Hickory nuts are dropping in the woods and in the hedgerows. The pigs are pleased. They crush the shells with their molars and then sort the nut meat from the shell with their tongues, spitting out the fragments. The noise from the cracking shells sounds like it ought to be painful, but the pigs obviously don’t …
Forty-two pounds of edible fungus In the wilderness a-growin’ Saved the settlers from starvation. Helped the founding of this nation. Homer Price, Robert McCloskey Funny how I can still recite this chorus from Homer Price. I’ve forgotten the story now, but the chorus burrowed its way into long term memory. Actually I’m surprised that I haven’t reread …
The English language has a history of a highly specialized vocabulary for animals. We have words for specific types of animals (“herd”, “flock”, “pride”, or “gaggle”). We have words that differentiate by gender (“buck” vs “doe” or “dog” vs “bitch”). We have words to indicate age (“colt”, “kit”, or “kid”) and general body condition (“nag” …
Over the last few years I’ve been able to find good deals on round bales of oat straw for the pigs’ winter bedding. There are sometimes a small number of oats in the bales, but the raking and baling processes tend to dislodge most of the grain. I don’t count on the grain as amounting …
One of the sure things about livestock farming is that one can never be sure how a day will turn out. When I went to fill the pigs’ whey trough in the morning round of chores, I noticed that the trough was nearly full. Strange… I usually see the pigs in their paddock, but right now …
Cyprus the boar stood still for me the other day so I could measure him. According to the tape, he weighs 698 pounds. If he were fed a free choice grain diet, he’d be much bigger, but even so he’s a big guy. I was measuring pigs so I could get a reference for new gates …
Cattle readily eat wild grape (fox grapes, Vitis labrusca) leaves and vines any time the plants are green, but as the grapes start to ripen they seem especially motivated. Only the vines growing six feet above ground remain unscathed. While they aren’t as resourceful as goats, who manage to gain extra reach by standing on their back legs …
