Meanwhile in the Poultry Palace

Sometimes it seems that pigs are all there is around here.

Every now and then though something happens to restore the balance.

Thus it was on Sunday: after we'd finished running around, moving pigs and watching pigs - in particular Precious reunited with Samson (and weren't they pleased to see each other again.....) I happened to glance inside the Poultry Palace to check all was well there when, much to my surprise, I saw a solitary little chick running around.

"It couldn't have been hatched by any of the hens" I thought.

I watched it cheeping and chirruping all over the place. Eventually it disappeared.

When I looked for it some while later I found it back with its mum - not with a hen but with one of the Ducks in her nest.

Is this a first? A chick hatching from a duck's nest??? Anyway, clearly the little chick knew its mum was a duck because the following day it spent much of its time running around after any and every duck (its 'mum' still being on the nest waiting to hatch her real chicks) asking "Are you my mummy?".

The drakes got most impatient: every time they stopped moving around the little chick would try to snuggle underneath them and as soon as that happened, off waddled the drake in disgust..... and then the chick would pursue some other hapless drake--- to the same ill effect.

Eventually it found its way back to the nest......

The other ducks were amazed and completely confused.... there was such a commotion in the Poultry Palace as they all waddled around quacking like crazy and peering round the corner at their mate in her nest with this curious chick! Whenever it ventured out they'd look at it in total bemusement, poking at it with their beaks as if trying to work out what it was!

I was amazed that it survived even the first night! Yet by Tuesday there it was still cheeping all over the place, inside and out, following each and every duck asking the same "Are you my mummy?" question before settling down at dusk with its 'mother' in the nest again...... most unusual......

A game too far

"Ratatatat! Ratatatat! Ratatatat!" The insistent hammering of the back door knocker crashed through the peace of a sunny Saturday afternoon.

"Your piglets are running all over the track"! said our very unamused not-very-neighbour when I went to investigate.

Such is the way all true adventures begin.

Over the past few days Delila's Delinquents have been, increasingly boldly, going where no piglets have gone before. The rum-pum-pum-pum of ten sets of little trotters has become a familiar sound in the stable yard as has the sight of ten 'can't-stop-now-very-busy' little bodies streaming up and down and through and around everywhere.

As Linda remarked "Wherever you turn, there they are"!

On Friday afternoon Mangal, now separated from Ginger, was back in his old pen and by Saturday morning Delila's Delinquents had found their way to Grandpapa Boar. And he, being The Grand Patriarch and very aware of his duties in passing on The Lore had been entertaining them with Tales of The Past and other such things. Obviously included in his Tales was the one about 'The Search (by his and Ginger's first litter) for The Big Nasty Giant who Lives Down The Track'.

Big Mistake.

What are 10 little piglets to do on a quiet, sunny afternoon?

So there they were, having a gay old time, running up and down and round and about looking for The Giant and going ever further down the track when - shock, horror - a scary blue motor screeched to a halt and The Giant himself exploded out of it and in the direction of the House.

"Eek, eek, eek" they panicked and darted off into the hedgerow in search for a quick way back home.

By the time The Big Boss and The (now) Bestest Pigdog in all the World and I arrived on the scene there was Chaos. The Blue Car complete with angry Giant; a bunch of innocent walkers and their dog watching with amusement; and piglets everywhere.

Luckily 3 of the little black ones quickly found the conventional way home and - none of the others being in sight at that point - it was assumed they were the last to return so off went the walkers and The Giant (muttering something about a shotgun being a good way to keep a piglet quiet!).

But that was when the fun really began: we rapidly discovered the other 7 were not at home. On the contrary. They were still scampering hither and thither in the bridleway hedgerow looking for a way home and becoming more and more confused and scared as time went on.

Gunner found them and did an excellent job of herding them back in the right direction. Slowly but surely and a little way at a time he got them back on familiar ground and round the right fences and through the best gaps until they were back in the yard and then it was just a case of reminding them where Their Place was. And down the field they charged and scrambled back under the fence and through the other pigs' pens and back to Mum.

