New Guinea Pigglets, Red Wattles and Muscovy ducklings

Newborn Guinea piglets



Spring is the time of the year when there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to be done. Posting on the blog gets put on hold while I attend to all the other chores. It's not that the blog isn't important. It's just that there are farm chores that must be done... new pens need to be built, electric fencing has to be moved and planting has to be done. The list of things to do is much, much longer than this, but you get the idea.  Spring is also the time when new  babies are born here on the farm. Last week, we had our first litter of American Guinea Hogs. 3 boys and 2 girls. Today, another litter of 4 were born (2 boys, 2 girls). Our small herd of guineas is growing fast!

runaway piglets

The red wattle piglets are  now almost a month old. They will be weaned in a couple weeks. Man, they grow fast! Lately, their favorite activity is to squeeze under the fence of their pen and go exploring. My wife, Jane, calls them the runaways. They walk around in a pack exploring the cow pasture and the machine shed. But if something frieghtens them--a loud noise or a curious holstien steer, they bee-line it back to momma sow and safety.

Muscovy family

Even the ducks are getting into the act. Yep, spring is here!

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.