"Anything you can do........ "

It's Linda's Birthday this week and she's gone off for a much needed break.

Unfortunately that meant she was likely to be away if Delila farrowed on time : "But" said Linda when she left here last Friday "I've had words with Delila and told her that if she is to have piglets whilst I'm away, then she must have them on my Birthday".

"Right" I said as I waved her off, knowing how Delila always pays good attention to Linda, being Her Special Pig and all that!

Funnier things have happened...... I expect.....

With The Boss being laid up with a bad dose of 'flu this past week Precious's piglets have continued - despite our best efforts to contain them - gaily scampering all over the place introducing themselves to the rest of the herd and the other animals.

"Hmmmm! Can't have that Precious and her lot stealing all the limelight" Delila mused to herself. If indeed pigs muse!

I reckon she must have communed with the Great Porker Above All Porkers whilst she was dozing in the sunshine.

"How to make an impact?" that was the question.

It is widely accepted that Mangalitzas generally have between 5 and 8 piglets per litter. Precious, therefore, has already astounded the world by having not one but two super-large litters of 10 and 9.

"How to beat that?" Delila pondered as she wallowed in the wind....

"Not impossible ...... there are ways and ways........."

I thought she was looking pleased with herself at tea-time on Monday as she came purposefully grunting over to me.

Tuesday morning I came in from the breakfast round and remarked to The Boss that her feed bowl had 'disappeared'.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, knowingly "The feed bowl!It's the pig's most precious possession. She'll have taken it into the ark. We know from Mangal that it's the sign they use when they want to show they are great providers."

"Sooooo?" I enquired.

"So she's probably going to have her piglets today --- as instructed."

Some people around here probably think we are already up with the fairies; conversations like this make me feel they may well be right.

Anyway, The Boss left his sick bed to go visit some potential Pig Custodians and I went off with Rocco for a training session. Delila had eaten her breakfast as normal so I didn't bother to check her before leaving. And the farrier had already arrived when I returned a couple or so hours later. So it was probably about 2pm when it occured to me that Delila, who usually watches everything that's happening on the yard, was missing.

"Surely not!" I thought to myself..... "Sows don't farrow to order!" and went to peer over her fence into the ark from which emanated the unmistakeable commotion and squiggling and low pitched grunting of just-being or just-been born piglets!

So -- Happy Birthday Linda --- What a wonderful surprise! (The surprise being not that she had the piglets but that she actually had them as instructed!!!).

When I checked later I was amazed to see not 6 or 7 (Delila's usual litter size) but 10 piglets.... Happy Birthday again.....and the real icing on the cake? The very first swallow-bellied piglets to be born here!!!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!

And if that doesn't take the wind out of Precious's sails ---- one of the little swallow-bellied ones was already out and exploring this afternoon ---- at barely 24 hours old! Can't blame Delila for keeping a close eye on him 'specially when a couple of the others quickly followed his lead ...... She soon decided that was enough and took them all back indoors...................for now...... Stellar Stuff indeed!