Progress

Using draft animal power on this farm has been a goal of mine from the very beginning. But as a new farmer with already so many balls in the air I don't have the time needed to devote to learning to use horses to work the land. Someday I know I'll be able to integrate them into my farming system but for now I've got plenty on my plate. So, yesterday, on a beautiful cloudless Saturday, I had my friend Carl Russell of Earthwise Farm and Forest bring his team of draft horses, Kate and Ted, over to the farm to ready my fields for the season.

With the use of a walking plow and a good set of harrows, Carl and his team got my fields loosened up and ready for planting into come Monday morning. Carl is very knowledgeable in the field of draft animal power and helps coordinate Animal Power Field Days in Tunbridge, VT every year. I feel so lucky to have him just over the mountain.

In other news, the piggies all have names now. This little girl is Flossie. She's the sassiest out of all of them and also the friendliest. She already flops over to let me rub her tummy.

The other two in the picture with their little house are George and Gladys. George is the most protective of the three. He will probably take the longest to win over. And Gladys is my big sturdy girl who I think aspires to be a professional rugby player. She certainly knows how to stand up for herself.

Overall the farm is coming along nicely so far this season. Peas are in the ground, lettuce, arugula, and spinach are all growing in the green house. The garlic is growing big and strong thanks to my friend Jan helping me weed and re-mulch it last week.The flower garden is getting a make-over as I reform the beds and mulch all the walkways with mulch hay... things really are taking shape!

Just a little look ahead, May 8th is the Fiddlehead Festival up at VTC. The farm will have a booth in addition to lots of other local farms, businesses, and crafters. It's always a lot of fun with great food and good people. I hope to see you there!

Fresh Air

Spring has sprung here at Sundora. This gorgeous weather has both chicken coups outside. Crow and his ladies (above) are all out free ranging around the farm, while Gus Gus and his girls are tractoring on the front lawn.

I've been moving them twice a day so they get new grass and bugs to keep them busy. I bought those hens at a couple months old from another farmer, and when we got them they were not happy campers having been trapped in a small space with almost no bedding and stressful living conditions. All winter they've continued beating up on each other, so I'm hoping that constant moving onto new land, some fresh air, and new bugs to chase and eat will help distract them from picking on their siblings. So far so good.

The chickens have some new friends on the farm now too... the piglets have arrived! I picked them up from Hogwash Farm in Norwich, VT this afternoon!

Here they are patiently waiting in Dora's dog crate in the back of the car. I've got a boy and two girls just like last year, which I am really happy about. It's amazing how surprisingly small they are after having 200+lb hogs in the fall. I haven't named them yet, but as soon as I do I'll make sure to let you know.

So far they seem to be much more trusting right off than my last batch, which I'm sure can be immediately attributed to the fact that they didn't get out of their pen within the first 15 minutes and have to be chased around the farm and caught by my brother Jake and I like last year!

They sat in their little crate in their new pen for about 3 minutes, and then immediately shot out and ran right into the electric fence! After a little squeal and some jumpy running, they were off exploring their new digs. I took that as my cue to go grab some corn and start our interactions off on a good foot. So with a scoop full of delicious treats I sat down in the middle of their pen and sprinkled some kernels in front of me while I waited for their curiosity to get the best of them...

Sure enough within 2 minutes the boy (who I just might name George since he is the most curious so far) came right over and started eating, keeping one eye on me every moment. We went on like that for 15 minutes, me staying very still, them eating, watching me closely, and every so often getting the courage to lean forward and smell my boot, or my pant leg before suddenly turning back to their food to continue their snack time. I'm going to go in their pen and spend at least a half an hour with them every day like I did last year with Herkimer, Flo Jo, and Crysta. Those three pigs last year were some of the friendliest animals I've ever met, and I have every confidence that this group will be just as lovely. They really are my favorite part of the farm. I'm so happy they're finally here!

Preparing for the Cold

Fall is upon us, with our flowers starting to close up shop and the threat of frost in the wee hours of the morning. But even with the season’s end on the horizon, there are still many things going on on the farm. Let me catch you up on what you’ve missed… there’s a lot so I’ve broken it up into sections. Today I will do the pigs, and over the next few days I'll post about the cold frames, the end of the season, and the baking I've been doing! Okay, onto the good stuff...

The Pigs

Well, let me start by saying that they continue to be hilarious and lovable. We are having great fun with them. Last week we built them a new house on skids. I have included step-by-step pictures so you can see all the little pieces that fit together…

This is the base frame the rest of the house sits on...

The bare-bones frame and walls going up...

