Getting in "The Piggy Way"

I remember reading an article on Pig Production and I couldn't tell you if it was in regards to farrowing, artificially inseminating, breeding age, or what honestly. But what stuck with me the most was the term the Ol' Farmer used to say the sow was pregnant. He called it being "In the Piggy Way", and that, for some odd reason, has stuck with me.

So, we bought a sow, five days later she farrowed 12 healthy, happy little pigs who have since grown to 40+ lb. healthy, happy pig whom our 4H Kids love dearly. Miss Bea, as we call our Sow, has been relocated from the farrowing barn to the Farm where she has lots of room to run and play, and our pigs are getting lots of love and care from their new 4H Buddies. But now, what's to become of Miss Bea? She served her useful purpose, giving us 12 healthy show pig, six to sell and six for the kids... Now What? 

Well, there are alot of things you learn when you become a "Pig Farmer", as HW and SC can attest to! But one of the most surprising things I have learned is that a Sow will come into heat within 4 days of weaning! WHAT?!? We found out this juicy little piece of information two days after we moved her to the Farm. So what does that mean for us? Yup, you guessed it! We had to learn how to breed a pig... AND QUICK! 

Thanks to an amazing vet, and avid hog farmer friend we were able to get the semen (I'm not asking how... I'm not quite ready to get into that yet!) and all the tools we needed and he came out to the farm and taught us how to AI our Sow. Now, I'm going to be completely honest with you here... there is a reason that I am not a Nurse! I don't do this kind of thing. I'm not even real big on observing. Castration, shots, you name it, I'd rather be hiding in the house, thank-you very much! But no, this I had to help with... Thankfully HW was around to actually do it though. And a fine job she did too! 

I apologize for the blurry pictures... 

We had 4 vials of semen, which meant that Miss Bea needed a treatment (is that even the right word! LOL) every 12 hours for the next two days following her going into heat. Now how do we know if she's in heat you might ask... or you might be smart and not ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway! You push on her hind end to see if she will stand still. If she is in heat, she will lock her hind legs and stand perfectly, beautifully still for you... or so they say...

I was laughing far too hard to get a good picture!

HW and I checked her Thursday morning. No good, for her or for HW! LOL But by Friday morning, when I pushed on her, she would stand, a little. I don't know what I'm looking for! Our vet friend came out Friday night but decided that she needed just a little more time. Saturday morning, we tried her again. She wasn't perfect, she didn't hold beautifully still, but the vet said that it would do and he proceeded to show HW how to do the dirty deed. Saturday evening, Sunday morning, and again Sunday evening... we gave her all 4 treatments. We laughed alot, threw around a few dirty jokes, mostly directed at HW, and we had alot of interesting conversations, and now... we just hope for the best! Mark your calendars, our first insemination was on March 14th and our final on the evening of March 15th. If all goes well, we will have a brand new batch of pigs on July 7th! Here's to hoping that Miss Bea is in "The Piggy Way"!