New Life!- In the BATHROOM??

Life on a farm always seems to come full circle. One minute we are suffering from the loss of a beloved animal, the next minute we are enjoying the sights and sounds of new life!

We have 4 new sets of eyes looking at us around the farm. 3 sets outside in the barn in the form of new pigs (which I will talk about some other time), the other set looking at us from in our bathroom. Yes, I did say BATHROOM. lol!

About a month ago my daughter received an early birthday present, (Super early given her b-day isn't until December!!) an egg incubator. From a parental standpoint, I have been putting off the idea of spending almost a hundred dollars on a STYROFOAM box. (but, I'm wishing that I came up with this overpriced box idea, that's quite the money making racket they have going!)

Anyway, since that day we have been diligently collecting our show chicken's eggs, dating them, writing the breed on them, and we have been putting them in the incubator.

That incubator is a real fickle thing! We have to constantly monitor the temperature to help it maintain a constant 99.5*. Why can't it just be 99.*? or an even 100*? What's with the .5*? ?? It wouldn't be as tough if it was digital, but it's not. It has a little old fashioned thermometer inside the box and a little stick poking out of the top of the box that you can turn to the left or to the right to increase or decrease the temperature. It would be so much easier if it was digital!

All the eggs have been cooking along just fine. I have been candling them periodically and marking which ones are fertilized and growing nicely. So far, I only had one that was considered a "yolker" (non developer- not fertilized). I have a couple I'm on the fence about. I see a large blood ring around the inside of those eggs. But this blood ring doesn't look like any of the blood rings I have seen on the Internet. So we will just have to wait and see.

Our bathroom has become a "scientific" chicken rearing facility. Complete with incubator, automatic egg turner, and separate brooding box. It gives going potty a whole new meaning! And to think some people just have boring magazines or newspapers for their enjoyment! Heck, we can sit on the throne and watch the miracle of life! It's hard not to feel self conscious though when you have baby chicks looking up at you while your sitting on the crapper, making a deposit. The cool part though, it really helps with toddler potty training! I cannot count how many times I have heard "see chicks??" "potty!!" this morning! Hey! Now there's a market for me... All I have to do is convince every mother that she needs to hatch out eggs next to her toilet. Maybe I could make an infomercial! (checks idea to back of mind for further use... LOL)

I cannot believe how everyone has been involved in this process- Even my animal hating husband spent this past evening outside in the garage building a brooding box. Our brooding box is a 24"x24" plywood box w/ an 18"x 24" plexi glass hinged lid. This box also has a light bulb "poking" through the back to provide heat for the chicks. It's a beautiful contraption! But, it is more fickle than the dang incubator! Talk about a new learning curve! So far our hatch rate isn't that impressive. Technically, you are supposed to leave the eggs in the incubator until they hatch and are dry... Then move them to the brooding box. Sure, in a perfect world that sounds pretty simple right?? Well, if we leave them in the incubator- Yes, they hatch... Then manage to get their floppy little heads stuck in the automatic egg turner. So, we moved some of the eggs that had "pip" holes (the first hole a baby chick pecks into it's shell) into the brooder- that way they can hatch and not get jammed up in the machine. But- Even with a thermometer in the brooder it's hard to figure out where to put the eggs in the box. Next to the light is way to close (fried 2) and too far away from the light they get too cold in their shell and die. On a side note, it kind of makes you appreciate buying day old chicks- way less work involved!

OK, folks- Gotta run, I'm loosing my thought train because I have to quit writing every few minutes to get the boy out of the bathroom. I think I'm going to make a run this morning for one of those safety devices that go over a door knob so a toddler cannot open the door!

"It's Always Something..." Part 1 million and 6

*sigh*
Here we go again...

Back to my famous quote "It's always something"...

Let's see??? How to start this one??? My daughter, the absolute CHICKEN FANATIC! Loves her chickens to death. She makes fancy set-ups for her "special" chickens, she hand picks them "special salad" (aka: grass, clover, apple pieces, garden crops, etc...) and hand feeds them to those "special" birds.

