costs, no matter how hard we coax, espy, i.11h pregnant sows
One sow had to have -a pail placed o\er her head and be lifted
bodily, backwards of course, into the 1rU> L. a solution hit upon
after an hour of chasing and lun,�ne
The "psychological" attril•utes ,11 pigs show up in pigpen
interaction. Really, has no one ever insinuated that pigs might
have a personality? Here in the pigpen it is a "survival of the
fittest'• souety. The\ usually • ignore the pacifist intervention of
ourselves xxh>> have the hest intentions for the survival of all our
pigs Atter ,ell. \\e \\ ant to cash them in on the market.
Ina pen nt ,oxo, there is a definite pecking order with the
biggest running the show the big ones rush to the trough, bully
the others oust 01 the \\,1\ and stand in the trough sideways so that
the other, .111 1 u.e1 the umd. There is nothing worse than to be
low sow In a ha1,•n> ret SOWS The low sows, usually the smallest
and thtnne,1. „ramble meekly to get the -leftovers and
consequent '\ get xxeaki r and thinner. The low sows are wise to
be meek 1>> au,,• the high ,nos, c hew the ears off any who try to
get too t lose to the tout'
It a nh\x ,o\\ n>trncIu>ed into an already established harem.
she Is harassed until she know, her place. If she is completely
unknro\n. neer smelled before as a litter -mate might be, or if
the is little she max be bothered until she is completely
-•ss>thdr,nxn 'fie ma\ stand immobile against the wall, not be
allnxxecl an\ to„d at all and have to lie in the wet part of the pen
1 his i, the nil insult since pigs love to have dry, soft, clean
heels I bis ,o\\ 1)11\ .1( al condition will continue downhill unless
she is >m>xed to ,mother hotel room. Intervention in the form of
scattering the loud. putting old newspapers and tires as outlets
for aggression and slopping turpentine on the wounds, to cut the
smell of 1)100(1 sine o pigs tend to become cannibalistic at the smell
of blood. max nut work in a situation as seriuos as this. Her own
pen -bed is the answer because sows that get into poor shape are
very ditto ult to get bred.
Howe \et-. sows that know each other and that are well matched
for sive Seem to get on fairly peacably.
Sows will not feed the young from another litter except If they
are introduced at a very young age. Once a foreign piglet got into
awn by mistake and the resident sow bit it leaving large bruise
and puncture marks.
The pecking order is evident in the very young litter with the
largest getting the most food. An injured piglet may be worried
by the others until it weakens and dies.
Aggression in a pen of feeder pigs, pigs that are being fattened
for market, sometimes takes -the form of tail -biting. One small pig
f know pestered the rest which were bigger until he had their tails
half chomped off, bloody and swollen. They could do nothing but
run in circles. If turpentine slopped on their tails doesn't work,
separation certainly does. Some pigs can take very little stress.
They may go berserk, that is, make a lot of aimless, jerky
movement, more so than the rest in response to loud noise.
In order to have pigpen interaction you have to manufacture
the pigs.
Having an individual with a uterus is one of the main
requirements in the breeding process. Sally Ann is pinkish -white
sow of Yorkshire line who conies around in heat every 19 to 23
days - if she's not pregnant or milking. Heat lasts 2 to 3 days and
you can tell the heat if the vulva is reddish and swollen and if she
stands for the pressure of a hand on her back. However, you
never know for sure until you take her to the boar and he usually
knows for sure. To take her to the boar, you have to get her out of
the pen first. The sow in heat will likely go in circles and never
find the door. And while every other- sow is pushing at the door
trying to get out.
When you finally get her out, she gets to meet the boar.
Either Randy Andy, a black Ham whose face looks suspiciously
like a wild European pig's (I'm afraid of him) or Lazy Al, a pink
Yorkshire, who's as active as his name implies, depending on
who's available. The boar is easier to move to the sows,
apparently since he knows what he's going for out of long habit,
but he tends to pick favourites. Service the ones he'likes and
icy
Natural
Foods
Kitchen
Paraphernalia
WILD OR BROWN RICE CASSEROLE
1t cups rice (soaked 2 or 3 hours). Cook in
boiling water 30 minutes. Drain. Beat 2 eggs
with 2/3 cup peanut or soy oil, adding slowly.
Add 1 cup chopped parsley, 1 grated onion, 1
cup Cheddar cheese. Add 1 small can
mushrooms and juice. Mix well, Bake 30 to
40 minutes in moderate oven. Serves 4 to 6.
38 Hamilton St.
Goderich
524-7181
Open daily
10 - 6
Closed Wed.
Come in and
browse
"Tie Bay Leaf”
for
Super Health
ideas! r
VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1976, 7