Winter Farrowing

Two new litters of piglets were born on the farm this month (so far). Much of what I have read on the internet says that newborn piglets need temperatures in the 85 - 90 degree F range. I think it is safe to say that our unheated sheds are much colder than this. Our temperatures have been a bit warmer than normal--global warming anyone? But night-time temperatures still dip down below 20 degrees F and the piglets seem to be doing fine. Plenty of dry bedding and a nice warm sow to cuddle up is all they need.

One of the litters was from our sow Helga (registration #1953) and our boar Herbert (#1957). There are 4 boars and three gilts in this litter. One of these gilts has already been spoken for! Helga and Herbert have produced some outstanding piglets for us in the past. So good in fact, that we kept two of the gilts back for our own breeding herd. Wilma (#3342, a Helga and Herbert daughter) and our boar Wilbur (#3339) recently had a litter of  10. Wanda (#3340, another Helga and Herbert daughter) is due anytime now. Can you say Christmas babies!

Breeding quality piglets are available for $250 each. If you would like a boar, please let us know asap--before they become barrows! A limited number of barrows will be sold for those wishing to raise their own pork at $80 each. The rest will be raised to supply our farmers market customers.

Port-a-huts

I really love craigslist. I check the farm and garden listings for our area almost daily. Over the last couple of years, I've snagged some pretty good deals on used farm equipment through craigslist and have even utilized the site to make a few sales myself. The news media tells us all about the bad things that can happen when using craiglist--scams, rip offs or worse, but I've had nothing but good experiences. Take for example the port-a-huts that I bought yesterday. I saw the ad last Saturday and emailed the seller immediately. After settling on a fair price, I told them I would be there to get all nine that they had for sale.
 

Inspecting some of my newly purchased huts.

 Port-a-huts are small metal huts that are used for pasture pig farrowing and other small animal housing needs. They have the advantage of being relatively light weight (145 lbs according to the manufacturer) and they're very durable. Next spring, we'll put them in the pasture for the pigs to farrow (give birth) in. Today, I put two in the garden so that I could put hogs there to clear the weeds and leftover veggies this winter. The hogs will eat the vegetation and root up the soil making next spring's garden prep work go much quicker and easier for me. My wife and daughter helped add some old hay to the huts for bedding. The pigs will have a warm, dry spot to sleep in while they do their garden clearing duties.

Adding bedding to the huts.

Two huts ready for the pigs.

Hogs Bobbing for Apples

In an earlier post I mentioned getting a load of apples from a local orchard to feed to the pigs. Jane thought it would be fun to see if the pigs would bob for apples. You know, the way they used to do at Halloween parties back in the good ol' days.

So we pitched a couple apples in the water tank and watched.

 

 

 I'm not going to try it, you go first. No, you try first.

O.K. Here goes!

Success! Or the guest of honor at a luau party.

As you can see, pigs are pretty good at bobbing for apples. Who'd of thunk it.

One season of piggy salad bar pasture

Last June I wrote about what I called the "piggy salad bar" pasture mix. This was my first attempt at planting pig pasture. After reading all I could find on the subject on the internet, I planted about 1 acre of land to a mix of dwarf essex rape, oats and cow peas. Recently, I've been asked to write a little about the results of this summer's grazing. The pasture mix was grazed by our red wattle sows and gilts. I divided the pasture into three sections and the hogs were rotated to fresh pasture as the patch they were in was grazed down. All of the pigs did well and the gilts continue to grow at a good pace.As a group they ate about 25% of their normal feed ration. This made for a substantial savings on the feed bill. I have to say that overall, I was very happy with the planted pasture. I think the pigs were happy too. While I think it is fair to say that my pasture mix was a success, there are a couple of things that I will try to do differently next year. 

• First, I will plant more ground to an annual grazing mix with staggered planting dates. This way I can rotate the hogs into fresh pasture that is not overly mature. By the time I put them on the last bit, the oats were getting a little bit tough and the cow pea pods were drying up. 
• Second, I will try to expand the variety of things I plant. Maybe some turnips or beets for fall grazing. Or some corn to hog down. This fall, we were fortunate enough to get a couple of truck loads of pumpkins given to us. I may plant my own patch next year and let the hogs harvest them, thus eliminating all the heavy lifting!

