Today the grower pigs are snuggling in their half of the greenhouse, the breeders are burrowing into their hay piles in the field and the most pregnant of the sows have made their nests and are finishing the farrowing of their litters.
Gronkle and Cracklin started to build their nest last night, but Gronkle was a bit ahead so she kicked Cracklin out of the nest this morning and went into labor. Cracklin didn’t bother building a new nest in the hut we provided but climbed up on top of the hay bale that had been half way dismantled.
We set up a temporary shelter over Cracklin. The forecast shows we won’t have any more precipitation for the next few days, so the piglets should be fine outside.
![Gronkle's hut is on the left, the empty hut is in the middle and the heap of hay is on the right.](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9775-the-birthing-center.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=600)
![building the temporary cover over Cracklin](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9777-cracklin-cover-set-up.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=600)
![Cracklin](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9778cracklin-head.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=600)
![expelling the afterbirth](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9823-bright-gronk-with-afterbirth.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=600)
![Sometimes, you just need to sit and watch new piglets.](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9803allie-and-dp-with-piglets.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=450)
![petting Blaze](https://b2717065.smushcdn.com/2717065/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dscf9798petting-blaze.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1?w=600)