Those birds consisted of (notice the PAST TENSE here) 2 call ducks: 1 snowy (looks like a miniature Mallard), 1 white one, 1 Cochin pullet (a type of young female show chicken), 1 Mille Fluer (another fancy rare chicken), 2 Black Rosecombs- male/female, and my hubby's turkey pullet (young female). Not to mention the 4 youngin's that were given to us from a family that hatched out some of our eggs.

Everyone was doing wonderfully fine- Until.....

My daughter got up early Sunday morning to find darn near the entire lot of them DEAD. She was mortified. Long story short... A Raccoon ripped open the wire on the chicken run and had its way with them. 6 dead, two severely wounded. Luckily, she had the Mille Fluer and the turkey already up in the barn in cages. But the rest of them were not so lucky...

I feel so sad for her. It was just the day before when she took pictures of them for her 4H record book, and now the next day... Taking pictures of their dead bodies for her record book.

As a conversational segway, MAN 4H / Farming is a Hard Life Lesson for kids!! It is unreal what these kids learn about life and death. Granted, with all the things that happen around here, she is pretty used to it. But just the thought of it- here one day, gone the next.. Whether it would be an animal raised for market, or her pet chickens- The kids sure do learn how to "get over it" fast.

Anywho,
Back to the chickens....
The two survivors: her white call duck, and the black rosecomb pullet both have suffered severe bites on the head and neck. My daughter naturally started tending to the wounds. At first I didn't give it much thought when it hit me... What about RABIES?? Now, I do consider myself a somewhat intelligent person- But I was CLUELESS when it came to the transmission of rabies. (??)

So, on the informational super highway I went. I wanted to know what percentage of Raccoons were carriers. Back in the day (1970's) it was around 50% of animals studied. In the early 2000's it had dropped to around 30% of animals studied. And I learned that there has only been 1 case of a "human" recovery from Raccoon Rabies- it was in 2004, a girl from Wisconsin.

Then I started to get a little nervous... Young girl trying to be helpful by treating her chickens wounds... Yikes! Then the paranoid mother kicked in! What if she gets the Raccoon's saliva from the chicken's wound into her bloodstream via a cut on her hands, or even an opening though a hangnail. (??)

So I caved and called an "Expert" (term used loosely) the WI D.N.R. I wanted to know if I should cull these birds instead of treating them due to a possible risk. Very valid question I thought. But the "expert" thought my call was rather humorous because it was a "Chicken" we were talking about. Sure, from a non parent stand point- The thought of a "rabid" chicken is kind of funny. Just envisioning it foaming at the beak while having a neurological breakdown all while trying to EAT a person... Yep! That could be funny. But this IS my own kid I was concerned about. I would hate to have a whoops! I guess we were wrong incident.

The only information he gave to me was that the incubation period for Rabies is 2 months (duh- He must have read the same website I did) and said *he* would just let it ride and see how it goes, stating the risk should be pretty slim to none.

So now we have chickens in isolation. I swear, as much weird stuff that happens here- We could open our own 1-800 # and answer questions regarding death / disease of animals! lol.

This is my second night of playing "Annie! Get you're gun!". I stayed up til midnight last night watching.... waiting.... Man I love to shoot things if it is justified! Hell! After watching all this unfold I would rather give this coon a nice slow painful death by blunt spoon than by quick bullet. I even have a live trap set in the chicken run (now empty of course) baited with my hubby's nasty smelling catfish bait. Sure, I'm certain he will be PIST when he learns I have sacrificed his pride and joy stink bait for the greater of mankind, but he'll survive!

Serves him right for making me strap on my big set of balls again. lol.

The Fair is over!! But here is a re-cap!

Hard to believe it has already come and gone!
Here are this year's highlights:

Swine:
Our gilt "pink" remained in great health so she was able to go to the fair (because the fair is a one way market- Charlotte didn't go to the fair, she is still at home). She weighed in at a whoppin 305lbs! She looked nice! All clean and shaven, had great length to her...
She placed a 3rd in the market animal class. Not too shabby given we have never raised a hog as a show animal before. And we raised her as natural as possible- didn't have her all "paylean'd" out. (a hog muscle growth hormone) You should see some of the pigs at the show! They have muscles where I didn't even know pigs HAD muscles!

