Well, when we checked on the piglet last evening, we found that he was in with daddy. He seems to be drawn to any grunting noise, regardless of the caller. Since daddy really isn't going to provide this little guy with much nourishment, I brought him back inside to bottle feed.
We supplemented a couple of piglets last year that weren't growing as quickly as the rest, but this one is different. I cannot seem to get him to suck on the nipple at all. He chomps on it. He chews on it. He fights for it. He definitely is getting milk into his belly, but it is an inefficient (and messy) system he has worked out. When he is hungry, he smacks his lips together like a packman looking for dots. It's hilarious.
J went to bed early so I decided to snuggle the piglet awhile and get him settled for bed in a small cardboard box. He would not hear of it...or rather, I would not have heard the end of it from him if I had abandoned him in the box. I thought about going out and grabbing a couple more piglets from momma, but I really didn't feel like going outside again in the dark. So I did what any pig farmer would do, I wrapped him up in a blanket and snuggled him into our bed with me.
Just like any kid sleeping in their parent's bed, he probably was doing just fine - getting lots of rest. I, on the other hand, was constantly waking up to adjust him or listen to him. He found a nice little spot under my chin and fell asleep for awhile. I thought we might just have it worked out when he decided that he needed to walk around a bit.
He was next to my head on my pillow...actually in my hair, when I felt this warmth radiating from the fabric below him. HE PEED ON MY HEAD!!!! That was it. It was 2:30 in the morning and I needed some uninterrupted sleep. I put him in the box next to the bed and put in my iPod earbuds. I turned on some white noise and fell happily asleep. I don't know if he made noise or not. But he was alive and well this morning.
I fed him several times before finally taking him out to momma. I wanted to wait until it was warm outside so that even if he wandered off, he would be ok. The boys checked on him a few times throughout the afternoon. I went out about once an hour (half as much as I should have been) and wrestled some milk into his chompy mouth.
I watched him several times try to get in to nurse when Ruby let the babies. But I never actually saw him make contact with a nipple. I'm encouraged that he was willing to get in there and try. I will obviously be supplementing him (most likely until weaning age) but I like the idea that he may eventually get momma's milk too.
He is outside with momma tonight. It is peaceful in here without the little grunt. I only hope he stays snuggled up with his family. We'll see in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment