He doesn't know he is little....

Our little runt piglet is 3 weeks old.  He only weighs 2.5lbs but he is a feisty one!  

Can you see the little guy chasing the guineas across the lawn?  

He is still too little to compete with the others so he is bottle fed and lives in the house.  We are looking for a good home for him.  Any volunteers?  

Playful piglets

These little pilgets are only two weeks old and they've already doubled in size! 

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Reunited but it was brief...

We took the runt out to spend time with the others, but he was too little to keep up with all that was going on out there.  The other piglets are very active and have grown a lot.  They all seemed to accept him but left to his own, he'd starve and maybe get smothered.  We'll try it again soon, but for now he is back in the house in his cardboard box.

Can you see him there by his mother's nose? 

Somebody help me. I'm hungry!

No rest for the weary....

The runt

Our gilt had a litter of 12 and all are still with us.  A few were on the smaller side and a couple were born significantly bigger than the others, but there was one definite runt.  We were very doubtful he would make it.  

We tried holding him up to help him nurse with the others.  He was quite the fighter, but he was so much smaller he didn't really stand a chance.   

So....we've had him in the house in a cardboard box.  He has graduated from syringe to a bottle for his feedings.  We are feeling hopeful for the little guy.  We named him "Spock" for his extra pointy ears.

Here he is at 5 days.  He is still significantly smaller but he is spunky!

A sure sign.

If your pig starts acting restless, foams a little at the mouth,  and builds a next like this, it doesn't mean she has rabies.... it means you are about to have piglets.  

We put some hay out for our gilt thinking she needed extra material to build a nest and we were amazed at what she did with it!  First she built it.  Then....

She buried herself in it.  All we could see was her snout sticking out.   She did this for a couple of days.  Then....

The next thing we knew, the piglets were being born.  This little guy was the first one born.  Eventually 11 more joined him.  

Do you see the runt on the right?  He was too small to hang with the rest so he is being raised in a cardboard box in the house.