Ben putting the trough on after the tin roof had been attached...

We built them a new house because they are far too big for the other house they’d been in all season, and they were beginning to show us how bored they were in that same pen... ripping down their tarp, nosing branches onto their fence, etc. So, we called up our mentor Steve to see if he’d be willing to lend us some portable sheep netting and a couple batteries, he was.

So, we hooked up our pig house behind the truck and I took off driving over small boulders and through waist high weeds toward the site of the pig's new home. With Ben guiding me I was able to pull the pig house back behind the barn and back the truck out of there safely without falling off the cliff right next to me... all it all, it was quite a successful off roading experience.

Once we had the house in place, we set up the sheep netting, hooked up the chargers, filled the trough with food, filled up the water bucket, and got ready for the pigs to make the big transition the next morning.

The next day, with mom and dad along for the adventure, we all gathered around the pig pen, each at our stations, ready to help the pigs get acquainted with their new house. Ben distracted them with some corn while I snipped off the ties that held the end of their old fence in place, opened it up, and connected the (non-electrified) sheep netting to each side of the opening. Then Ben called the pigs over, showing them the new opening.

Now, I had thought the pigs would go charging through the opening into their new pasture land, so excited at the site of new soil to plow up with their little snouts. Not so. Those pigs stood at the opening of that fence, where the electric fence had been, sniffing the air, rooting in the soil, and not moving an inch. I had read that it's thought pigs associate some level of magic to these electric fences, and while I don't know if I quite believe that pigs even understand the concept of magic, it certainly seemed that that hypothesis wasn't far off. Those pigs knew that they had gotten shocked at that exact spot before and weren't about to risk that happening again.

After a while Flo Jo got over her fears and went alone, into the unknown wild of the new pen, grunting happily the whole way. Meanwhile, scaredypants #1 and scaredypants #2 were still in their old pen, grunting at Flo Jo, probably getting a report of the new digs. After Flo Jo had collected a sufficient amount of data, she headed back to the old pen to have a chat with the other two. But even after their pow-wow, they weren't sold. So they settled in to take a nap under their shade tarp. Ben and I had already been out there for an hour or so, and mom and dad had gone inside. We were running out of patience. So, we took down their shade tarp which stirred them up, but they still weren't crossing over. After trying watermelon, cracked corn, and pig pellets, we finally gave in and hand fed them corn chips. This did the trick!

After just a couple corn chips, backing up after each one, I was able to lure all of them over the "magic" line, and into their new home. They were rooting around and grunting happily almost immediately. So what we thought would be a quick 2 minute transition, turned into a 2 hour coaxing game of lure the pigs with tasty treats.

And now the pigs are happier than ever...

The Great Pig Escape of 2009

The pigs arrived yesterday, and proved within the first hour home that they are a force to be reckoned with...

Allow me to introduce Herkimer (the token male in the middle), Florence Griffith Joyner a.k.a Flo Jo (the oldest girl on the left), and we haven't found a name for the littlest girl yet. She's quiet, so I'm still getting to know her... I'll let you know what I figure out.

My brother Jake and I brought the little guys home in Dora's crate, and set it in the middle of their pen. They were quite shaken, so we didn't force them out right away. When they finally came out (after a little coaxing from Jake and I), they emerged only to run around their pen and find the one place where they could slip through the 3 strands of electric fence to freedom, led by Flo Jo. Jake and I, never having had pigs before, did the only things we could think of. I scrambled to grab some grain and Jake tried to get ahead of them to keep them from running up into the woods. 

