All is well with 11 little piggies



Wiggles 'eyeballing' me



I think we will eventually get Wiggles back into a pen without a visit to the local ER or morgue. Since her great escape this past Saturday, we have been pouring her feed into a nearby pen and leaving the gate open. We knew she would find the feed there, as she has been housed in that pen before. Pigs are VERY smart. Our latest grand plan is to shut the gate after she enters the pen on her own volition. One thing I have learned from pigs; you can not make an intelligent, 600 pound animal do ANYTHING it doesn't want to do. After we get her in, we will then sneak her babies into the pen with her. 



Wiggles in her future pen...we hope.

  Until today, Wiggles would wait until we left to go in and eat. To my surprise, and momentary horror, the second she heard me pour out her feed inside the pen, she rounded the corner and headed for the open gate. Of course, as Murphy's 'Farm' Law would have it, Allen had to work late today and was not with me. There was no way I was going to attempt executing our plan without him. I theorised, if she came out of one solid, well built pen, then she can come out of another one! And I wasn't gonna test that theory  without back up! My dad had gone with me down to the barnyard, "just in case" hogzilla did attack. No matter how old I get, I'll always be daddy's little girl and he will always be looking out for me. It must be some kind of unwritten southern rule.

All warm and cuddly

 I am hoping her "new mama pig crazies" are subsiding somewhat. She didn't growl and snap her jaws at me like she has every other visit.  It's more likely that she just realized Allen wasn't with me. He has been the only one brave enough to get close to her and handle her piglets. Maybe 'insane' would be a better descriptive term than 'brave' here. Either way, never under estimate the intelligence of a pig. According to numerous studies, pigs rank among the top five smartest animals. They rank up there with the great apes and dolphins. I am certain to have crossed paths with several humans during my lifetime that wouldn't rank that high ;-)

As Wiggles was chowing down, I parked my get away vehicle up close to the piglets. That gave me the security I needed to sneak over and check on our little patient, "Bonnie". All 11 little ones were lined up beneath the warmth of the heat lamp. To my delight, little Bonnie was snuggled in amongst them. I didn't dare get close enough for a thorough inspection of her injury. I knew the slightest squeal would have Wiggles charging my way full speed. However, from a few feet away it looked good. There were no signs of drainage or infection. Even though my novice stitches resembled a toddler's string and glue art project more than surgical sutures, they were holding tight! I definitely think we can upgrade her condition from 'fair' to 'good'.



Bonnie and my amateur wound repair.