Spring has sprung on the farm

The weather has turned for the better although it is now incredibly muddy everywhere. Pretty much all of our snow disappeared in the blink of an eye and now the fields lay saturated and slumbering but the plow and the planter are not far away.

Warmer weather also means new babies, and unlike our lambs which came too early which led to some losses, two sows farrowed this morning on a fairly warm day for mid-March. One, a Tamworth bred to a Tamworth boar, smooshed a number of her babies and we took the rest away. The other, a Berkshire bred to the same Tamworth boar, did much better. We have had her for a while so I was glad she finally had piglets because she was heading for the butcher. We have also acquired some calves, a couple of Jersey cross bulls that my son is going to raise up and sell, hopefully for a profit, and the third a 1/4 Holstein, 1/4 Jersey, 1/2 Angus heifer that I plan to keep to breed for feeder calves for the family freezer.

The rest of the critters are getting more active so hopefully ducklings and goslings are in the offing. One more sow is ready to farrow any day now and yet another, a Berkshire-Yorkshire cross, is getting pretty heavy in the belly and should be ready to farrow in a few weeks. Our third, older, Tamworth sow has had a couple of litters and I haven't seen much of her but I assume she is also preggers as they run with the boar all the time. We are going to get to critical mass on pigs soon and have a couple of younger gilts that will be ready to breed later in the year so things are pretty hectic.

It has been a long winter but as long as God is sovereign and Jesus tarries spring is inevitable. Here are some pictures of the happenings for your viewing enjoyment.

Two Jersey cross bull calves and a Jersey cross heifer under the lights.

The heifer calf about to get a smooch from a cheeky bull calf. Jokes on him, he is getting snipped soon. 

Our Percheron stallion desperately wishing it were not so muddy so he could run in his pasture. 

This mornings piglets, mostly Tamworth-Berkshire cross.

Same piglets close up.