Someone always seems to get sick when the weather changes around here. And last week, when that glorious summer weather was comin’ in hot, Bernard was the one who fell sick.
He’s the eldest of the two boars we keep on the farm, and Greg always calls him a sweetheart. I guess, in a manner of speaking, the name is fitting.
He likes to be scratched around his ears and always greets us at the fence lines – see the video below!
But to be frank, he’s the size of an actual grizzly bear (600+ lbs), has razor sharp tusks, and especially when one of his lady friends is in heat – which was the case this week – he can be protective. In short, he’s objectively NOT one to toy with.
Sometimes, though, toying is required. And since Bernard wasn’t up for eating – a highly unusual behavior for a pig – we knew we had to act fast.
I feel the need to pause here and share something I’ve been reflecting on this week. Remember in the not so distant past when this sorta situation would throw us into a complete tizzy?
I mean, it was for good reason – there aren’t good resources out there that could tell us what to do, and flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to a living breathing animal you’re entrusted to care for is hard.
But we’ve got the luxury of experience to lean on, now. In fact, we’ve actually developed a “sick pig protocol” of sorts, having learned what to do and how to help.
So this week when Bernard stopped eating, we followed our protocol – moved him into a new paddock with lots of shade and fresh pasture, provided lots of rehydration (a few times through our rectal rehydration system), gave him some of our hard boiled eggs (protein!) – and we waited.
And then we waited just a little more.
It took a little over a week, but he’s coming around now. He’s back to eating grain and drinking water on his own again, which are all great signs that he’s on the mend.
“Farm is hard” is what Greg and I used to say to each other in times like these. We’d come in at 9pm, realize we hadn’t eaten dinner, were well overdue for a shower, and had a stack of to-do lists everywhere. And those are the words we’d find ourselves saying again and again.
Now, our mantra is, “let it be easy.” And every now and then, it is…
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – Yahooo! It’s a FRESH PORK WEEK which means we have a little of everything available right now. Order ahead HERE.
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