Loading the Pigs, Part Two

This morning we went to court to talk with our landlords about moving out.  Although we have already moved out, they had started the eviction process and so we had to come to court to give them the keys to the house.  Unfortunately, our boar pig, Jaws, didn’t get the memo.  We tried to load him again this morning, but he was unwilling to leave.

In mediation, we explained that we were completely moved out of the house, the shop, and the property with the exception of a 600 pound pig.  We happily handed over the keys and explained that we have no intention of staying any longer than necessary but that pigs load when they want to and Jaws isn’t ready to load.

The landlord waivered between anger and understanding.  Initially, he complained that he wanted to take possession of the house NOW and that we had postponed this too long.  I asked him if he would like to try to load the pig for us as we had no solution other than to wait for Jaws to be ready.  He dismissed that and commiserated that it must be hard to get a very big pig to do what you want.  We left it with the understanding that we would only need access to the pig pen and would be out as soon as pigly possible.

This afternoon, we went back to the house armed with a six-pack of beer and a few new ideas that we heard from the owner at the local market.  We jacked up the front of the trailer so that the rear was closer to the ground and the ramp would be a gentler incline.  We rebuilt the ramp, this time making absolutely sure that it didn’t wobble.  We then – and this was the new trick – spread the pine shavings from the trailer down the ramp to disguise it.  We tried to make it look like the ground just sloped upward into the trailer.

Jaws was still very skeptical.  In fact, he was so disinterested in the whole trailer idea that it took nearly five minutes for me to wake him and get him up and moving around.  I walked over to him in his nest – all the time talking to him as I don’t like to sneak up on a large animal.  He didn’t move.  I bent down next to him and talked some more.  He didn’t move.  I rubbed his lower back (well away from his mouth in case he startled and snapped at me).  He didn’t move.  In fact, I could hear him snore.  I walked around to his face and lifted his ear up to look at his face.  He didn’t move.  I scratched him behind the ear and he slowly came to life, snorting and snuffling as he rolled into an upright position.

I took a grain bucket and walked him toward the trailer.  He stopped just short of the ramp.  J took over with the grain bucket.  He would let Jaws have a little bite from the bucket and then he would slowly move toward the ramp.  We had a couple of false starts but once Jaws had his head in the bucket, we could inch him up the ramp VERY slowly.  I stood motionless near the doorway of the trailer, ready to jump down and shut the trailer door as soon as J gave me the word.

Once we had Jaws all the way in the back of the trailer, J gave me the nod and I lept out of the trailer, swung the door closed, and latched it.  Without the latch, Jaws could just push his way back out of the trailer and I would be sitting on my butt where he dropped me.  Luckily, I am a little faster than a 600 pound pig.  Jaws was unhappy – a fact that we knew as he would rock the trailer and truck while we prepared to leave – but he was loaded and we could take him to his new home and his waiting lady.

At home, we unloaded him without incident into the new pen.  The piglets were free-range and didn’t seem to care that there was a hot wire, but Ruby and Jaws both respected the fence and settled down comfortably in their new digs.  They don’t have a shelter yet – and since we have no trees, that means no shade – but we are making sure that they have a nice wallow and lots of water all the time.

Next project, fence in the goats.

Loading the Pigs, Part One

This morning we planned to load the pigs to move them over to the new house.  I have a small pen ready to go with two lines of hot wire, one about 1 foot off the ground and another about two feet off the ground.  I figure if the pigs get out, we’ll change the way we have the pen set up.  I’m skeptical, but for now, I’m going with the idea that I read about in the Storey Guide that says you can contain pigs with a single strand of hot wire.

Knowing that Jaws does not like to load, I didn’t have high hopes for the morning attempt.  We needed to be in town by nine so we were just going to try for about half an hour and then have to come back later to try again.

J backed the trailer up to the gate and we created a ramp using a couple of posts for support, then a pallet as the ramp, and lastly a plywood board for walking on.  It wasn’t completely stable and I knew that Jaws wasn’t going to trust it the minute he stepped on it and it wobbled.  We used the trailer door as a wall for one side of the chute and then propped a piece of metal sheeting up on the other side of the ramp.  There’s no way that you can keep a pig from pushing through a wall if they want to so this was really meant to act as a visual barrier, not a physical one.

We prepared the pigs for transport by withholding food for the past day.  We made sure that they had water, but wanted them to be good and hungry.  When we had everything set up, we opened the gate to the pen and shook a bucket of grain in front of the ramp.  Everyone was immediately interested.  As they walked closer, we walked up the ramp and into the trailer.  Once in the trailer, we filled the feeding tubs with grain and snuck out the side.  Ruby and the piglets walked up into the trailer without hesitation and began to happily eat.  Jaws stepped up onto the ramp and immediately turned around and walked away.  This isn’t his first rodeo…he paused, looked over his shoulder at the trio eating their grain in the trailer, walked over to his nest, and flopped down. 

Round one was over.  We shut the trailer and the gate.  Ruby and the babies would head to the other house without Jaws.  We’d have to come back for him later.

Moving the Goats

One of the biggest challenges we face when moving to a new house is the fencing.  We don't have the money to buy new fencing for the new house, so we need to reuse the fencing we have.  Unfortunately, livestock won't just stay put if you tear down their fencing to move it.  So, we have to come up with a different solution.

