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Lesley

The Good Life continued....

By Lesley, in The Nesting Box

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Lesley Eggsistentialist

Lesley

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Marshmallows? :?:roll::wink:

 

Emma - we have Willow (tabby) and Mog (Black) who produced Ash (Tabby) at a very early age :? Willow and Mog are brother and sister and produced two kittens shortly after we moved in. There is also another sister called Peach, she had two ginger kittens but they disappeared.

 

There is a big black tortoiseshell male called Tom, he is very friendly. He often disappears for days. He has a manky front leg - must have been run over at some time, he was already neutered when we came here.

 

All except Tom were quite feral when we came but are now outdoor cats. We are encouraging them to be stroked so that we can handle them if necessary to take them to the vet, but they stay outside to catch mice.

 

Willow, Ash, Peach, Mog and Tom 8) - I can cope with that :wink:

(considering we asked them to leave 2 :roll: )

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Lesley Eggsistentialist

Lesley

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The farce continues............. :roll:

 

After the farce with the chickens at the weekend, this evening we had to get the pigs into the trailer.

 

The plan was that on the Monday before the pigs went, we would reverse the stock trailer into the piggie paddock and leave it there for them to get used to and wander in and out. On Wednesday morning they would be fed on the ramp and Wednesday evening they would be enticed to the back of the trailer with a bucket of feed.

 

The reality was.........

On Monday Carl tried to get the trailer into the paddock but the two pigs had made a huge muddy wallow right inside the gate and we couldn't afford to get the Freelander stuck. The mud was up to knee height :? So we waited until today when Matthew would be here with the tractor anyway and if the car got stuck then he could pull it out. Matthew and his friend were busy doing the fence until 5.15 so we than had to move two black pigs in the dark :roll:

 

The car and trailer did get stuck - more than once :? The tractor was called into service, the ground is all churned up and i was struggling to walk on it in the dark :? Then we had to face the pigs :?

 

They weren't having any of it :evil: They careered all over the place, practically invisible to us, with three men chasing - up to their calves in mud and pig poo. I was in charge of the gate and couldn't move because I couldn't see and I'm not going to damage my knee again and spend another 4 years getting it right :roll:

 

We eventually got one in the trailer and shut the middle door. The second pig was such a pain. We had to remove two gates and trap her in the corner and then move her along slowly towards the trailer. Carl and I were trying to entice her up the ramp with feed and apples - the two helpers preferred the 'boot up the backside' approach, which we wanted to avoid :(

 

Finally - they are both in clean straw in the trailer and have had some food and water. They leave at 6.30 tomorrow morning.

 

Pigs! :roll::roll::roll:

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Lesley Eggsistentialist

Lesley

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What if the little blighters won't come out of the trailer :?:roll:

 

The man who sells cider at the Farmers' Market had his pig carried off by the tail :( I know they can't hang around but it seems a bit unneccesary........ :?

 

The temperature around here is supposed to be around -4 by morning - think of us :roll:

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Lesley Eggsistentialist

Lesley

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Well, it's def. below freezing here - the trailer was a bit stuck to the freezing mud but they've gone off now - I'm dog-sitting - in the warm :wink:

 

edit - Carl is lucky that he has gone with the pigs - i've just seen the state of the kitchen :twisted: He only heated up leftovers from the night before :? . Every worktop is covered with ****, 3 teatowels screwed up in a heap - well 3 heaps really. And I'm soooooo pleased that he brought me more home-made ice cream than I wanted last night because the rest of it is nicely thawed now :twisted::roll: You can go off people :wink:

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Louise Feathery Fanatic

Louise

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:lol::lol::lol:

 

Oh dear Lesley just think how tasty they will be when you get them back 8)

 

Did anyone try pig boards :?

 

A plastic dustbin is also a great way to move pigs you put it over their heads and move them backwards as they try to reverse out of it apparently it works quite well:roll:

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Lesley Eggsistentialist

Lesley

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They just used two gates and it worked quite well - I was annoyed with myself because I couldn't do much (and I do like to organise people - especially men :roll: )

 

The pigs didn't want to come out and Matthew and Carl had to haul them out by their tails. They didn't seem that bothered and trotted off without a sound :? . Quite stressless really.

 

This weekend we will need to get all the containers of brine and dry salt cure ready for when we pick up the meat on Tuesday. I ordered bulk sea salt from The Sausagemaker on River Cottage forum and made my own cure recipe which we tested on a piece of the last lot of pork.

 

The stainless steel catering tables are being plumbed in this morning and then the room needs a good clean up. We won't have hot water until next week as we had to order the small water heater we needed, but we will have cold water. We have poltythene at two of the windows as they are still being made and it is freezing in there. It will soon be warm and cosy and weatherproof.

 

The freezer room still needs a coat of paint, the roof mending and a tidy up but then we can move the freezers back in there and add a couple more.

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Karen & co. Effusive Egg Layer

Karen & co.

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The freezer room still needs a coat of paint, the roof mending and a tidy up but then we can move the freezers back in there and add a couple more.

 

I'll come down and do that for you (in exchange for letting me move into a tiny corner when we get our extension done :wink: )

 

karen x

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