3 LITTLE ONES

The piglets are doing really well 2 weeks old tomorrow and they are seeing what hard feed is all about. They are still on the mum (Pixie) but we have introduced some creep feed to see what they make of it, usually at 3 weeks they start eating a bit. Still mucking out daily.... the piglets are so cute, there is one that just follows me, I am hoping I can find a very special home if not I will jsut have to keep her, she is lovely. Its a shame they dont stay this size forever.

MAYBE NOT!

Spoke too soon, winter arrived again yesterday and boy did it rain...two weeks of luxury and warm sun...I thought we were home and dry to summer. But Nope the fields are now muddy and flooded once again! The vet came for Tilley and said we had to call the farrier again before time to try to trim her feet as it might help....So Meg came that afternoon and did them....a lot better than the last time, MEG was on holiday and we had some different guys, some trainees I think...Shall we say....I think we will wait until Meg isn't on holiday next time...got more faith in her! So tilley all trimmed and fancy free, painkillers done and see how she goes. Meanwhile the vet looked at Spring and Storm and said they need to be restricted and off hard feed, they are far to fat, apparently they shouldn't look like barrels!!! Glad I had my coat on or I could have been next! So today I have been installing an electric fence and restricted area for the 3 of them....Ruby is allowed where she likes still, I tried...stupidly to put the fence up with the three horrors in the paddock and found myself in a right state, Spring had the fence in her mouth running around whilst Tilley scat over all the poles and Storm had it wrapped around her leg running up the paddock. SO after cursing loudly and visions of people ringing some men in white coats, I got in control of the situation and let them into another field whilst I sorted everything. They now have a new field. Ruby can still see them but cant have contact , but I think it will be ok they can still talk to each other, just cant run together. See if we can make our ponies thin!...or thinner should I say.

WINTER OVER?

Spring must be on the way we have had lovely weather for the last week or so...actually since Auntie Lou went to Spain...better not tell her that eh! The primroses are popping up and looking really pretty and the daffodils reassure us that Spring is on its way and that long, long, difficult winter is finally over! YIPPEEE The willows are here and rabbits everywhere ready to introduce the little ones again. Sounds like Mary Poppins eh!...Better be careful might whisk me off with my umbrella!! YEAH RIGHT!

CARUBA

Caruba or Ruby to her friends is enjoying her time without her coat on, I think she will need her fly rug on a lot but 10 - 2pm we are trying to let her out rug less, and I must say she looks mighty fine too! Got Pete on her at the weekend, I tried to teach him what little I know about riding, but he's really not the best student, I would imagine his poor mum pulled her hair out with him as a child!! You tell him what to do and in a second hes back doing it wrong again, or in his eyes "Petes right way" WRONG!!!! Still wouldn't be the same any different would it..(wait till he reads this!!)

LAURA HAS THE HANG OF IT

Laura and Gem have caught on to the smiles too, mind you you cant help but smile when you see the piglets, Gem loves them she asks to be picked up so she can see them properly , its really strange, but then again it is Woodmill!

KISSES, CUDDLES AND SMILES

The piglets at a week old have mastered the art of all three, they really are happy little soles,(must see if they can teach Pete a thing or two ha ha!) and by the time I home them you will be fed up with the sight of them probably! They are growing stronger each day and are really quite robust considering the hairy start we had!

TILLEY POORLY

Its really not our year with ponies, lost Duke and now Tilleys feet are playing up. You seem to get problems when you rescue animals. She was really struggling walking so we had to stable her for a few days until the pain has subsided, she has now been let back out but we will have to keep a close eye on her for a while. May have to stable her again, we'll see. She did talk to Ruby a lot when she was in her stable though, Ruby one side munching away and Tilley in the other having a right old natter!

OUT FOR A WALK WITH MUM

Pixie took her little ones out for a walk into the sun and showed them how to behave, she kept talking to them constantly, they look so tiny in this photo!

COULD BE A MUM BUT WHOS THE DADDY!!!!

Smartie our cute little grey and white cat, young cat, seems to have maybe come into season without us noticing, as we heard a racket outside, I looked out of the window and saw two ginger Toms arguing over my little Smartie and she was definitely leading them a merry dance....so by May we could well have kittens??? We'll see!

