RectoryReserve wishes to announce.....

To Ginger and Mangel several sons and daughters!

Congratulations from all at the RectoryReserve.

....

Little did we know what was in store (or sty?) for us this morning. All looked and sounded pretty normal yesterday evening when we did our rounds before bedtime. It was still very quiet when we went out at 8 a.m. "Pigs still asleep" I muttered to myself as I opened up the various poultry houses. "Nothing unusual there then."

Mangel, Wurzel and Pepper eventually surfaced from the big ark. Did their usual ablutions and prepared themselves for breakfast.

Suddenly Ginger ran up snorting and grunting, looking and sounding most agitated. Then off she ran, all in a state, back to the small ark. Once inside, all we could hear was a great cacophany of grunting, snorting, squealing. "Something's up" we said to each other. Each too worried to voice our worst fears. He was rooted to the spot. I had to investigate. Rushing over as fast as I could without frightening the poor girl, I peered inside the ark. (Mental note to get electrician to install lighting next time he comes). It's pretty gloomy in there. It took a while for my eyes to accustom themselves to the relative darkness and for my ears to hear what they thought they were hearing.

Well - I just could not believe it. I checked and double-checked; ran through all the other possibilities in my head........

"She's had piglets" I yelled - slightly subdued but in, nonetheless, great paroxysms of excitement and disbelief.

"What?" cried he in (almost) equal disbelief.

"She's had piglets".....

"But she's not due for at least another 5 or 6 weeks - I thought" said he....

"Fat lot we know...." said I. "What do we do now???" "Don't know" says he "I haven't read that chapter yet!".

Well, now we have read it.... and heartily wish we hadn't. We've hardly relaxed all day.

But, nothing we can do. The little ones are about the size of rabbits and stripey grey and cream. But that's as much as we know for now. Even if Ginger would let us, the ark's a bit small for us to get in there and check things out. She seems to have it all under control. How did she manage to deliver her brood with the boys looking on in the night? Perhaps they slept through it all? Exactly how many are there? Maybe we'll see a bit more tomorrow. For now, this is the best photo I could get of the proud mum - look closely and you can just about make out a little smidgen of piglet tucked behind her right ear. I don't know about her, but I doubt we'll sleep a wink all night.

The boys, meanwhile, have spent the best part of the day on the other side of the fence behind the ark, grunting and snorting in unison - we've dubbed them the Three Tonners.

Official photos of family to follow.....

Madonna's Child and the new Rare Breeds

Last Sunday was by far the coldest day so far this winter; driving rain greeted the first half and bitter strong winds froze us all throughout the afternoon and evening. But we've learned not to be daunted by such - relatively minor - details as weather. As someone said to me very soon after our move to Lincolnshire; "You don't move here if you don't like wind."

Just as the morning rains abated, we welcomed our latest new arrivals - a pair of very well bred(and very Rare Breed) Buff Orpington hens. They've come from the Secretary of our local branch of the Rare Breed Survival Trust (from whom our Lavender Pekins also came last year) so are of impeccable heritage. And very sweet natured they are too; so, reflecting their colouring as well, they have been named 'Syrup' and 'Honey'. Unlike many hens (and some of our Bantams in particular) they trot around behind me and think nothing of 'asking' for titbits. They were a little wary of the other birds to start with but by their third day in the Poultry Palace were dust-bathing and being escorted by one of the younger Maran Cockerels. Tonight I noticed they were already up on the perches with the established hens. So they must be equally friendly to birds as they are to people! Unusual for hens.

At dusk on Sunday Rocco (AKA Madonna's Child when it comes to dressage) and I set off for our latest Dressage Competition. We'd warmed up on Saturday by competing at the same venue in the Kelly Marks Perfect Partnership Winter Le Trec Series (bit of a mouthful all that) competition where the Boy acquitted himself most admirably by taking 2nd Prize. It's a strange event which during Summer includes a hefty portion of orienteering on horseback; during winter though it's just the "other bits" which are a series of obstacles to go across (eg. bridges), under (eg: streamers), over (jumps) and round (grids and poles) plus basic obedience, like the horse having to stand still, unmounted, in a circle with the rider 5m away. Anyway, all jolly good fun and supposed to represent typical things any rider might encounter whilst traversing the countryside. Rocco quite enjoyed that. So, on Sunday he entered the arena to 'do dressage' and was rather put out to find no obstacles --- just all those white marker boards and letters. Needless to say, his attention was not quite on the job in the first test. Never mind though. We repaired to the freezing cold outdoor arena to have a stern word or two and "warm up" for the second attempt an hour later (well past our dinner times by now).

