Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

After their first week in their new home the pigs are wonderfully settled as these photos show... more of them shortly but firstly the sad news: Parsley's kid did not make it. We found her at 2am when we went to see if we might be able to get some more milk inside her. Parsley seemed to know something was wrong as she was 'pawing' at the kid to try to get her to move! When kids are born, as well as licking them dry, the nanny goat will also encourage them towards her udder by pushing them with her nose and legs. The instinct to get them to move is therefore very strong. Today Parsley has taken good care of her remaining kid who is doing really well but has at times been really bleating in a distressed way, and we have seen her going back to the spot in the barn where she gave birth as if to look for the missing kid. It is not always clear how animals grieve when they lose their young or a mate but it is clear that in many cases they do! Fingers crossed Parsley will be less stressed tomorrow!
In better news, we took a walk to our friends' land this afternoon to see the pigs (we are raising them together and sharing the meat at the end - see 30th June for the story of their arrival). As soon as we got near, they came rushing over, no doubt expecting food! They certainly have learnt NOT to touch the electric fencing though as they all stopped a very sensible distance from the wire. As soon as we climbed in they showed just how tame they have become: we were treated to lots of rubbing against our legs (pigs LOVE to rub themselves against things), squeals of delight as we scratched their backs and then one of them rolled straight over for a tummy rub. They then discovered Jack's wellies and Jack had to beat a somewhat hasty retreat as she started to feel teeth trying to bite into the rubber!! Hmmmm!!!
And of course they are keeping themselves really busy and happy by doing what pigs do best: digging!!! A pig's snout is a very powerful 'tool'. Its tip is slightly curved so it acts like a shovel when digging the ground. They dig to find food: roots, worms, seeds, etc. They have a VERY good sense of smell and will dig because they can smell something as well as digging 'just in case' they find something. Pigs are experts at clearing land that is overgrown and not in good condition in that they will dig and eat what they find and what they don't want to eat (thing such as rocks) they will push to one side. Some people put pigs on their land for them to clear it so they can then use the land for growing what they want.
At the moment there is a lot of grass left in their paddock, in a couple of weeks that will definitely have changed: we will keep you posted...
(And no geese yet, the eggs are still pipping and we have definite holes in the shells now...)