ANY IDEAS

If anyone has any ideas of going into Dragons Den with the invention of a device that fixes securely on to ones butt, whilst sweeping the floor and side extensions to feed the kids and perhaps an occasional fitment that enables the wearer to take on such powers as superwoman, on maybe a daily basis, please get in touch, I would love to hear from you!...Yours signing in a little frayed and worn out!!!

PIXIE IN FULL SWING

Pixie is really good mum now, she loves her little ones and is always kissing and having contact with them. She fed them outside yesterday it was really warm, its lovely to see them all playing.

SHADOW KEEPING EYE ON THINGS

Shadow is just the right height to keep a careful watch on the piglets, she loves them and could watch them all day mind you she does look a bit sorry for herself here. She waited with me whilst Pixie was struggling to bond with the piglets, I think she would have quite happily took over the motherly duties!!

OUT OF TROUBLE I THINK

Pixie is finally accepting that she is a mum I think and even looks at the piglets now, after a day of constant monitoring and working with Pixie we think we have cracked it, Pixie is now out of the farrowing pen we made late last night and in the sty with the piglets, she seems to be feeding them all and the heat lamp is on for the piglets to go to when they have finished feeding, all is quiet and calm and I think it will be ok now...fingers crossed we can go from here....There are two in particular that are right characters already, they squabble over the same teet every time, then fall asleep on each other.

BAD SENSE OF HUMOUR

I know I shouldn't have been finding anything funny over the last few hours but this photo really made me smile, I have Pixie in a pen so not to attack her piglets for a minute, there is absolutely hell breaking loose all over the place and then I looked at the bits of wood we had made the pen out of, one of the bits say en-suite self catering...I know its bad but it really made me laugh, what with Pixie there with a water bowl and hemmed in...Reminds me of one of our cheap holidays that Pete took me on never to be repeated!

THINGS GOT A BIT TECHNICAL!

After the initial birth I thought things would progress as usual, but this was Pixies first birth and she is very happy to be with humans and didn't seem to like to see her babies, which is most unusual for us. I cleared out her birthing bed and laid a new fresh bed, she was very narky with the new borns and I thought things would go quiet when she had recovered. I think the whole experience of new birth had completely thrown her and made her vary anxious....Typical that I wasn't there at the start, seeings as I have been there nearly constantly up till then......Anyway things were quite worrying to say the least for a few hours and I had to keep the piglets away from her face or she would go to bite them, I was stuck and couldn't do anything. By that time mum, dad, auntie lou arrived to see the new very cute new borns and got roped in on the whole experience. I rang the vet to see what needed to be done, ie do we take the decision to hand rear if she is that traumatised from it or what do we do. The vet prescribed an oxytocin or something that sounds like that!! to inject her with which would hopefully increase the mum hormones and milk to help the proceedings, I injected her (didn't like that bit!) twice but neither time it seemed to make any difference. He then (by now it was getting dark and we had been going for 5 hours or so) suggested beer, so we gave her a can of john smiths beer to try that,but still no different. All the while we were getting the babies to feed and get the much need colostrum from the mum in case the worst came to the worst and we were hand rearing. In the end I rang Steven to see if they had finished, Steven said " You rang" I said "Yes, I am having a nightmare, the pigs have given birth and its not going to plan, when are you coming home?" He said he would ring when he was leaving in a rather mater of fact way.... Then Pete rang 15 mins later and I told him what I had said to Steve and Steve hadn't even told him!!!!! Kids eh!....Finally after 7 hours of struggling Pete came home to help....By this time the vet said the only way to try to keep them on the mum is to build a farrowing stall, restricting her so much so she couldn't turn around whilst feeding and we would obviously let her out to stretch her legs, but this was an emergency and we had to do what was best for the little ones. so in the dark and cold we and Dad, built a farrowing stall from what ever we had here. To cut a very long story short, we were at a point of being happy to leave them for the night at around 10.30pm from 12 noon! The day was horrendous and hoping for a better outcome in a day or two so we can dismantle the farrow stall and Pixie can feed like usual, but until she is happy with them by her face we have to do what we need to do. She is happy for them to feed, she just doesn't want to see them....weird eh... I think she is just traumatised by the first birth. What this space I guess, anyway I have to get back down there so entries might be sporadic ...just as and when we can get a minute!