We knew we'd done better (5th place - pink ribbon - only in the first test) - but were over the moon to score, at last and wonder of wonders, our first ever First Place (RED) rosette at Novice Level. Great excitement; many carrots, apples and pats later we drove home tired, cold but happy.... ("Perhaps I AM getting used to this poncey stuff" he nickered as we arrived back to the snug stable). A total score of 5 rosettes - even one for being Best Turned out - and a Sash for the weekend was not a bad tally.

Meanwhile, on the Curly Coat front..... we think Ginger is looking more interesting as the days go by ... and is being treated with more respect by her colleagues which must be a sign of something????? Mustn't it???

Past.. present... and future?

We have developed a new theory here at the RectoryReserve. Pigs do not just rootle. They rootle for a reason. In Italy it's for Truffles (like wheat - at an all time high price this year). In the wild woods its for tasty insect and worm tit-bits. Here in the Wolds we think they are rootling through all the past bottles and jars and pots that have been long buried in their copse. Their noses can suss out all the scents of previous contents - beetroots, fruits, compotes, sauces, even maybe some old hops and malt liquids... they know that if they rootle long enough they will come across some treasures from the past which were not consumed, but remain contained in pristine condition in their glass and earthenware containers - only waiting for an enterprising Mangalitza (0r 4) to come across them..... Oh what bliss that will be. When the past becomes the present......

Speaking of the present.... we notice an interesting (?) development in Ginger..... her er-hum teats ... not the sort of thing you'd normally discuss about a lady -- but with Ginger it's definitely on the discussion agenda. Is she? Or isn't she? Has he? Or hasn't he? Well.... we don't know. But we can say without a doubt that those teats were not like that a little while ago. So something's changed..... So for now, there's a difference. Does that bode well for the future? How will we know. Under controlled circumstances (we're obviously not into too much control here) the sow would deliver her piglets 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days and 3 hours (and probably 3 minutes!) after the deed was done..... But how will we know? Ahh - there's the rub.... do we start counting from now, or now minus a week and hope for the best? Shall we just be surprised one morning to see tiny ones scampering around in the frost? Should we call in the experts from the Veterinary practice which specialises in these things.... Are we just being excited over nothing... so many questions... we could do a scan? We could wait and see.... which is the best course of action.... how will we know...... Oh Ginger, give us a clue!

Indian summer - in November?

The past week has been absolutely amazing - temperatures up to 18C and incredible sunsets more reminiscent of August evenings than November. The animals have been basking in the sunshine, no doubt storing up extra vitamin D to keep them going through the winter - which will surely follow in the not too distant future! Mangal and his herd have been dirtier than ever as they transfer the extra heat from their now very woolly bodies to the pit of disgust which is their wallow. Lovely though it is to feed them apples straight from the orchard to their mouths, the pleasure rapidly fades as ones hands get increasingly muddied by their dirt encrusted mouths. Oh the charm of pigs!

And their charms are spreading. The original herd of 18 or so imported by Tony York are now dispersed across the country - even the aristocracy have succumbed to their charms; the public can see one at Chatsworth whilst other landed Gentry have acquired them for their personal pleasure! Meanwhile, our own Ginger has no hope at all of satisfying the demand built up locally - even if she throws record numbers of piglets for the next few years!

The net result is that Tony is off on another buying spree to Austria and Hungary early in the New Year to increase the numbers and, more importantly, the gene pool for the future.

The hairy ones are getting hairier

Stories are told of the coats of Mangalitza pigs being shorn and spun into waistcoats. Until now, I have - secretly - questioned how this was possible. Now, however, as winter draws ever closer all doubts are being laid to rest. The coats on our little herd grow longer and thicker with each passing week. Interestingly, the swallow-bellies' pelts tend to be dense and wavy but the blondes' display distinct tight curls. I learned whilst I was at the hairdresser yesterday that apprentices still have to learn how to do old-fashioned "pin curls" (a small section of hair is wound round and secured with a hairpin; when released from its pin a tight springy curl emerges). This is exactly the 'look' being worn by Ginger and Pepper this year!

