Video: Smallholder's Diary

SMALLHOLDERS DIARY The day we picked up the pigs. Monday: The weather has turned cold and wet and windy, but we arrive at Jane s and the pigs are ready and waiting in their bays. They are both males and we have decided not to name them. They have been

SMALLHOLDERS' DIARY

The day we picked up the pigs.

Monday: "The weather has turned cold and wet and windy, but we arrive at Jane's and the pigs are ready and waiting in their bays. They are both males and we have decided not to name them. They have been in the bays all night so they are nice and calm...until, that is, we try to get them into the trailer. They are not squeals of delight, I'm sure. It's just a short ride home to get them into the compound and they soon settle down and start munching on the grass. We spend the rest of the afternoon putting up more wire to stop them getting through the holes in the compound, they have already tried every inch of the border looking for a way out.

They are snuggled down for the night at about 7pm and we have blocked off the entrance to protect them from foxes as they are still very small and vulnerable."

Tuesday: "They seem sleepy and have had a bit of a lay-in. When they did finally stir, they trotted around the borders looking for the best bits of grass."

Wednesday: "They seem happy enough and are eating and drinking well. We had to go out for the morning, but they seem okay and have plenty of food and they are getting used to the feeding bucket, and us. They are really starting to root down with their snouts now and we have noticed that the bigger one of the two is pushing the smaller one out of the food tray, even so the little black one managed to fall asleep in the food trough and he looked so cute. Steve tried to touch them today and although they were happy to sniff at our hands, it was a step too far and they shied away.

See next week's Ely Standard for more: The Chicks Are Hatching.