Sugar Creek Farm

Matilda with her new litter – I took this picture yesterday a little while after they were born

When I went to write this post, I realized that I never told the tale of our first spring farrowing with the new gilts. So here’s that backstory…

2 out of the 3 (the mostly white one and the mostly black one) did pretty well. One had a litter of 12 and one a litter of 10. They were pretty good mothers, especially for first-timers and considering the sorta crude conditions we have to farrow in. The interesting thing was, though, that they really didn’t like Matt coming around. He would go in to check on them and they’d get all riled, jump up and end up stepping on a piglet or two. They ended up weaning 4 and 8 – not the greatest but better than the Chesters had generally done.

I, however, could go in the pen with them and it didn’t bother them a bit (as long as I didn’t make anybody squeal.) This really bothered Matt. He took it a bit personally. I told him next time to just leave them alone, let them do their thing, and stay out of it.

The third gilt wasn’t so great. She had her litter outside, in the rain in a mud puddle and lost them all. We gave her another chance, but this time around the other 2 have farrowed within 2 days of each other and she’s not even bagging up. So we’re wondering if she’s even bred. She’s definitely the low girl on the totem pole – the other 2 don’t like to share their food with her and chase her away. Maybe they did the same thing with Ollie! So if she indeed didn’t get bred she’ll be going down the road and we’ll keep a gilt or 2 back from the spring litter.

Chicken wondering what in the heck these things are doing in her space. Some hens have been laying eggs in here while it’s sat empty.

Monday Matt had a touch of the stomach flu, so he stayed home from work and didn’t get out to do chores as early in the morning as usual. When he did get out there he found that one gilt had farrowed – a beautiful litter of 12! He called back up to the house and said, “I think the stomach flu was God’s way of keeping me out of her way while she farrowed.” Just like I’d told him – stay out of their way and let them do their thing. The second sow farrowed Wednesday, a litter of 11!

The first litter, born Monday. I took this picture Wednesday.

This summer Matt’s been sucking up to the girls big time, talking sweet to them and scratching their ears and their backs every day when he brings them their feed. And it seems to have paid off. They still don’t want him to get too close, but they at least tolerate him getting close enough to get a head count. So far each sow has lost just 1 pig. Hopefully they’re the kind of moms we think they are, and will get the offspring through this cold snap (down to 28 tomorrow night!)

Love the colors. They look so long at this age!

1 year ago:

Let’s review

No, not that season. Football season. I’ve written about it before here and here. It’s no different this year. If anything, it’s just getting more intense.

Me: Rafe, what’s your favorite position?

R: Kicker, just like Dad & Uncle Rick.

I’m convinced football kicking is some sort of Miller genetic mutation

Me: What’s your second favorite position?

R: Receiver.

“Mom, take some pictures of my moves!”

Evading the other team’s defense

Me: What’s your third favorite position?

R: Defensive linebacker, just like Dad.

Demonstrating his dive

Just like that other season…enjoy it while it lasts, and take pictures.

1 year ago:

How to Cook : Swiss Steak

These birthdays, they just keep coming. My middle child is twelve.

I think I ask this every time, but it bears repeating.

How does this happen?

A study in contrasts.

Hates her name.

Makes us laugh.

(And sigh.)

Giving.

Funny.

Feisty.

And we love every bit of her. Happy Birthday, Liver Q.

Love,
Yo Mama

1 year ago:

Eleven

I hate when they do this. Sit there and gaze longingly in the mudroom door, looking all sweet and cute and cuddly.

Must. Resist.

Wow, you guys are so good! You already maxed out Olivia’s first survey! (SurveyMonkey only allows 100 responses for the free version.) Thank you!

A number of people left a comment here, or on Facebook, what your “Other” choice was. Which got me to wondering if SurveyMonkey would let us set up a survey that would capture that “Other” choice. Whaddyaknow, it does!

So…here’s a new survey that allows you to enter what your “Other” choice is:

Click Here to take Olivia’s survey #2

The results from the first survey were:
Pizza 35
Other 33
Ice Cream 17
Mac & Cheese 7
Popcorn 6
Hot Dogs 2

Thank you again!

So Olivia has a homework assignment to create a survey question and collect responses from at least 75 people. Being my daughter and all, she asked if she could hijack the blog for the assignment.

The student

So if you would, please click the link below to take her survey:

Olivia’s survey

Thanks for your help! Hopefully she’ll get an “A” 🙂

Mmm, hams!

Labor Day was indeed a day of labor for us. Fortunately many hands make light work! Our customer-friends & their daughter volunteered to come over & help, and we were so glad they did. How nice was that, spending their holiday wrangling our chickens 🙂

But before we got to the chicken wrangling, they helped us load 3 pigs and haul them to the locker.

And then herd the current batch of feeders into the vacated space.

Then we loaded 150 3-week-old broiler chicks into the trailer, hauled them out to the pasture, unloaded each one again and placed them into the shed in the pasture.

Then it was time to load 150 7-week-old broiler chickens into the trailer. One. By. One. It’s a good workout for arms & shoulders!

At that point we let our friends head home. We hauled the chickens to the processor at Greene, and unloaded each one again there. Then it was back home, with a treat of supper from the drive-in. It was a good day, and a lot of big jobs done with a little help from our friends. Thanks, guys!

1 year ago:

Take a hike, part 2

Fatman

In the chaos that seems to be life these days, we’ve lost the lists of who ordered what.

This situation is giving me a stomachache.

If I have a filled-out order form, and/or a deposit check, we’re good.

But we took 3 pigs to the locker yesterday. Our neighbor is getting one. We were keeping one to sell at farmers market. But I can’t remember who wanted the third one. Obviously it was someone that said “Put me down for a whole hog” but didn’t fill out the form or give us a deposit.

Or, the other possibility, we didn’t actually have it sold & were keeping 2 for the farm.

So…if it was you that asked for a hog for August/September and you haven’t heard from me, please give me a call or an email asap.

Or…if you’d like this here hog – if we don’t hear from the person that actually ordered it – also give me a call or an email asap. The locker will be wanting to cut it up in the next few days. This is the last of the girls’ 4-H pigs, so the money actually goes to them, and the breeding on this pig is a little leaner than what the October pigs will be.

And…we’re also still taking orders for:

*Chickens – Batch 3 will be ready the end of this week, Batch 4 the first week of October. We are now offering them either whole or cut up.

*Pork – The first of our new genetics will be ready the end of October. Tasty! Order half or whole hog.

*Beef – Butchering will start in November and continue through December. We do quarters & halves, and also bundles which are an 1/8th of beef – about 50 pounds that includes the full range of cuts – steaks, roasts, ground, etc.

To order email sugarcreekfarm (at) osage (dot) net