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

After days and days and what seemed like weeks, the piglets have arrived...Yes Pixie has in fact given birth to eight piglets. We have been hourly checking her for what seems like forever...and do you know what.....On Sunday Pete was with Steven at a Cornwall U18 golf match (which Steven won so well done Steve and Cornwall U18 also won as a team so congrats everyone)....anyway, off they went to do there thing leaving me home to do all the jobs!!!! I thought I would nip out to see a friend off mine in between pig checks as Pixie didn't look any different, I dropped in Dots present and came back to see Laura. I said I would just go and check on Pixie and told her I bet she wouldn't have time for a shower as I would be ringing her for a hand with the birth...only kidding....so when I got down to the pig sty I couldn't believe my eyes she had already started and nearly finished giving birth, I rang Laura who didn't believe me at first and then came rushing down to see what was going on. It looked like they were all fit and healthy and whilst sitting with her I texted and phoned everyone that was asking after her for such a long time to say it had finally happened Pixie has delivered her first brood.

THE POO MACHINE!

Yippee we can finally....after months of fighting with the wheel barrow through many feet of mud trying to clear the fields of horse poo.....finally use the tractor in there, which is a lot happier situation for everyone. When I told Laura and Kait they could use the mean machine they didn't mind at all their Monday morning job!

RUBY HAS A NEW COAT!

I thought as the summer is fast approaching.... ha ha....more ha ha ....oh an a little more ha ha... I thought I would get Ruby ready with a fly rug, its very white and really not sure how long she will keep it that clean, knowing our Ruby. I think she was impressed, but its hard to tell, sometimes its a sarcastic grin she gives you as if to say "You cant be serious you want me to wear what?"

WELL I GOT ON HER!!

After a tacking up lesson and getting on lesson from Becs I finally managed to walk around on Ruby, my trot wasn't quite so successful but with practice it should be ok?!!! If I could get the ups and downs in the right lace I would be just dandy!!! Mind you I think I will stick to the small area of grass for the time being so walking is only an option and not like Holly in the big field where a full on canter wouldn't be off the cards and when you least expect it! I think she might think she is on the polo field! But success, I am on a horse.....only a small gap of 35 years since I last got on one, but hey who's counting!!!!

HOLLY AND MASON

Tim my brother was out at work so Holly and Mason popped over to see us. We tacked up Ruby for Holly to have a ride, well Ruby was playing up a bit and I think she could be quite fiery for an old lady!! Well it ended with a rather glamorous technical dismount!!! Not sure Holly will be visiting for a ride again!! We'll see maybe we'll stick to playing with the animals or something! Meanwhile Auntie Lou put little Mason in the wheelbarrow, he loved it, I think he would have been pushed about in it all day if he had his way...Must try him on the tractor next...actually maybe Holly might be safer on that!!

RUBY DE RUGGED!

The sun came up for a while so Ruby had her coat off to go out to play, She loved it, she was filthy afterwards though! The Shetlands look really short and stocky next to her elegant long legs!

ALL GIRLS TOGETHER

Tilley, Spring and Storm must be finding it really strange without their Dukey, He was always in charge and kept the girls in their places. I found them this morning all hiding in the goat shelter, I didn't realise they could all fit until one by one they emerged for breakfast!!!

JOCKEY ANDY!

We couldn't get Ruby to move so we thought we would ask Andy to have a go whilst he was here building our steps! You never know what you are going to get asked to do here you know! He looked the part and I reckon I should have took her in the field and let her go! Mind you I think Andy is a bit of a dark horse, I think he knows exactly how to ride and would have shown us a thing or too!!

WHAT IS SHE PLAYING AT

Pixie should have had her babies by now and still hasn't, after days of waiting hourly on her, still nothing. My dates cant be when she was caught. I saw Buzz on her but it obviously wasn't then, she is huge and I felt them kick so I know there is something in there! Maybe she ate something!! I cant believe she is still going, the piglets will be too big to get out at this rate.....Oh well here's to another night of waiting...In the picture she doesn't look that bothered does she!

DUKE (RIP)

Duke our handsome man has moved on up to the Big Guy to be with Tom in the sky. He was about 28years old and has been struggling for quite sometime now, I thought we could get him to the summer and a bit of warmth and maybe he would have felt better, but I think that was wishful thinking he was quite poorly. Duke was a loving and sometime quite cantankerous character with a heart as big as a Shire! I don't think we could replace him, he was quite a guy chestnut body and the biggest blond mane I have ever seen. RIP Dukey we all miss you XXXX