We got Russ a week ago and had him neutered. Well, thankfully I knew that it would take a few weeks for him to completely be sterile, so there was a pen built especially for him. During the last couple of days, my two that need to be spayed went into heat. I’m still working on this. Well, since Russ’ hormones won’t completely level for up to 60 days and he isn’t completely sterile yet, there has been some behavior issues. I know those will level out so I’m not worried about it and am not rehoming him. He is now jumping up on me due to the others being in heat and him still having those hormones when around a female in heat. He cannot get to them, though he has tried to. I’m making this post to show how important it is to spay and neuter your animals. They are all a little miserable at the moment but that is all going to change soon.

I am heartbroken tonight. My sweet Pepper is having difficulty walking. She is a 10 year old Australia shepherd, blue heeler mix. She has been with me since she was a puppy. She broke her leg when she was a puppy and she does have arthritis in that leg. She has a limp when the weather is bad but normally she doesn’t have an issue. She started limping last night and had difficulty getting into the porch. I thought she had something in her paw but she didn’t. I knew something was wrong because she let me touch her paw, she hates that. I left her alone last night and let her rest. This morning she was limping but not terrible. When I got home from work. She got up and went outside, she ate and did her business and I let her back inside since she seemed miserable. I got her inside and she collapsed. She was unable to get back up. I picked her up, all 103 pounds of her and put her on a blanket to make her more comfortable. She did more to a different blanket but she was scooting and dragging her back legs. She is still trying to play with me. I’m letting her test for tonight and if she isn’t better in a couple days, she will be going to the vet. I’m so sad. She has been my baby since she came to live with me. She has been through a lot in her life; broken leg, stones in her bladder, etc. She is such a good dog but she is struggling and I hate it. I’m sad tonight. 

Poor patsy has been constipated again. I’m not sure why. I water the pellets down for that reason. Poor thing was so miserable. I got some baby formula and mixed it with warm water. Added some pumpkin and baby food. I made enough for all 8 pigs to make sure they got enough. Works every time. It didn’t take long for her problem to be fixed. I absolutely hate when one of them is having a problem. It just makes me hurt for them. I will be adding more of these things to their diet more often so this doesn’t happen. It’s about once a month for poor Patsy. She is my timid little girl. She loves the pumpkin and eating off the spoon. Brutus got jealous and bit me for not feeding him off the spoon so I had to remedy that. Russ loves it also. Definitely don’t want him getting constipated after surgery. I’m watching him closely.

The night we put Russ (the new pig) into the pen, we started hearing coyotes and super close and it was still daylight. Freaked me out completely. I stayed outside until well after dark making sure all of the animals were okay. Came in and sat down to relax and watch tv with the hubby. I was definitely on high alert. I thought I heard them again, so we went outside with a gun and a flashlight. Things are well lit where the pigs are and I keep getting told not to worry about it. I really try not to, but it doesn’t usually work. I constantly think about it after I hear coyotes. I always worry for nothing. I got up the next morning almost running outside to check on all of the animals and they were all fine. The joys of living in the country. 

Well, we have another rescue this week. I tell you what, I’m tapped out now. I cannot take any more animals in. So, I rescued a pig back in September and gave him to a friend of a friend. A couple weeks ago, she texted me and needed to rehome him because she didn’t have time for him. I knew this pig was about to be placed again and this would be his 4th home in a year. That’s not really fair to the pig so I agreed to take him. I just couldn’t let him continue to get rehomed. They usually get really depressed and don’t eat for awhile after being rehomed. It’s really not fun to watch. It breaks my heart. I made an appointment with the vet to get him neutered and they offered to pay for it. So me and the hubby picked him up Thursday evening and brought him home. I couldn’t put him in the pen with the others because he wasn’t neutered yet. I put the carrier in our feed barn for him to sleep in. I let him out to clean out the carrier and to give him food and water. What I didn’t expect was in taking an hour and a half to get him back in the carrier. Poor baby was traumatized from being moved. It was dark and scary in the barn. In that time though, he was able to eat out of my hand, show me he was happy with a Mohawk, did a belly flop for belly rubs, let me lay down next to him and gave piggy kisses. He was traumatized but still showed me love and affection. I saw him cry real tears that night, too which broke my heart. He had no idea what was happening. I spent a couple of hours with him and then went to bed. The next morning, I took him to the vet. He talked to me with his piggy noises. Same thing when I picked him up. I thought we would use a crate in the feed barn for a couple weeks but hubby decided differently. He actually built him a pen next to the one he will eventually go in. I have to keep him separated awhile after surgery, but they are all getting aquatinted through the fence. I have not seen any more tears and he is definitely not depressed. He is loving having more pigs around. I know things are going to be fine. He is a very loving pig. I’m glad to have him here. When I picked him up the first time, I really hated to give him up. He is home now. A forever home. He deserves it with all he has been through.

Anyone that watches my Facebook farm page can see my poor pigs are in the mud. All the rain we have had is ridiculous and it’s so bad in their pens. I feel so bad for them. They don’t seem to mind but I do. I slip and slide and get stuck and almost fall daily. It’s just awful and we have more rain coming in. The only thing is, they do have a warm and dry spot to get into, so I know they are okay. I have been putting straw outside of their pens for them to lay on if they want to. It’s been cold so they haven’t been doing that. However, it’s been warm the last few and Spam and Treat have been laying on the straw. I sent pics to Ronnie of the mud and he said he was going to try to put drains in. Well, he did!! I’m hoping it helps. It was already helping in the big pig pen but we will see when it rains again. Thank goodness he does care about me and them. He works so hard all of the time and comes home to work here also just for a few days. We are going to extend the pens later this year to give them more room.

Well we got to working on cracker’s feet today. He hates that so much. The peanuts usually get him to behave but not today. Ronnie got him on the lead rope. He got him tied up and I got one foot done. He had mud caked in his hooves. I got the one cleaned out and he had a fit. Ronnie got him to calm down and attempted the other front foot, he got that one cleaned out. Cracker Jack was definitely trying to get free the entire time. He was clearly mad. So the back feet did not get done but he is walking better so I’m not going to worry about it anymore. He is walking better and that is what matters.

We have animal 18 on the farm now. We brought a new dog home this weekend from a friend of mine. She is a 2 1/2 year old lab. There have been a few ups and downs with any new animal you bring in because they are in a different environment. She is terrified of going in and out of the door to go in and out. She may have a little vision impairment and the hallway to get in and out is dark. Sometimes we have to carry her inside she is so scared of the doorway. I know she will eventually get used to it. We also put a collar on her to our wireless fence. She got shocked which hurts my heart more than I can tell you. My husband took off the collar because she had stayed at the house all day. We literally went in for 5 minutes and she was gone. Ronnie found her at a neighbors house and the poor thing she was so scared he had to pick her up and put her in the truck. That was day 1. Day 2, she is doing much better. She has met all of the other animals and has no difficulty with them at all. I even have a mean old dog and she is fine with Bella. Bella is getting around the yard much better and she is loving the running around. Day 3. I’m already in love with this dog. She can shake and she will give you kisses. She is absolutely the sweetest dog I have even been in contact with. She was very well trained and taken care of. It definitely shows. She has a very sweet disposition and is a wonderful addition to this house. We stayed outside working all day today and she ran around the yard all day. She is exhausted. She is very curious of the farm animals and tries to get as close as she can to them. I’m so glad to have her here. Daisy is, too. She has a friend that will play with her now.