A farmer friend told L. when she first got the pigs that she needed to check their poop every day. That the poop was the best way to confirm the health of her pigs. If something with the poop changed, that would be the first indicator that something could be wrong with the animal. And L.'s resource book about pig health explained that with pigs, a simple case of diarrhea could lead to death in just a few days.
Over the weekend I saw a couple of watery poops from Titus which made L. (and the rest of us) concerned.
The pen used to be dry in the spring (for all the irony that is at the moment) but now the water situation is at critical mass. I’ve joked about "Pig Lake" on my Twitter account a couple of times and the expansion of Pig Lake’s Basin (at the entrance to the pen). But the situation became more serious the other day and we cursed the weather and the pigs' natural inclination to root. They do this (dig) frequently and enthusiastically and the holes they create collect water that take much longer to dry up (maybe they're hoping to swim to China instead of digging to it?).
We also noticed that the smell of the pig pen had changed. This may sound strange to people unfamiliar with farm animals but there is a healthy stench to a pig pen. I think we’ve got a handle on that smell (which isn’t all that great but we’ve gotten used to it) and believed the standing water in Pig Lake was changing the smell into something more foul and unhealthy for the animals.
So it became time for us to review our options to deal with the situation this past weekend.
One option was to dig up the fencing and move the pen, which presented all sorts of logistics problems on how to contain each 200+ pound pig while we did that (an all day project in the best scenario). Our other option was to figure out a way to dry out the pen with sand. The sand option was considered the more do-able choice.
Getting sand into the pen meant digging it up in another part of our property and using the wheelbarrow to dump it into the pen. Yes, we could have purchased bags of sand from the home improvement store but we were worried about the store's sand salt content. In case you didn’t know, salt (even a small amount) can kill a pig so it’s important to minimize their exposure to it. We thought it best to use what was already in the pigs' natural environment (with the bonus of being the thriftier choice as well).
Earlier this summer we had dug a couple of holes in a far off corner of our property to bury the manure and dump the sand we dug in to the pig pen. We decided to do the same thing again only on a larger scale. (i.e., dig deeper holes, get more sand).
Each wheelbarrow filled by Fino and I required L.'s assistance once we got the wheelbarrow to the pen's entrance. She had to use a board to direct the pigs in to another part of the pen so we could wheel in and dump the sand. This was tricky because (1) the pig's are always angling for an escape route and (2) the pigs were thrilled with the piles of sand and immediately set to root in it before we could spread it out. We got a handle on getting in the pen but gave up on spreading of the sand with shovels and just used our boots to push it in the general direction that we believed would do the most good.
After more than a dozen sand-filled wheelbarrows and a sprinkling of hay and shavings we decided the pen was as dry as we could make it at that point. It was an intense aerobic workout that lasted nearly four hours and we were exhausted by the end. And as funny as this sounds, so were the pigs. They were laying down and snoozing as soon as we left the pen (around 10:30 p.m.) after the last wheelbarrow dump and didn't wake up until after 8 a.m. the next morning (usually L.'s out at their pen at 6 a.m. to give them breakfast but they were still fast asleep so she let them "sleep in" until 8 a.m. when she roused them by poking their noses to get them up to eat).
Of course it rained that night (this is the crazy summer of 2009 after all) and although Pig Lake had not fully returned, there were still plenty of puddles in the pen the next morning.
So last night we set about digging another hole (hopefully no one will trespass on our land and fall in to one of the large 4-foot holes!) and filling another half dozen wheelbarrows of sand for the pen.
Then finally, after much sweat and blisters, I think this morning we finally have a handle on the pig pen situation (which would be aided by the rain subsiding for a day or two, just putting in my cosmic order for that). The pigs' healthy stench is back and Titus' poop is back to being solid and looking normal again, much to L.'s relief.
Oh, and for those who have more experience farming than we do, it's OK to have a chuckle at our expense after reading this blog. It's our first year with pigs and we (kids and parents) are living the 4-H motto -- "Learn by doing."
I do think we're deserving of points for effort in getting this pig thing figured out though -- and my family is becoming healthier in the process with all the exercise we've had building the shelter/pen earlier this spring and taking care of these pigs during this crazy weather. There isn't much sitting around watching TV at our house this summer. The pigs and rain (as well as Chickenland) have ensured we have had plenty of exercise in our daily routine.
Who needs a workout at the gym when you've got pigs?
PIG LAKE - before
PIG PEN - after hours of manual labor
It's not pretty but the pen does seem to be a heck of a lot drier than it was the other day. Now if the rain can stay away for a few days we might not have to do another sand dump...PIG PEN IMPROVEMENT - in progress
Pigs loved the piles of sand and there were many happy pig grunts as they set to work immediately to root.
L.'s getting good at directing the pigs with the board and pushing them around (they're twice her body weight now). This will serve her well at the fair in September when she shows her pigs.
The pigs love a good scratch. L. can have them on the ground in seconds and in a trance-like state of bliss afterward, which will be handy in keeping her pigs calm when they go to the fair.And as you can see by the photos, there were those of us doing the manual labor and another (G.) who took a more documentary - and less muddy and physical - approach to the situation (although we cut her a break because she deals with plenty of mud and wet at the cow farm).
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