My daughter also did a showmanship class with her. She placed 3rd. I was so proud of her, she tried so hard to keep her swine under control. Pink always did have a natural tendency to run so I was kind of worried about how she would act in the show ring. But my daughter did her best to keep her in the Judge's eye and out of the corners!

At the market sale, a company purchased her gilt for $2.10lb.

Sheep:
This year we took 3 sheep to the fair (OK, really 5 - two of them were market lambs we had raised for other 4h kids) My daughter showed a yearling ewe in a colored fleece (black wool) class and took a 1st place. She also showed one of our mature ewes in a breeding stock class. This ewe did have some age on her, she is around 7 years old! The judge liked her, but placed her as a third because the judge wanted to see more muscling on her. No problem! We only brought her for the fun of it. We just pulled her off the pasture, cleaned her up and brought her to the show.
As for her market lamb, it placed a 4th. The judge wanted more length of body to him. Oh well, that's nothing we could have "fixed"- unless we stretched him on a RACK of course! lol. kiddin.

The other two market lambs that were born here- one placed 2nd, and the other a 4th.

BUT- the best news with the market lamb was the night of the market animal sale! The business that bought our lamb last year, was desperately asking people who knew us as to if we were having another lamb in the sale. And if we fed him the same way we did last year. Come to find out, they just LOVED the taste of the meat last year (it was the first time ever they had bought any form of "lamb") and wanted to purchase another one from us this year! Long story short, they got into a bidding war with another company over my daughter's lamb and it sold for $2.70lb (he weighed in at 125lbs). And to top it off, they ended up purchasing another one of our lambs - one of our farm born ones shown by another girl from our club. I did talk to them afterwards explaining to them that what we raise is more of a production type lamb (meant for eating) over looking all muscle bound (good for placing well in the show ring) lamb. I explained how my daughter's lamb will have a larger leg of lamb than the other, and the other lamb will have a larger loin. They are thrilled to be having our lambs again for their freezer!

Chickens/Bantams:

My daughter rocked it with her chickens this year! She took 7 birds (I think??) to the fair. Each bird received a 1st place. Just for fun, I have her enter the egg judging class (I do it each year) I I (through her :) ) entered 6 colored eggs to be judged. They too took a 1st place!

As for showmanship, she didn't take the trophy this year like she had for the 2 past years. She made a crucial mistake. She took a Japanese bantam up to the table for the one on one w/ the judge. And long behold, the judge wanted to know specifics about this breed, and she didn't know it! So she took a 2nd place this year. I felt bad for her- she has all kinds of rarer breeds that she knows inside and out and here she takes the one bird ripped from our pasture- and doesn't know squat about it! ugh! But on the other hand, I keep telling her to study for showmanship (it's all question / answer with the judge) and she basically gives me the one finger wave (so to speak) and tells me about how she won the top honors 2 years in a row w/out studying. So when she placed second, I was glad to see her humbled back down to reality!

Dairy Goats:
This was our 2nd year bringing "Rosie" our Alpine yearling doe (non milker-never been bred). She placed a second place 1st (if you can follow that one!) in her dairy class.

As for showmanship, my daughter did better than last year and pulled off a blue ribbon. She placed second last year.

Meat Goats:
This was our very first attempt with a Boer goat. We only decided to do the project to help promote it with our county. It was our county's first year for the meat class. The goat, "Cracker head" (yes, he was a bastard of a little goat!) placed super well! He took a second place blue ribbon. He was a big contender for Grand Champion, but didn't get it. Our friends / family would have gotten a big kick out of it- if he did win Grand, because everyone KNOWS how much of a "challenge" he is! lol. He is all muscled out, um... not because of a great exercise program set by us, it is because he is IMPOSSIBLE to catch and can run like the dickens! 5 people in an enclosed paddock couldn't catch this little bugger!

Anyway,
My daughter scratched the showmanship portion of the show. The goat was just tooooooooooo much to handle. And sometimes the judge will make the kids switch goats to see how they handle another goat other than their own- Well, we would have been FINE but the poor kid that got Cracker Head would have been screwed. Plus chasing that little bastard all over the fair grounds after that poor kid let him go, would not have been cool. I could see it now... some little kid in a stroller seeing a baby goat come flying past: "mommy! look at the goat!" and then "BLAM!!!" as I shot it dead in front of them because the two hour chase around the fair was grating at my nerves! LOL!

Other projects my daughter did:

A saddle pad she had sewn took a 1st place and an Award of Merit (higher than a 1st place)! It was show cased in the glass case for all to see.

She also sewed a helmet bag for her riding helmet, that took a 1st place blue.

And lastly, she made 2 posters. One horse poster and one swine poster- each took a 2nd place.

We had a blast all week at the fair! This was our first year that we reserved a campsite and stayed there. We had showing everyday from Thursday through Sunday. It was a very heavy load, but well worth it! Can't wait for next year!!!!

I think I cut my finger nail too short (??)

Yesterday was quite the exciting day...

I was helping my daughter cut out some fabric for a helmet bag she is making as a fair project. I was using my quilting cutting wheel (it looks like a pizza cutter, but smaller and sharp as hell!) and mat to cut a single layer of cotton.

Cutter in my left hand, holding the wheel guide down with my right hand... When the cutter up and decided cutting fabric wasn't good enough for it any longer- It jumped the guide and ran over the outside tip of my right hand pointer finger (um, yes- it hurts like a bitch to type).

I looked down and thought "this is going to be bad". Na.. It wasn't too bad. But I did manage to cut it clear off! I grabbed some paper towel so I didn't bleed all over my floor. I must have been lightning quick because my daughter didn't even know what happened. Or it could be the fact I didn't make any kind of big deal out of it- so it didn't draw her attention.

But my sick minded teenage daughter did enjoy looking at the remaining part of my finger caught in the cutting wheel! I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! :) Given that when I got back from the ER I had to pry it out of the cutter! I could see my finger print and everything! It was kinda cool!

Anyway back to the story, called the husband at work- He knows it's always something BAD if I am calling him off his machine at work~ I asked him if he would drive me in because I couldn't hold the pressure and drive a stick at the same time! Or else I would have just drove myself :)

My husband teased me about how I will probably be spending hundreds of $$ just for a Band Aid. And sure enough... He was correct!!! But I did learn something new- If you cut it completely off, there isn't anything to stitch! :)

Enjoy the gross photos... See... It's not THAT bad.

But I guess my career as a hand model is over :)

Some days I just want to say: "I give"

There are some days I just want to toss in the towel. I often ponder where my drive comes from. What truly keeps me going? Is it my passion for learning? My passion for animals? Is it because I'm finally living my dream?

I wonder why I don't give up. Just about everyone I meet wonders how I do it. Even though I don't work outside the home anymore, I do have my hands full with an always on the go 2 year old, a demanding (expected) teenage girl, and the mid size zoo I seem to run here.

My motto around here seems to be "it's always something".

If it is not for my pride and joy of a horse injuring itself on fence that I should have taken down years ago. (now there is a learning curve)

Or the other horse escaping non stop (3 times now in the past week).

Or the Clydesdale's fat ass wrecking the chain link fencing we just bought and put up.

Or the winged rats (AKA: DAMN CHICKENS!) that keep ruining my landscaping on a daily basis.

Or how bout the 2 month old kitten that took a leak on my new couch (at which I happened to sit in).

Or the pig that developed a infectious illness a week before the fair (which is actually transmittable to humans too).

Or my best cat that got run over by a car (all because I was mad at it for peeing in the house so I tossed it outside).

Or my daughter's best show chickens that suddenly kick off overnight without reason.

Or finally purchasing my first ram lamb for my breeding program. Only to learn that it was never weaned off the ewe and didn't know how to eat solid foods. Only to have starve to death and die - no matter what I tried.

Or it's brother that was just as nice looking that became my daughter's market lamb- Wishing every day that we didn't "whack the nuts off it" making it non breed able.

Or like yesterday, I look out the back door only to see one of my ewes wearing its water bucket around its neck. (just another thing that I have to stop what I am doing to go deal with)

Or the ever rising cost of feed that prevents me from my own personal luxuries so my animals can eat.

All in all, like I said... It's always something. Kind of like if I didn't have BAD luck, I wouldn't have ANY luck at all!

Yes, there are MANY days I just want to say "THE HELL WITH THIS!" thinking I could be on a vacation (um, what's that???) or living the easy life in the city- where my only focus would be yard work and housework...

But I just keep plugging along. Enjoying the small thrills when I have them.

Like a beautiful sunset (man!!! we get great sunsets here!).

Or a hummingbird on my feeder.

Or the horses running and playing at dusk, rearing in the air, and listening to their running hooves that sound like thunder on the earth.

Or having sheep that run up to you instead of run away from you.

Or hearing my boy say "pig" or "farm" or "cows" and know what each one is.

Or catching Monarch Caterpillars to hatch out into butterflies for my children.

Or teaching my little one what a toad is, and laughing when he yelled "MONSTER!!!" and ran the other way!

Or watching the wild turkeys graze in my pasture.

Or seeing the deer that cross almost daily.

Or seeing an animal recover from an illness because you used your skill to treat it.

Or hearing the first cry of a newborn lamb on a cold January night. Knowing because of your planning, that lamb was created. And because of your watchful eye, that new life was born without incident.

And lastly, sharing all of my experiences with my family and friends (even if they don't understand WHY I do it).

Those are the things that keep me going. Those instances are what make life feel the fullest.

I better stop rambling... It's time to go outside and inject the pig with more Penicillin....

"It's always something".

When things turn very serious...

So there I was, plodding along in life... No major happenings. Our family was getting ready for our county fair that will take place in less than 2 weeks. Life is good. Until this...

3 days ago while doing our normal routine of letting the two pigs out into our paddock so that they can stretch their legs and enjoy the fresh air, I noticed a bruise the size of a golf ball on Good Charlotte's back. I felt so bad for her. I figured for SURE the other more dominant pig had been too rough on our meek little Good Charlotte (Good Charlotte is the pig I am "riding" in the other post). I thought for sure it was a pig bite. I thought that it had happened during feeding time. After we put them away, we decided to keep our eye on her.

A couple hours later when I went to check on her in the stall. I had noticed another bruise on her back. This one was smaller in size, roughly the size of a nickel. I couldn't believe that the other pig was "attacking" her! I immediately took Good Charlotte out and isolated her into her own pen.

Life went on, I figured that will just be how it has to be. One pig in the big stall, the other in the small pen.

The next day came, and early in the morning we decided to let the pigs out separately for their time outdoors. While Good Charlotte was outside we noticed that she was not her bright upbeat self. I told my husband she looks "depressed". As we were checking her over we noticed that she had more bruises. At that time I counted around 5. We were dumb-founded! Where were they coming from?? Are they from flys? Is it from internal parasites? Given that swine are pretty new to us. I know that they oink, are big, grow fast and eat just about anything- Other than that, I don't know a great deal about illness / diseases.

Even though I have a few books on raising pigs, none of them seem to have any information on what we are experiencing. Her symptoms are listlessness and raised large lumps on the skin that have purple centers with a red ring around the purple center. And she gone off her feed. She won't eat or drink. To test that theory, I tried giving her a piece of bread and a pancake- neither of which she would eat.

I was frantic for a resolution. What on earth could be wrong with her? Whatever this is- it came on like a fire storm, healthy happy pig to next to dead the next. If I don't find an answer to this, she surely will die.

I spent the entire day surfing the information highway (aka: internet!) looking for my answer. I finally found it, and this is what it is....

Erysipelas in pigsDR Webster, Animal & Plant Health Service, DPI&F Queenslandand M J Moore, Pig & Poultry Production Institute, South Australia

Erysipelas is a common pig disease sometimes called diamond skin disease. Affected pigs often have a fever, sudden deaths may occur and sows may abort, skin may redden and suffering from arthritis or heart disease may develop. Although the bacteria responsible are widespread, outbreaks of generalised illness are relatively rare. It is more likely to surface as chronic lameness or joint condemnations at slaughter, and protective vaccination is strongly recommended.

The disease
The disease is caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (formerly E insidiosa) a bacteria which is commonly present in an estimated 30-50% of tonsils in healthy pigs. Rodents and birds can introduce and maintain the organism within a piggery, and it can survive temporarily in soil, bedding and water. The bacterium is spread through faeces, saliva and nasal secretions.
Erysipelas can be an acute (rapidly developing), subacute (with mild and sometimes unnoticed symptoms) or chronic (slowly developing and long lasting) disease, and usually causes illness in pigs between 3 months and 3 years of age. Infected pigs may suffer from one or more of the five forms of the disease below.

Acute-FeverAn acute form which may affect pigs of all ages. In older pigs sporadic cases can occur but with younger animals whole litters may be affected. Pigs may be fevered and ill for several days with temperatures exceeding 40°C. They may be reluctant to stand or walk, and if forced to do so, may squeal and move with a stiff, stilted gait, and will soon lie down again. They are often depressed but remain alert, and may partly or completely lose interest in their feed.
Death can occur at any stage of the illness and will often occur in untreated pigs within 24-48 hours of onset. Young pigs generally die earlier than others. Prompt treatment with an appropriate antibiotic will speed recovery and reduce the likelihood of later complications.
Pregnant sows may abort when affected by the fever rather than from a specific action of the bacteria on the uterus, placenta or unborn piglets (by comparison Leptospirosis does attack the pregnant uterus).

Acute-Skin formAn acute form of the disease which may occur in fevered pigs, or as a mild form of the disease which only damages skin. Some affected pigs have red, diamond-shaped swellings appearing on the skin within 24-48 hours. The diamonds may be 100 mm or more across and can be felt by touch. Many photographs of these swellings have been published, but only a very small proportion of cases show such dramatic lesions, with most affected pigs more likely to develop welt-like red skin blotches, especially on the ears. On casual inspection, cases could be missed as the swellings are not always distinct.
If the skin lesions are light-pink to light purplish-red, they will usually slough off and disappear within 4-7 days unless they become infected. However, dark purplish-red lesions usually precede death.

SubacuteSubacute disease does not produce as much illness as acute disease, but may still lead to chronic disease. The pigs are less likely to suffer fever or skin lesions, and appetite may be unaffected. Signs may be so mild that they are unnoticed.

Chronic -Arthritis
A chronic form of the disease caused by infection localising in the joint. The signs of arthritis in affected pigs range from nil to very severe. Stiffness, swelling or heating of joints may become noticeable as early as three weeks after infection.
Severely affected pigs are reluctant or unable to move, and may not feed. Such pigs should be moved from concrete or slatted floors onto dirt or straw, and should be kept in a small group or alone where they are more likely to feed. Injections of an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory agent may help recovery, but for pigs that are not especially valuable breeders, there is no practical treatment for chronic arthritis. As carcasses or parts of apparently recovered animals are frequently condemned it is better to send affected animals to slaughter early. This also avoids further injury or wasting. Severely affected pigs may have to be killed on the property. Erysipelas is not the only cause of arthritis in pigs; similar advice applies to all lamenesses. Some pigs with arthritis die of pneumonia because they are unable to stand and bacteria attack their lungs.

Arthritis is an important reason for condemnation of pigs in Australia. While the overall level of arthritis condemnation is low, individual properties may have large numbers of condemnations. In 1998, of over 71,000 pigs observed by state pig health monitoring services, 1.9% were totally or partially (one or more legs) condemned because of arthritis.
Chronic-Heart disease

This is another chronic form of the disease caused by infection on the valves of the heart. Affected pigs lose weight, become distressed after exercise or moving, and may die suddenly from heart failure. This may follow weeks or months after the fever form of the disease, but it is not always preceded by noticeable fever. This form of the disease is quite rare.