Trailer load of pumpkins, gourds and squash for the pigs.

Guinea Hogs enjoying a couple pumpkins.

 
The vast majority of pigs today are raised in confinement buildings and fed a ration of corn and soybeans with low levels of antibiotics added to promote good heath and faster growth. This produces a fast growing hog that is profitable for the farmer and inexpensive for the consumer, but pretty much tasteless. The kind of pork you find in most supermarkets today! I firmly believe that the way to raise the best tasting pork it to raise healthy, happy hogs who get fresh air and a diet that consists of more than just corn and beans. After all, you are what your food eats!

American Guinea Hogs

Wickham farm has been raising red wattle hogs since 2009. We currently have 6 red wattle sows/gilts, 2 red wattle boars and 5 piglets. We really love the red wattles, but are always open to something new and different. I had heard about a farm in Dell Rapids, South Dakota that specialized in preserving rare breed hogs (isn't the internet great!). After exchanging a couple of emails and phone calls, Jane and I made the long drive to Maveric Heritage Ranch in Dell Rapids, South Dakota to add American Guinea Hogs to our farm. I thought we would come home with 3 gilts and a boar. Silly me! Maveric Ranch has several lines of Guinea Hogs so choosing just a couple was very difficult. Jane picked out 8 girls and 2 boys, but Arie McFarlan, owner of Maveric Ranch made sure that the long drive was well worthwhile. Five more girls were added to the trailer so as to have a full load. We came home with 13 girls and 2 boys. An instant Guinea herd. Thanks Arie!

Our son Nick saying hello to one of our new Guinea Hogs.

 So why Guinea Hogs? The American Guinea Hog is a small black pig that is unique to the United States. The breed was popular in the United States for many years, but became nearly extinct. They are now listed as critically endangered by the ALBC. Thomas Jefferson was among those who documented early imports of the breed to the U.S. The hogs were imported to the U.S. from West Africa in conjunction with the slave trade. More info on the Guinea Hog is available at the American Livestock Breed Conservancy's website.

We feel that Guinea Hogs are ideal for the small homestead. Guinea hogs were expected to forage for their own food, eat rodents and other small animals, grass, roots and nuts, and clean out garden beds. What more could you ask for from a pig? Oh yea, what about taste? Although we haven't eaten any yet, we are also told that they taste great! Arie has entered her Guineas in many taste tests and won! Her hogs are featured on the menus of many fine restaurants across America. We hope that Wickham Farm Guineas will do so well.

Apple Time

Fall is a time when all kinds of crops are plentiful. There is a lot of food that is wasted because it is over ripe or blemished. Much of it makes good feed for our hogs. Saturday, we gathered up windfall apples for pig food. We gathered the apples from under 6 or 7 trees in no time. These would otherwise go to waste.

Big scoop for a little girl!

Just a few more buckets and the truck will be full!

This is just one more way that we try to offer our pigs a healthy and varied diet. You wouldn't want to eat the same old thing every day and neither do they. Much thanks to our friends at Indian Hills Orchard in Fulton, IL and the other farmers market vendors who have sent surplus produce home for our pigs. It makes great pork!

Making Hay

I have a sort of love/hate thing going when it comes to making hay. When everything works and the job is done, I love it. Nothing better then the smell of fresh cut hay! BUT....when its excessively hot and humid, or the equipment breaks down, or when the hay is rained on before it's put up, baling hay just plain sucks! It sucks more often than I care to remember. Thankfully, yesterday was not one of those days. It was cool and dry with temperatures in the 70's and the equipment worked as flawlessly as a bunch of antique farm equipment can. At the end of the day, I had made 27 4x4 round bales with a 1955 AC WD45 tractor and a 1970's era Vermeer 504c baler. Ancient equipment indeed, but it got the job done and it's all paid for. Ad these new bales to the 38 that I had made earlier this year and we should have more than enough for our beef cows and goats to eat this winter. Some will even go to the pigs for bedding and for munching on. Yes, pigs will eat hay. While pigs are not ruminants, they are omnivores and they will eat hay. In fact, I think they really like it.

.

Baby Ducklings

Muscovy hen and her ducklings

There isn't much that is cuter than a fussy little baby duckling. Mama Muscovy was parading these newly hatched ducklings around the farm this morning. She seemed pretty proud of herself! The ducks are my son Nick's project. He started off with just a couple ducks and now has more than I care to count. His hope is to be able to sell some of his flock this fall and make a little cash for himself.

Muscovy are fun to have around and they almost take care of themselves. They spend the day roaming the place catching bugs and eating grass. The Muscovy is a large duck with a lean dark meat and are the only domestic duck that is not descended from the Mallard. They are native to Mexico and Central and South America but feral populations are spreading in southern states where they can become a nuisance. Here they are just a part of the farm.

Pork Price List

We have had a lot of interest in our pork since we began selling it at the Clinton Farmers Market just over a week ago. The pork we are currently selling is of mixed breed. These pigs are pasture raised and antibiotic and hormone free. The price list for this very good tasting pork is below. Beginning in the spring of 2012, we will begin selling our red wattle pork at our Clinton Farmers Market stand. See you at the Farmers Market!

Ground Sausage with just the right amount of  spice!

Great Wieners! These are the real thing!

 

Click for larger view.

UPDATE: Pork prices have been updated and can be seen on our new "pork by the cut" page.

Pork For Sale at Clinton Farmers Market

We now have packaged pork for sale by the cut at the Clinton Farmers Market! A couple weeks ago, we took two hogs to Mark's Locker in Rowley, Iowa for processing. There lockers that are closer to us, but we chose Mark's Locker because of the quality of their processing. Mark's locker is a state inspected locker that is owned and operated by Tom Taylor. I first learned about Mark's locker through Tom's son Brad. Brad works for me as a Park Officer at Rock Creek Marina & Campground. When I'm not home on the farm, I work as the director of the Clinton County Conservation Department--but that's another story. We work hard to produce quality pork and we wanted a top notch butcher. The hams, bacon, brats, wieners and sausages from Mark's locker are second to none! In fact, Mark's locker just took first place at the 2011 Iowa State Fair for their smoked hams and third for their cooked brats. Congratulations to Tom Taylor and everyone at Mark's Locker (loud applause)! If you are looking for some truly great pork, come see us at the Clinton Farmers Market. The market is located at Four Squares Park on the corner of Roosevelt and Main Avenue in the Lyon's business district. We are there on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm and Saturdays from 8 to noon.

Our freezer is now full of packaged pork to sell at the Clinton, Iowa Farmers Market!

Boar Swap

We now have 8 red wattle hogs. 2 boars, 2 sows and 4 gilts. The 2 boars are father and son, so we could only use the service of one of them on our small herd without risking some serious inbreeding problems. One of them had to go. We thought we had the young boar sold last summer, but after several months and a dozen or so phone calls, it became obvious that the buyer was never going to show up to get him. So, we said thank you very much for the deposit and on to plan B. I saw an ad on the ALBC website offering a couple young, virile red wattle boars for sale or trade. A trade sounded like a good idea to me.A chance to get some new blood into our growing herd. I typed up an email and waited not so patiently for a response. Lucky for me, it wasn't long until I got a reply from Donna OShaughnessy. The hogs in the ad belonged to Donna and her husband Keith. Together, they operate South Pork Ranch. I already knew of  Donna. She writes one of my favorite blogs --  Midlife Farmwife. After exchanging pictures and pedigrees, we both agreed to a make a hog swap.

Friday morning, Jane and I got up before the sun to load Danny for the road trip east. The plan was for Danny to go to South Pork Ranch, and do what boars do...you know, makin' bacon . Problem is Danny hadn't been filled in on the plan. In fact, he had other plans. We backed the trailer up to the pen, opened the gate, and tried to entice Danny onto the trailer with a piece of bread, his favorite treat. But Danny said nothing doing. He saw a gap in the gate and made a run for it. Soon he was trotting around the yard, enjoying an early morning romp in the dewy grass. We tried to herd (or should I say chase) him back to the pen, but if you have ever tried to herd a 300+ pound boar, you know that they go where they want, not necessarily where you want. No surprise there, huh? One hour and a loaf of bread or two and a couple of bruises (us, not the boar) later, he was finally on trailer and we were finally on the road.

On our arrival at South Pork Ranch (I love that name, btw), Donna and Keith came out to meet us and gave us a quick tour of the place. They have a nice small farm where they raise hogs, cows, chickens, ducks and grand kids. They sell organic raw milk, beef, Donna's hand-made soaps, and of course red wattle pork. We picked out our new boar and met his parents, Deb and Max. They were fine looking specimens. Our boar Danny was happy to get out of the trailer after the long trip and settle into his new home. I think he liked the place! Our new boar, who is yet to be named (maybe Keith?) was uneventfully loaded on the trailer for the long ride home. When we got home, he was turned loose into a pen with a large puddle, where he quickly settled in for a relaxing mud bath. He needs his rest. Tomorrow he meets the twins, Wanda and Wilma!

Nothing like a good bath to relax after a long trip!

Piggy Salad Bar

It wasn't really all that long ago when most pigs were raised on small farms, in small lots and pastures. This was how my grandfather raised his pigs, and how I had hoped to raise ours. A couple of years ago, I joined the growing number of farmers who are raising heritage breed pigs on pasture. Believe it or not, pigs will graze!


Up until now, the pigs had been grazing on old goat pasture. a mix of grass, clover and weeds....well, mostly just weeds. So, this spring I decided to try something different. I left the pigs on one area a little longer than I normally would have liked and let the pigs totally root-up about an acre of ground. I then used my trusty old 1955 Allis Chalmers tractor and disk to smooth out the ruts and prepare the field for seeding. I hand broadcast a mixture of oats, dwarf Essex rape and field peas. I had read about a similar mix online somewhere and thought it might just work. That was about 60 days ago.

Tonight, I strung electric wire around this new seeding, turned the pigs out into this pasture and stood back to watch. Would they go after the rape, the field peas or the oats first? Well, neither actually. To my surprise, they first tackled the giant ragweed growing on the edge of the field. I wasn't sure if this was because they preferred it to my seeding mix, or maybe it was just because it was what they came upon first.

It wasn't long before they realized there was more beyond the ragweed and began running through the 2- foot deep vegetation like kids in a candy store. This made me feel much better. After all, I planted this piggy salad bar just for them.

Piglets born April 8th

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million! Jane took this video today of Helga's piglets. These were born on April 8th. There are 4 gilts and 6 boars in this litter. They may look small now, but they grow very fast! If you are interested in buying a red wattle or two, please drop us an email. We are now taking deposits on these piglets. This litter will be ready to go to new homes around Memorial Day weekend.

Farming is sometimes puzzling

Jane found a site that will make a puzzle out of any picture. Here's one we made of our sow Helga. Click on the puzzle picture to scramble the pieces. Enjoy!

Tom

Tom. He's the man!

We have a few turkeys that roam where they like on the farm. Tom is a male (thus the name Tom) Royal Palm turkey.It's mating season for turkeys and Tom likes to strut and show his stuff. He wants to be sure the hens all know that he's the man! He gobbles, fans his tail and his head turns bright red and blue. He is really quite the sight! We have an over abundance of male (tom) turkeys this year, so if you are looking for one, and not too far away to stop by the farm and pick him up, drop us an email. For a small fee, we'll make arrangements for you to get a Tom of your own.

New baby pigs

Helga had a litter of pigs in the wee hours of April 8th. We woke to find 10 piglets in the shed.  6 boys and 4 girls. This is Helga's second litter. In her first litter, she had 8 piglets and successfully raised all 8. This time, there were 12 born. One was found dead in the stall. It appeared to have been born dead. It was much smaller than the others. The other dead piglet was found outside in the mud wallow. I am really not sure how it got there. I found one in the mud with her last litter also, but was able to save that one. This piglet was not as lucky. Helga is a good mother, so we are hopeful that the remaining 10 will survive.

 

Pig Pile. 10 one day old red wattle piglets. 
Click on picture for larger view.