After herding them around the pasture for a good 15 minutes, we were finally able to get them into the back side of the barn where Jake immediately caught one by the middle. It was wiggling its way out of his arms, so I run up, grabbed its hind legs, and carried it, upside down, (the way you carry piglets without hurting them or yourself) and we put it in our old chicken coup which I had, luckily, cleaned out earlier that afternoon in case the storm was too bad and we needed to put the pigs in there. Jake was then able to catch the other smaller piglet, and we quickly put that in the coup as well... the only one left was Flo Jo, the ring leader... I tore out of the back of the barn and couldn't see her anywhere... but I could hear her. She was really stressed, and breathing/oink-ing loudly behind the well house. She saw me coming behind her and ran for it... fast (thus the name Flo Jo came about). She stayed down in the pasture as we continued to try to herd her down into the barn, but after another 5 minutes of that we were both losing steam... she took off up the hill toward the pond. I was close behind her but she got past the pond before I could head her off. I followed her up into the woods, keeping her in sight the entire time. I didn't have my phone on me, and I didn't know where Jake was. It was just me, alone with Flo Jo, in the woods. My only hope was to get her to head back down the hill... I ran uphill as fast as I could without keeling over, glasses fogging up the whole way, tearing off layers of flannel as I went. Finally she found a patch of something she liked and stopped for a snack. At that moment I heard Jake call up the hill for me. We yelled back and forth as I directed him south before turning up the hill to herd her back... it worked perfectly. She booked it back toward the house... I lost sight of her but Jake could see both of us and yelled directions to me so I would know where to go as I scrambled down the hill. When we got out of the trees, she was way ahead with Jake. We followed her down the hill past the barn, as she headed around the back of the house and headed toward the road. I sprinted from the driveway, rounded the front corner of the house, and was about to turn the next corner when I came face to face with Flo Jo... we both stopped in our tracks, shocked to be in front of the other. Flo Jo turned right around and ran back into the flower garden in front of the kitchen window... It's got a 10ft retaining wall going down to the basement level on one side... she was trapped... or so we thought. Flo Jo jumped off that wall in a split second and hit the ground running, olympic running athlete pig that she is. 

At that point Jake and I had been running as fast as we could for about a half hour and I didn't have anything left in me... we gave up as we watched Flo Jo run off behind the Sugar house and into the woods toward the brook... Jake walked after her and I decided to follow... the only thing we found was a hoof print in the mud... she was gone.

I came in the house feeling really discouraged, my first day as a pig farmer and I couldn't even manage to keep them in a fence... I took a shower and ate some dinner, feeling like a total failure the entire time. We called all the neighbors and the state police to let them know we had a piglet on the loose... we hoped someone else might have better luck capturing her than we did...

After dinner I headed out to the hoop house because I hadn't gotten a chance to check on the seedlings at all that afternoon. I slipped on my Crocs and headed out to the barn. I was half way up the driveway when I heard what sounded like a squeaky car engine, and then a really short squeal came after it, and I knew immediately it was Flo Jo. I whipped around to see her standing in the field between out house and our neighbors. At that moment I heard my mom, who was standing at our kitchen window (that overlooks that field) doing dishes, scream, "CLAIRE!!" "I see her!" I yelled in reply. I booked it in the back door to the breezeway, threw off my Crocs, jammed on my rubber boots and headed out into the field. In the time it took me to get out there, my mom had gone out the side door, around the house, and was standing in the middle of the field.. it couldn't have been more than 20 seconds... that surprised us both! That woman can move! At that point Flo Jo was standing at the back corner of our neighbors house, so I ran as fast as I could in front of their house and when Flo Jo saw me she ran  back up the hill.

I decided that it was time to stop chasing. She obviously wasn't going to go far, I thought if I got some grain she might come around... I walked into the barn to get some grain, which is stored right by the chicken coup that the other pigs were in, and found Flo Jo standing outside the chicken coup door, staring at her siblings through the chicken wire, oink-ing loudly with them, wanting to get inside. After initially scaring her outside accidentally, she came back in and stood 10 feet away from where I was standing at the door of the chicken coup. I unlatched the door, opened it wide, and talked quietly to her, all the while keeping an eye on the other little ones inside... they were perfectly still, and terrified, poor things. After a couple minutes, Flo Jo gave up and ran past me right into the chicken coup. No catching necessary. All three pigs were back home safe. Thank goodness!

Shortly thereafter I talked to Nancy from Hogwash Farm on the phone. We laughed about how ridiculous my first day was. She congratulated me for surviving. She said that in the future, there's no need to chase them. She said that catching at least one of those pigs in that specific situation was a good idea because they don't know this is home yet and also don't trust/know me either and therefore wouldn't just come to food. She said that as long as you have one pig, the other pigs won't go far. Pigs are herd animals so they will stick together. She also suggested keeping them in the chicken coup until we get to the point where they come toward me instead of running away when I enter. The other recommendation she made was to put a physical fence around the electric one so that when they are bigger they can't get out and eat our crops! Needless to say I plan on doing that!

All in all, yesterday was pretty intense, but looking back on it, it's pretty entertaining. I got a run for my money, literally.

Pigs!!

This is a really exciting night for me, and also for Sundora Farm...

I just got off the phone with Nancy at Hogwash Farm, and she just confirmed that we have 3 pigs reserved! So one month from today we will be driving to Norwich to pick up our piglets!! I can't tell you how excited I am about these pigs. It's been a dream of mine to have pigs of my own, and now that dream is coming true!

This also means that come November we will have locally raised pork for sale by the half pig. So, spread the word and please contact us asap if you'd like to reserve a half!