We decided to take a chance with the goats.  The place we are moving to is five acres.  It has a perimeter fence, but it is just four-strand barbed wire - not something that would hold a goat.  But like the chickens, the goats will not travel too far from what they consider home.  So, we moved the goats without building a fence.

It's pretty easy to move goats.  You open the trailer, shake the grain bucket, they jump in, you close the trailer, and you're done.  It was a bit harder with Ares (our wether) this time.  J will dictate the experience to me sometime soon and I will add it.  Suffice it to say, it was not as simple as opening the trailer.

When the goats arrived at the new house, we made sure to feed them near the house, show them the water trough, again, near the house, and fill the hay feeder, yet again, near the house.  Goats are social creatures and would be happiest hanging out with you in the house, so we knew that if they saw us around the house for the day, they would associate that as home.  What we didn't know was how incredibly LOUD a herd of goats can be at night as they run the circuit around the house.  Up onto the back deck - clack, clack, clack - down through the dry pond rocks - clank, clank, clank - up onto the front deck - clack, clack, clack - around the back of the house - maaa, maaa, maaa - and then back up onto the back deck.  Intersperse this with the crazy tongue wagging call of a buck in rut - bleh-ah, bleh-ah, bleh-ah, sneeze - and the occassional goat head peeking in the bedroom window and you get the picture.  By the morning, we were WISHING that the goats would run away.  They have five acres to browse and explore and they spent the entire night within five feet of the house.

We will be building a goat pen as soon as we get settled into the house.  But for now, we may just move their food and water a little further away from the house and hope that they settle into their new surroundings - or we might just have goat for dinner.

Moving the Chickens

We moved the chicken coop over to the new house today.  I don't know how people live without a crane truck!  We just brought the truck over to the house, strapped the coop to the boom, and lifted it up onto the trailer.  Most of the chickens decided that they were not interested in staying in the coop, but two of our broody hens were not going to let a little thing like moving get in the way of their babies.

I was not convinced that it would be safe for these girls to ride in the coop all the way to the new house, so I set up a couple of boxes, filled them with hay, stole their eggs, and set them in the boxes to brood.  We loaded the rest of the trailer with farm equipment and were on our way.  The remaining chickens were a bit unhappy with us taking their house - squawking and cackling the whole time we loaded the trailer and even as we drove out the driveway.

We used the crane truck to set the chicken coop out in the middle of the area we have deemed for livestock.  Again, how do people live without a crane truck?!?!?!  I settled the broody girls back into the nests in the coop and they happily nestled down for the long haul.

We waited until the evening to go back and catch the other chickens.  Once it was dark, we went out to the old pen with a flashlight and several dog crates.  We have found that if you stand the crate up on end, it's easier to drop the chickens into the crate without letting any out.  The chickens may not appreciate it, but we do.

It took about twenty minutes to round up the rest of the flock.  You just walk quietly over to the roosting chickens and reach under them to grasp their legs.  It's best if you catch two at a time.  Quickly pull back so that the chicken drops it's head down and goes into a trance.  Then just drop them into the crate and repeat. When we had them all, we brought them home and set them in the coop for the night.

Update on Zeus

Zeus is still down today, but seems to have more function than yesterday.  He has tried to get up a couple of times.  He is happily drinking all the gatorade we give him.  He is also calm enough to chew his cud - a good sign.  I'd like to see him up and walking, but at least we're heading in the right direction.

Thinking back on the things that could have been the reason behind this, I'm wondering if it has to do with water.  Zeus is in the pen with the pigs.  Ruby CONSTANTLY knocks over her water bucket so that everyone ends up without water.  I make sure to refill it several times during the day, but if Zeus were really thirsty, he might end up drinking out of the pig's mud puddle.  My bet is that there are lots of nasty bugs that could make him feel gross just thriving in that warm puddle of muddy water.  I'm a bit surprised by his lack of movement, but it came on so quickly, and without any change in diet...I really think it must be a bug.

Because we used Corid for the possibiliy of coccy, I am going to give him a dose of LA 200 tonight just to cover our bacterial bases.  If we had used Sulmet for the coccy, we wouldn't need the anti-biodic as Sulmet is a sulfa drug and acts as such.

Sure wish it would cool down a bit.  All the animals (and the people) would be a bit happier if we dropped below 90 F.

Goat in the Mud

When I went out to feed this morning, Zeus was uninterested in his grain.  I noticed scours and he was looking kind of down.

This evening, I went out to feed and he was lying in the mud...something a goat would never do.  Jason and I had to physically move him to a dry area.  He tried to get up, but seemed unable to coordinate his movements and hold up his own weight.

Took his temperature, 101.7.  This is a fever.  We suspect coccy and are treating for that as best we can.  Administered 2 tablespoons of Maloxx orally - to coat stomach and help with digestion.  Administered 6ml of Vitamin B Complex subcutaneously - to stimulate body and encourage digestion.  Administered 30ml of Corid (no Sulmet on hand) orally - to treat coccidiosis.

We will check on him later tonight, but there is little else we can do.  Neptune, our other buck, is continuing to sit vigil by his side, rubbing on his head incessantly (probably annoying Zeus).

ALSO...thought we found a rattlesnake by the feed buckets.  Treated it as such.  It ended up to be a Gopher snake with a really good rattlesnake impression...unfortunately for him, we believed him when he coiled up and "rattled."  We shot him.