If you are interested in buying one of Helga's red wattle piglets, drop us an email at wickhamfarm@gmail.com and we can make arrangements to reserve a piglet for you!

Foodies and the Green Movement

While surfing the internet, I came across an article in time Magazine title "Foodies Can Eclipse (and Save) the Green Movement" by Bryan Walsh. Mr. Walsh claims that the green movement is teetering. Green house legislation has stalled, the EPA is under attack and that we now have "newly empowered Republicans in Congress who argue that the very idea of environmental protection is unaffordable for our debt-ridden country". Sounds rather bleak to me. But Mr. Walsh goes on to assert that environmentalism isn't dieing, it's only evolving. One of the new forms it is taking is that of the food movement. The food movement, he claims is not only changing the way we eat, but the way we farm and the way we relate to one another. The aguement is supported by the following facts:

There are now thousands of community-supported agriculture programs around the country, up from just two in 1986. There are more than 6,000 farmers' markets, up 16% from just a year ago. Sales of organic food and beverages hit nearly $25 billion in 2009, up from $1 billion in 1990, and no less a corporate behemoth than Walmart has muscled into the organic industry, seeking out sustainable suppliers. And more importantly, everyone eats. There's no escaping that. And everyone can relate to a well prepared meal of fresh veggies, and pasture raised  raised pork roast!

While I personally think the green movement is far from dieing, I will say that if this is what the food movement is about, then count me in. As a conservationist, a sustainable farming advocate a small farm owner (and a person who eats :-) ), I can only hope that the foodie movement continues to grow. Challenging the way we eat and the way we farm can only lead to good things. Conventional farming is very good at producing large quantities of affordable food. That's what conventional farming does best. But, some would ask, at what cost to the environment and to our health? I feel that there is a need and a place for another food production model. Food that is locally grown by small family farms where the health of the soil comes first. Where there is a direct connection between the customer and the farmer. Where food is fresh and great tasting, not bland and mass produced. By buying locally grown foods from a farmer you know, you could be contributing to your health, the health of the land, and the health of your community. What could be better than that?

Thinking Spring!

It's still too cold and wet to do much gardening outside, but spring work has begun at Wickham Farm. Yesterday, I broadcast clover seed over about 5 acres of our hay ground. This method of seeding is known as frost seeding. The theory is that the freezing and thawing of late winter along with early spring rains works the seed into the ground so that it can germinate in the cool damp spring soils. My hope is  that the clover will help to boost the quality and quantity of hay that I get off of that ground. Clover is high in protein and adds nitrogen to the soil to help the grass grow stronger.

Jane is getting things started for this year's garden. She has already started several hundred plants on a shelf in the living room window. There are many heritage varieties of tomatoes along with green peppers and a small number of flowers for the yard.

Seeing these young plants starting to grown makes you feel that spring and the farmer's market season can't be too far away!

Raw Milk Sales in Iowa

Open Letter to My State Legislature.

I have recently learned that the Iowa bill that would allow consumers to buy raw milk directly from farmers has passed through the House Economic Growth Committee and is now ready for a floor vote. I am writing you to tell you that I am in favor of raw milk sales in Iowa. I feel that informed consumers should have the right to purchase raw milk if they choose to do so. I know that many people will tell you that drinking raw milk is not safe. I also know that if the milk is properly handled, there is no danger in drinking raw milk. All fresh food needs to handled properly. We have come a long way since the early 1900s when milk pasteurization was used to fix unhealthy production and distribution systems. With today’s information, pasteurization is not the only way to produce safe healthy milk. Data from the National Center for Disease Control from 1975 to 2005 indicates extremely low risk on properly handled raw dairy compared to other food products. Iowa is one of only 10 states that does not allow raw milk sales in some form. Thousands of people around the globe consume raw milk safely. I myself grew up in Nebraska where raw milk sales from the farm are legal and grew up drinking raw milk with no problems. It is time that Iowan's are allowed to make this choice for themselves also.

Walt Wickham

Maquoketa, Iowa

Breakfast with a Smile

Nothing is better than getting your breakfast served up with a smile. Jane thought it would be fun to arrange my bacon and eggs like a face. I don't usually eat food that is looking back at me, but this time I was willing to make an exception. The home grown bacon from our herd of red wattle hogs and the fresh eggs from our flock of laying hens certainly put a smile on my face.

