10 newbies

as i mentioned yesterday, we received ten new arrivals on pork chop hill.  a few of usarrived at dale’s mad max resembling hog operation early yesterday morning.  huge steel screens used to sort through huge boulders in huge quarries (dale’s day job) make up most of the landscape.  the grates span the wooded hills as far as one can see—two boars, a few sows, and a few dozen piglets currently in operation fill it’s womb—beaten paths and lessons learned are seen around every tree.dale hand breeds, the same way he has for twenty plus years.  when his sows are in heat he walks the boar down the hill to join the ladies.  after a few days, and several romps, the boar returns to his side of the woods, the sow impregnated.  a day or two before her pregnancy is complete (three months, three weeks, three days) the sow is removed from general population and is sent into a pig size chute called a farrowing crate (pictured above, through the webs).  these crates get a bad rep in factory swine farms, but as opposed to the entire four month spell, dale’s sows only spend their final minutes here—ensuring a smooth and safe delivery right into dale’s two hands.  the design of the crate ensures the sow will not squash the piglets during birth, or during nursing—a concern any hog operation knows too well.day one and two on pch for the new crew has been smooth and adorable.  the ten newbies stick together (or are perhaps ostracized), but they will all be one tight unit before the week is out.  as you can see below, oprah’s three piglets are already fully integrated, while the new crew huddles in the corner. 

meeting people like dale, and seeing independent, small scale producers around the region who are raising healthy and interesting animals, is one of the biggest unforeseen benefits of my apprenticeship.  everybody does things different (some good some bad) and it’s quite the education to see people’s shops.