I was finally able to catch up with my neighbor two nights ago and discuss using his boar to cover Charlotte and Lucy. I know, your first thought here was, “I thought they were going to AI”. We were. And more than likely will in the future, but for now, let me tell you, I have hundreds of pictures on my phone and camera of the backsides of gilts. If my electronics ever get searched for some reason, the techs will have quite the surprise!

Anyways, I’m not an expert in pig anatomy. There are days when I think she is in heat and tomorrow, won’t be, but then three days later…sigh. Dare I even admit to the day when I jumped up and down after noticing discharge, thinking “THIS IS IT!”? My calendar has color-coded H’s for each girl, but it’s hard to keep track when you aren’t 100%, undeniably, positively, certain, (and if this is the case, is there something wrong if you can’t tell, besides ignorance?).

We talked about it, and decided to try having the neighbor’s boar ‘Bubba’ cover Lucy and Charlotte. He is a full Duroc, and quite the stud. I remember when I met him thinking, “no way is that beast getting near my little girl!”. Hubby might add different reasoning, but at this point for me:

1) I just can’t tell 100% when it’s time. I feel pretty ignorant to admit this, but this blog isn’t about making me look good or smart. It’s what happens here on the farm. My ignorance and mistakes notwithstanding.

2) makes it really difficult to order semen to be shipped overnight (which can’t happen on a weekend), and is viable for only a week.

3) semen is expensive, and what happens if I’m wrong about the timing?

There hasn’t been much worry about little Abraham doing the deed. He’s the baby of our bunch and barely 5 months old. Little Barbie has been riding him, but he just looks exasperated when it happens so I felt we were relatively safe. Then I pulled in to the driveway last night. Abraham was mounted on Charlotte (she is taller than he, so he was on his tip toes so-to-speak) and doing the deed. Now, he’s young, maybe he didn’t get the right spot (I’ve read this is common with first-timers), but for all intents and purposes, he had the motion down.

The neighbor will be ready to host our ladies this weekend…hmm. While Charlotte will not be in heat then, I am hoping that she isn’t pregnant by Abraham, and she can spend some time getting to know ‘Bubba’ in about 3 weeks from now.

Stay tuned!