The Dog was exhausted. The Piglets were exhausted. We were exhausted. And then we had to fix the fences to stop them repeating the Adventure all over again - which they were bound to think of once they'd recovered! And maybe the Nasty Giant would invoke the Terror of the Shotgun. So we barricaded the piglets in, which all the other pigs thought was a Good Game and made lots of encouraging noise whilst the little adventurers were collapsed in heaps in the shade, doubtless thinking what a Jolly Good Game they'd had and What Fun they could get up to when they got their breath back.

Meanwhile, the sun shone on and we laboured on and, finally finished to the best of our ability, gave the herd their tea and got the horses (who'd been watching all this amusing to-do over the Rectory Field gate) up and fed them and collected the eggs and checked all the poultry and eventually found our way back to the sunny and peaceful quiet of the Snug where we sighed and sank into a dishevelled heap over a bottle of cool white wine and slowly recovered.

"We'd never have got those piglets back without Gunner's help" said the Big Boss.

Looking at the Dog flat out and fast asleep under the table I couldn't help but think that even for him it was almost a game too far......

(By the way, the photos were taken on an altogether different and less stressful morning!)

Delila's Delinquents

"If you think this is anything to do with me, you'd be wrong. I'm just sitting here minding my own business. Well - not entirely. I sit here quite often - usually when She's doing something else, like feeding or mucking out, or gardening - just to make sure these chaps don't go too far astray. When they do, I trot along - a little ahead of them - and try and turn them back. Doesn't always work. Sometimes I just have to run and tell her they're where they shouldn't be but if She doesn't do anything about it, then it's down to me. The black jobs are The Worst. She might call them Little Stars. They've a mind of their own. Well, five minds of their own actually. And they're always up to mischief. No self-respecting Gundog would ever behave like them.

"Take yesterday, for instance. There I was, minding my own business, as always. Sitting outside the pen here. And what do you know. Before I could think "Pheasant" off they went - all five little black jobs - quick as a flash up to the place where Rocco and his mates live. And would you believe, just at that moment She looked out over the stable door ...... She didn't look best pleased. So I gave one of them an ever so gentle little poke up his tail end and luckily he got the message and shot off back down the field..... bit of a relief that cos I wouldn't want Her to think I wasn't doing my job. But just as I relaxed the littlest one shot through the hedge and bumped his nose on the chicken pen and made a terrible noise. So they all got excited and started running around all over the place again and it was an awful job to get them back in order and going in the right direction back to their pen...... And then they ran around as if they owned the place and wouldn't go back to their Mum but went back in with some of the other chaps and then this one - who's a real show off - starts running around with a bit of green stuff in his jaws (Well, truth be known I've been telling them a few little hunting stories - just to keep them quiet - when they hang around my paws.... anything to stop them nibbling my knees.... and this one's just a bit too cocksure......) making out he's some sort of retriever, I suppose. No more stories for him.

She keeps saying we've never had any piglets as bold and adventurous as these black chaps... Real Little Delinquents, She says. I think she must be right.

They think they own the place. Wearing me out they are. Still --- it's something to do ....... for now......"

Bothered? Me?

Well?

She doesn't look it does she?

Moving Day came and went - very smoothly. A small corral was constructed: Linda tempted Precious into the corral with some Favourite Things: Little Ones followed.

Precious was tempted out again: Little Ones were too slow to follow - mostly. One by one they were picked up - occasionally a bit indignantly but mostly without too much trouble or squealing - and placed in the trailer.

Once or twice Precious made a bit of a fuss - just a Tiny Bit.

Within 20 minutes all 9 piglets were transformed into weaners.

After they'd all gone, Precious made the obligatory 'where-are-my-babies?' fuss - for all of two or three minutes..... then tucked into a Truly Delicious Dinner of all sorts of nice things.... which, for the first time in weeks, she could eat slowly and at peace and On Her Own.

