Piggy Facts - Pretty As a Pig

Piggy Fact: 

Pig fat can be used in weed killers, chalk, cosmetics, floor wax, crayons and antifreeze.

That Lipstick looks GREAT on you! 

Piggy Facts - Doctor Pig

Piggy Fact: 

Insulin and about 40 other medicines are made from pigs.

Pig heart valves have been used to replace damaged human heart valves.

Piggy Facts - The Big Three

Piggy Facts: 

The old saying goes, Sows are pregnant for 3 Months, 3 Weeks, and 3 Days. Obviously that changes based on the number of days in the month and genetics of the pig, but its a good way to remember the gestation period of a pig. 

Piggy Facts: Ear Notching

Piggy Fact: 

Farmers notch the ears of piglets to help them keep track of which piglet is which.

The notches in the right ear tell you which litter the piglet came from and the notches in the left ear tells you which piglet she is in her litter. 

Our Newest Members - Lambs!

Wow! So much going on in our little club! Yesterday we picked up two bum lambs for TABS and AJ, but I think T might have fallen just a little in love too! We picked them up yesterday afternoon from a farm in Croydon for $30 each. They will be great first lambs for our kids! 

The smallest is a sweet little, three week old, ewe lamb. She is just tiny! She immediately chose AJ to be her "mommy" and spent much of the time we were at the farm suckling on his ear, very loudly! On the ride home, she cuddled right up to him and fell asleep. AJ named her Smiley, it fits her well! 

The second was a three day old ram lamb. He was a little more standoffish, but T was able to pick him right up. He struggles to stand on his feet right, he kind of curls his hooves under and walks on the tops of his hooves, so we'll have to work with him on that. But once we got in the truck to head home, T laid him upside down in his lap and TABS scratched his belly and he fell right asleep… in the most uncomfortable position I can imagine! 

We put diapers on them for on the ride home, it was safer for everyone that way. Once at home, they had a nice, warm bath, got all cleaned up and Leader HW showed the kids how to properly prepare the milk replacer and bottles. 

Then 10pm came the second feeding. I noticed that our little Ram Lamb hadn't eaten much from his first feeding, so when he refused his bottle, we had to get a little creative. I started by feeding him with a syringe. Once he tasted it, he decided that it was pretty yummy, but he still wouldn't take it from the bottle. TABS suggested that we try feeding him from a saucer. So, I put an ounce of milk replacer into a saucer and TABS offered it to him. He really seemed to enjoy eating it that way, but he still didn't eat as much as I would have liked him to, only 3 ounces with the last 1/2 ounce forced. By the third feeding, we were a little more prepared. We used the saucer method again and he ate 4 ounces, so he was getting more, but I would still like to see him up to 6 ounces pretty quick. He loves to sleep in the most awkward  positions! 

The kids have them sleeping in a play pen in the living room, until they are big enough to go out to the farm with the goats where they will get lots of hay and plenty of room to run and play. I love how much this is teaching the kids! 3am feedings, cleaning up messy diapers and play pens, putting the needs of a tiny little thing before your own, and being responsible for another living thing. This is everything I could have hoped for in a 4H club and so much more!