One-upmanship

Living with animals is not always straightforward. Ever since he arrived, Gunner's been trying to come to terms with Cat. Just when he thinks he's got it all figured out - he finds Cat taking over his 'cage'. So "Who do you really think is Numero Uno around here".

Another bete noir of Gunner's is spectacles - specifically, my reading specs. Twice he removed the lenses from one pair before destroying them beyond repair. So I got a new pair of lenses put in an old frame; twice he has removed the lenses from these before destroying them beyond repair. I know --- I should have learned by now to put them well out of his reach. It's just that every now and then I forget to do so and every now and then he finds an excuse to get hold of them (usually, I must add, when left alone with just Lancer and Pilot in the house).

So this week I have spent a few hours at Specsavers taking advantage of their "two for one" offer. All I have to remember now is to put them out of Gunner's reach.......

(Or should I be taking the dog to the optician..... maybe he's really trying to tell me something!!??)

Gunner to Gundog - Lesson 2

It's a month since his first 'turning me into a gundog' lesson. In that time, Gunner's learned a lot: how to retrieve visible and out of sight objects; how to deliver them straight back to me (most important!); how to search for items that have been hidden (knowing they are the favourite dentastix after dinner probably helps that lesson!); how to 'stay' for increased periods of time; how to catch the ducks (not a good lesson.... according to our trainer) - oh... and how to catch mice.... much to the annoyance of Puddy Cat.
On the down-side, he has also learned how to turn a deaf ear to the whistle when there is something more interesting (sea gulls, pheasants, rabbits, duck) going on....
So, my question to Rory (he the trainer) was "how to control dog going away, encourage him to come back without putting him off coming back". The answer, of course, is simple: "watch your dog and don't let him get in the position of being about to ignore you". Easy: I must make sure he pays more attention to me than anything else in his environment. Practice that for the next few weeks.
"So" said Rory; "What's he like at retrieving?". "Enjoys it" said I. "Sits, waits, stays till told to fetch. Finds things: Brings them back. A little reticent about giving them up, but otherwise fine". "So we'll try a few things then" said Rory. First, we throw a simple dummy. Ask dog to sit. Throw Dummy. Ask dog to stay. Ask dog to fetch. Dog fetches; dog returns enthusiastically (perhaps a little too enthusiastically) and gives up dummy. Easy.
Try next step. Dog on lead. Walk dog 100 yds. Drop Dummy. Turn and walk dog back 100 yds. Remove lead. Dog sits. Tell Dog to fetch. Dog zaps off and fetches. Returns instantly. Perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Good Dog. Dog on lead. Walk back 50 yds. Turn and throw dummy. Dog still on lead. Continue walking. After 200 yds let dog off lead. Tell dog to sit. Tell dog to Fetch. Dog fetches instantly. Returns with dummy - still v. enthusiastic.
Next lesson. Let dog off lead. Tell dog to sit. Throw dummy over big ditch. Tell dog to fetch. Dog instantly fetches, returns enthusiastically. Gives up dummy. Says 'can we do that again'. Next lesson. Tell dog to sit and stay. Throw dummy across big ditch and into dense undergrowth other side. Send dog to fetch. Dog goes off; searches; wags tail a lot; keeps looking; keeps looking; keeps wagging; gets encouragement from him the trainer; finds dummy; races back over big ditch and gives up dummy! "OK " says the trainer; "We've found out what he's naturally good at" adding that he's never seen a young spaniel quite so good at retrieving so soon in his training. What a stunner Gunner is!
So, for the next couple of weeks we are to worry less about the occasional running off (I just need to be more vigilant and stop him before he goes) and we've to take the retrieving lesson to the next steps ---- tell dog to sit; throw dummy over his head; wait a while; send dog to fetch. Following that: tell dog to sit: throw several items around and over his head. Occasionally fetch them myself; occasionally tell him to fetch. Eventually, throw items to left and right and start sending him off to either left or right. Any problems or great success and need to know next step? Contact He the Trainer! Easy peasy.
Meanwhile, the piggies are still playing 'tag' every morning to keep themselves in trim and enjoying their afternoon tea of apples - of which we have a glut - from the orchard every afternoon. And, they continue to grow..... Furthermore I've decided they are less fond of females than males --- me they push around, him they don't. Is it because I give them apples and other treats so they think I'm a pushover?????