Oh Bliss!

And, after two big litters, she is looking extremely svelte - so for the next few days she will be treated to all manner of nice things in as big or small a quantity as she wishes. She needs to build up her strength before returning to Samson.

Meanwhile, the 9 little Gems don't seem in the least bit bothered to be without Mum: They were a bit nervous of the stalls for a while but then they realised that food arrived and it was all for them with no interference from Her and life took on an altogether more pleasant and less frightening hue ---

..................and, watched over by Chief Pigling Dog, how could a piglet not feel at ease???

And outside in the Big Wide World things are looking up too: the first swallows of the summer arrived this morning and this afternoon we picked the first asparagus......... soon we'll be hanging up the hammock in the orchard and dreaming in the sunshine.......!!!! Roll on summer......

Family portrait

Can't believe it's just over 6 weeks since Precious' Little Gems descended on RectoryReserve but on Friday (now known locally as Moving Day) they will be weaned - "Not a moment too soon" according to Precious (and Samson for that matter who is more than just a little bit fed up with being on his own - particularly since we removed the 4 young gilts from the next door pen last Moving Day!).

Most of the time now Precious tries to find a quiet spot in the sun to snooze on her own but I managed to catch the family in a rare moment of togetherness yesterday and they (well some of them) were happy to pose for a family portrait!

Definitely a strong resemblance between Precious and that one on her left!

The Silly Season

The snowdrops have faded away, the daffodils are at their best and the bluebells (we're told) are going to be 3 weeks late. Easter's been and gone and the promise of better weather to come continues to be echoed by the forecasters and, as if that's not enough to cheer us all up, we now have the certain prospect of a General Election to occupy us for the next few weeks.

None of which matters two hoots to the inhabitants of the Poultry Palace. As far as they are concerned, it's Spring and they have to get on with doing what they have to do. So, I have three broody bantams - one of them 'sitting' on a nest of about 20 duck eggs - three broody ducks and Daffodil, the Perrenial Broody Hen. That's up to about 60 eggs being incubated! I can probably discount the 20 duck eggs under the bantam --- even if she does go the 28 days (instead of 21) I can't believe she's going to feel motherly when her little chicks go "quack" instead of "cheep".... Daffodil usually hatches 2 or 3; the ducks anywhere between 7 and 12..... and a bantam sitting on bantam eggs????? Well, so far the record is about.... 1. So this little hen has achieved a Rectory Reserve Bantam record. She looks a bit tatty but that's because she's managed to hatch THREE chicks... all on her own (usually bantams help each other out... and still only hatch one). So, she's achieved a minor miracle......

They're quite round and fluffy so I'd guess they hatched out over Easter but she's proudly keeping them well covered up for now. Hopefully, by the weekend we'll be able to get a picture or two.

Meanwhile, Precious's not-so-little brood, although only 5 weeks old, are fast approaching the weaning stage - a dead give-away is when they start eating solid food.

We know that feed bowls take on a certain significance among pigs - for instance Mangal collecting them in the Ark when he thinks it's time Ginger returned to him, or Delila hiding hers in the corner of her ark just ahead of her piglets being born. So, too, this pair of little ones are clearly stamping their mark ..... whilst the remainder of the litter are happy to share any bowl, this pair are obviously of the opinion that possession is paramount and won't let anyone else get a snout in....

On the other hand, Delila's brood are still young and innocent enough to be oblivious to the significance of the feed bowl in their midst: one or two of them think it's good for a scratch or for snoozing in but that's about it.... for another couple of weeks....... for now playing and snuffling in the sunshine is enough to keep them happy.....

Call me.....

Very cuddleable....

(Two more - and a bit (!) - of 10 Little Stars.....)

Call me.....

Delectable........

(Another One of ten little Stars.... born 23 3 10)