March 11, 2016

Baby Critter Update

Everybody's growing fast!

The piglets are a little over two weeks old now. On warm days they are out and about.


We ended up with five males and four females.


Pigs get weaned at about five or six weeks of age, so I'll be looking for new homes for most of them by the end of the month.

Daphne's twins are about two and a half weeks old. They are the friendliest, cutest things.

Daphne is an excellent mom.

Mastering "the stump" is always a proud moment.

Daphne, how'd they get into the hay feeder?

Pulling on Mom's beard.

Daphne's boys now have nicknames, suggested in the comments of my "Baby Goat Cuteness" post by Jay Ater and Renee.

"Thunder"

"Lightnin'"

Next to kid will be Jessie, the white one in the middle.


Her due date is April 6. 


36 comments:

Dawn said...

Baby animals are just so cute, between lambs and kids we are suffering from cuteness overload here, your kids look smashing :-)

Leigh said...

Don't you just love this time of year for that reason?

PioneerPreppy said...

They are so cute I have to make sure the women folk stay away from all the boys. We don't need anymore pets.

jewlz said...

Knock knock knock on wood.. love the names, & all the offspring! Looking fwd to your assessment of your kinder line, too.

Fiona said...

The piglets look wonderful...Polly seems to be feeding them well!

Mama Pea said...

True, animals add soooo much to a homestead, but having lots of babies around is almost too much in the interest, entertainment and cuteness department!

Thanks for the pictures, Leigh.

Kris said...

Oh awwwww gee these pics are just won.der.ful! Cuteness overload. How do you get anything done. I'd just sit there and watch them all day long. As it is I'm just sitting here looking at their pictures over and over and over and...... *giggle*

Tewshooz said...

That pig parade is so cute I just had to laugh out loud. You brought big smiles today. And, what can I can I say about baby goats? Cuteness overload.

Rain said...

They're all so sweet looking. Do you have your whole property fenced in or do the piglets stick close to mama?

By Candlelight Farm said...

Leigh,
If you don't mind, who is the seller on e-bay? That is exactly like the hives I am looking for!
Thank you!
Elizabeth Grant

Leigh said...

We women folk love our boys. :)

Leigh said...

Elizabeth, glad to. The store is TP Millwork, seller is certwood06, link here. No listings at present. You just have to keep your eye out.

Leigh said...

Rain, we have about half of our property fenced into small 1/4 to 1/2 acres paddocks. Polly and the piglets are in the smallest, so I can keep an eye on them. Piglets are bad about wiggling under fences and gates! So wherever they are needs to be secure at the bottom.

Leigh said...

I know, just looking at them makes me happy. :)

Leigh said...

Thanks Kris! I always make sure to spend plenty of time each day watch all of them.

Unknown said...

So glad you don't live anywhere near me right now.....

Explaining to my loving wife that I bought a pair of baby goats that we don't need would probably have sleeping in the goat house.

"But Honey,,,,, Look at all the time we will save on mowing AND they are cute."

Leigh said...

I like the names too. :) Assessing is something I am constantly doing! The two overall goals are udder improvement and width. By width I mean I'm working toward stocky Kinders, which is important because they are a dual purpose breed. Oftentimes Kinders lean toward their Nubian genetics, and look more like small Nubians rather than Pygmy goats.

Leigh said...

They are certainly getting pudgy. :) The main reason I have to separate Waldo is because he's a pig ;) meaning he'll hog all the food if he can. I need to make sure Polly gets plenty of extra to feed those young uns.

Leigh said...

I just love this time of year for that reason!

Leigh said...

LOL. Jay, I have to say that the Kinder bucks have really great personalities, unlike some other breeds we've had. During breeding season they have one track minds, so I keep a respectful distance, but I'm not afraid of them as I have been with some of our other bucks. Wethered, these would make perfect pets.

Kirsty said...

Leigh, what lovely photos, those piglets are so cute.

M.E. Masterson said...

So cute!!!

Renee Nefe said...

my daughter would keep them all as pets. good thing we live too city for that.

Unknown said...

What a cute little post to read on a Sunday morning in bed.

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

Your piglets are so adorable!!! Will you be keeping any of them?

Kev Alviti said...

Better not show my girls this or they'll be after more baby animals. Mine you I've got 34 sheep lambing in a few weeks.

Leigh said...

What's just as cute is their little baby grunting. :)

Leigh said...

:)

Leigh said...

At about this stage I want to keep them all too. Eventually reality sinks in and I set about choosing which to keep with a little more objective eye.

Leigh said...

Thank you!

Leigh said...

Last time we kept two. Even though we didn't wait until they were full grown to process them, we have a good amount of pork in the freezer. What we'll have to figure out is how many we'll need to keep to have enough meat to last until the next time.

Leigh said...

Oh my, you're going to have your hands full!

Jackie PN said...

Omgosh Baby Goat Cuteness all around!! Yes, the piggies are sweet, but my heart goes with the goats!! ")

Leigh said...

Goats do that to me too. :)

Fiona from Arbordale Farm said...

I love seeing baby animal photos from your farm. I can't wait to be farming again.

Chris said...

Spring has arrived! Your pictures and stories, speak of seasoned professionals with babies now. :)