New baby goats

The first baby goats of the spring arrived Wednesday...a boy and a girl. This is a sure sign that spring isn't far away! The mother is a nubian/saanen cross and the father was a lamancha cross. We like to bottle raise our baby goats. This makes for very friendly goats. Our other does will be kidding any time now so we should have a full barn soon!

The new chicks are here!

Friday, Jane picked up a batch of new chicks from Schlecht Hatchery in Miles, Iowa. This is the time of year that we order our replacement chicks. Schlecht's is not too far from us, so it is a convenient place for us to get chicks, and they are good people to deal with. Jane picked up 80 chicks of 8 different breeds. So far, all the birds are doing well.  Jane likes a lot of color in the flock so she gets a good assortment of breeds. Our egg customers seem to appreciate the variety of egg colors as well. Our son Nick will show some of our new girls at the county fair this summer. He will have a good selection of birds to choose from when deciding which ones to take to show. The breeds that we were able to get from Schlecht this year include White-laced Red Cornish, Blue-laced Red Wyndotte, Anconas, Golden-laced Wyndotte, Mille Fluer, Sex Link (Red Stars), Buff Orphington, and Americauna.These birds will spend the next couple of weeks in the house. It's just way too cold to move the fragile chicks outside. Once they are a little larger, have feathered out, and it's a little warmer out, they will go outdoors. By mid-summer, they should be laying eggs with the rest of the flock. It is then that they start to earn their keep. 

Anconas chick.

Snow Pigs

These two gilts were born July 25, 2010. The deep snow isn't slowing them down! They are pure breed registrable red wattle gilts that would be a great addition to anyone's breeding herd. We can't keep them all, and I would hate to see them go for meat, so if you are thinking about adding some new blood to your herd or just starting out, email us for more info at wickhamfarm@gmail.com. 

Groundhog Day Snowstorm!

The snowstorm of the winter hit last night. Just before the groundhog was suppose to come out and tell us if spring is coming sooner or later. My bet is on later. Besides, any groundhog with a smidgen of common sense is likely staying warm and secure in their den on a day like this. Do you think they really care about this weather predicting stuff anyway?

We received somewhere between 12 and 15 inches of new snow. Its hard to say exactly how much, because strong winds carried the snow off of the open fields and dropped it in other places like our driveway, animal pens, and the gravel road. We haven't seen the county snowplow yet. It's late enough now that we probably won't see it until sometime tomorrow. It's a good thing that we don't have anywhere to go today. The kids enjoyed the day off from school by playing in the snow and digging snow forts. 

The snow drifted to the top of the garage door. I guess I'll be entering the garage from the front instead of the side for a while!

Despite the cold and snow, I had a good time clearing the snow with the 1955 AC WD45 tractor. I had Jane, my wife, snap this picture. If you look close, you can see the ice hanging on my beard.Gotta love winter in Iowa!

"It's cold, and it's getting colder....

It's gray and white and winter all around
And oh, I must be getting older
And all this snow is trying to get me down."  Winter lyrics by John Denver. 

The thermometer reads 2 degrees with a windchill reading of -20 degrees Fahrenheit. This kind of weather is hard on me and the livestock. I came home from work a little early today so that I could get hay to the goats and cows and be sure the pigs had plenty of bedding. My tractor doesn't have headlights so I wanted to get done before it was too dark to see. After an hour and a half outside, I was ready to come in and thaw. The cows, pigs and goats get to stay outside. Sorry guys!

 
 

Road Trip

Yesterday, my wife Jane and I set out on an adventure! We traveled to Perry, Mo. to drop off one of our red wattle boars and pick up a new gilt. Yup, we are expanding the herd! Let's hope that demand for our red wattle pork will keep up with production. If you are not familiar with the red wattle hog, you are missing out. The red wattle is a heritage breed hog listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy. They are great mothers, fast growing and best of all....great tasting. The meat is a dark red and the flavor is reminiscent of the pork that grandma used to make.