DiagnosisDiagnosis is based on the symptoms observed, post-mortem findings and laboratory isolation of the causative organisms from blood or organs of dead pigs. Many other diseases can be confused with the various forms of erysipelas and diagnosis is not always easy. Tests on blood samples taken from a pig at the time of illness and again a few weeks later may help diagnosis.

Typical clinical symptoms may include:

A history of a few sudden deaths without evidence of illness.
Sick pigs with joint stiffness and temperatures above 40°C.
Diamond shaped skin lesions or red blotching of skin.
Pigs are alert but reluctant to stand or move.
Death or recovery within a few days of onset.
Constipation and dry, firm feces.
Abortion of pregnancies
Rapid response to penicillin.

----------------------------------------------------

As soon as I figured out what was wrong with her I immediately put her on Penicillin. I am hoping that by my ignorance (immediately isolating her from the other pig- thinking it was a pig bite) that this will not spread to the other gilt. We are currently practicing a high level of bio-security. We watch where we walk, as to not track anything on our shoes. We also limit who is allowed to touch Good Charlotte. And of course never feed /h20 Charlotte before the other pig- to not contaminate.

So far the other pig is healthy and happy- Let's keep our fingers crossed. The financial loss we would incur would be devastating. Not only would we lose both pigs, and all the money we have invested in them would be lost. But the market pig would not be sold at the sale- which would we would lose hundreds of dollars.

Now don't think I'm all about the almighty dollar... If the other hog shows any signs of this condition- It will not be going to the fair. I have learned that almost 50% of pigs carry this condition and just aren't symptomatic.

Overnight, Good Charlotte seems to be responding well to her high dose of Pen. She was looking brighter, drinking water, grunting, and she ate a little bit. Only time will tell I guess...

I have enclosed 2 pictures- The first picture is the typical "sitting dog" stance pigs take with this illness. The second picture is of one of her spots. You can see the typical "diamond" pattern. A tell tale sign of this illness.

Here we go again! The numbers game... Cost of raising livestock as food.

Hello Gang!
I just thought I would give you an update as to what it really costs to raise your own food.. (no particular reason other than it is interesting!)

Let's start with the Beef!

In less than 1 year, Stew has eaten:
50 lbs of Milk Replacer (formula)
450 lbs of Calf Starter (pelleted feed)
1630 lbs of Cracked Corn
That is a total of 2130 lbs of feed stuff!

If we guess Stew to weigh roughly 550 lbs., that means it took 3.87 lbs of feed to create 1 pound of steer.
To date, the total investment for this 9 month old steer is $657.70. That translates to $1.20 lb (live weight) Or $657.70.

(His total cost does not include the cost of hay (he eats $1.25 / day in hay), bedding, water, electricity, time, tax, butchering/wrapping, etc.)

Now let's talk about swine...

These two glorious "Gilts" (girl pigs) have eaten a total of 1825 lbs of feed.

The total cost of raising these two pigs is: $503.44 (or $251.72 for each pig) This too does not reflect the cost of hay (yes they eat hay :), bedding material, water, electricity, time, household food, tax, butchering/wrapping/smoking, etc...

Let's guess that these two piggies have a combined weight of 500lbs. That means it took 3.65 lbs of feed to make one pound of oink. And they cost roughly $1.00 / lb (live weight)

Let's cross our fingers on our market swine! According to the 2007 Outagamie Co. Livestock Sale report, the average price paid out to the kids per swine was $3.13/pound- Making the average price per animal $851.06. $529. being the lowest priced swine from last year. And $1411.00 being the highest priced swine. 101 swine were sold at the sale last year.

We chose the swine project this year to help us recover ($$) from the expense of raising show lambs / goats.

The lambs are still doing wonderful! Here is the breakdown on them:

Of the 3 lambs heading to show, 1 currently weighs 124lbs, one weighs 122lbs, and one weighs 117lbs!

These 3 lambs have eaten 1250lbs of grain stuff. That's over 1/2 a ton!!!!

It took 3.72lbs of grain stuff to create 1lb of lamb.
These 3 lambs cost $1.92 per pound (live weight)
Just an "FYI" these figures were calculated prior to the lamb's last weigh in. (in case you were wondering why the math doesn't jive!)

Have a great day!