When we were sorting out the plans for our farm, we decided very early on that we wanted to run whats called a “farrow to finish” operation. This means that the pigs we bring to market or sell as half pigs shares, are almost all born or “farrowed” right here on the farm. And they stay here with us until the day they’re “finished” and headed to the butcher.
This means that over the last 4 years, we’ve helped a lot of pigs deliver here on the farm. Luckily, with nature being as awesome as it is, these things usually go off without a hitch.
But on a rare occasion, we run into trouble and it can be tricky to figure out what to do because there aren’t a lot of resources out there for farmers like us who raise certified organic pigs on pasture and not inside barns.
Last year, we encountered our first sow “emergency.” Our sow Red had been in labor for a few hours. The first piglet was born at 8:00 at night and another around 8:15 and another around 9:00. Everything seemed on track so we stepped away to let her do her thing since we’ve learned that the sows seem to appreciate some privacy (can you blame them?)
When we came back several hours later, she was still working hard grunting and repositioning herself, but there were were still only 3 piglets on the ground. She had had big litters in the past and we knew there were more inside. And we had done our research well before this moment, so we knew what was happening… we had ourselves an old fashioned “log-jam.”
As Greg swiftly slathered up his arm with soap, I reviewed the anatomy of a pig uterus with him and started directing him on where to go and what to do. I recognized that my years of helping humans have babies as a midwife were definitely kicking in since I was a cool as a cucumber.
It took a few tries and a lot of effort but eventually, Greg was able to pull out the two piglets that were stuck in the birth canal side by side. The piglets were healthy, much to our surprise, and within a few minutes they found their way to the nipple and got their first taste of colostrum. And I’ll never forget the look of relief in Greg’s eyes that night.
We have more piglets on the way in the next week or two, just in time for our next farm tour on June 16th. Here’s hoping for more smooth deliveries for the sows (and my husband’s) sake.
Your Farmers,
Jenney and Greg
PS- If you want more info on the summer farm tours, click here.