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By Mary Houle

Rosie is a neighbor's pig and she is beautiful. I have known her since she arrived at their farm last summer. She is orange, black, and pink and a real cutie. In early June she moved from her pasture pen to a nice, cool, cozy, hay-filled, concrete-bottomed, in-barn pen. She was moved to an inside location because her owners and some neighbors were anticipating the birth of Rosie's first litter. The field pen had been fine but the full-cover shelter and close location to the house was ideal for the birth.

Nine adults and three children had guessed the date for the piglets' arrival date. The winner would get bragging rights and their name prominently displayed over the pen entrance for a year.

On July 1 I got a call from the Rosie's owner to announce that the birth was eminent. (I was on the first call list.) I grabbed my extra work clothes, several pair of rubber gloves and a set of goggles and within the hour I was at the farm. Ten live and squiggling piglets were all over Rosie seeking milk. Move over "Octomom." This multi-birth had a quieter mother and less need of attention. Rosie's requirements were few: food, water and shelter. Rosie does receive several extra treats: corn on the cob, mushy peaches and kind words.

Only one loss happened over the next morning between 6 and 8 a.m. All ten appeared good until then. Congenital issues that are significant will claim a baby farm animal in the first day of life. It is nature's way of taking care of things that are critical in the circulatory or respiratory tract.

Over the month of July I visited the neighbor's barn far more that I have visited the neighbor. I was invited to bring along my sister and her hubby to peek in on the cuties as well and I did just that on several occasions. With each visit, I bring treats for Rosie and she will allow her babies to sample some of the offerings too. The peaches are a favorite.

August 1 brought another call from Rosie's owner to announce that the pigs were in their new outside pen. I skipped right over and watched the fun unfold. I could see that pig owners know fencing! The fence surrounding the pigs was a ton of recycled interlocking link fencing that was screwed to old power poles at the corners. The poles were set five feet in the ground. The bottom of the steel fencing was buried 18 inches underground. This is because pigs dig and root. Also, the pens are designed to allow the little squealers to run back and forth from pen to pen freely, while a low board restricts the adult pigs from entry. Half the piglets were on one side and came face to face (snout to snout) with their siblings on the opposite side. The pigs are a real hoot to watch.

The piglets are now 8-10 pounds which is good considering they were approximately two pounds at birth. Because they are now eating grain and drinking water on their own, they will be weaned from Rosie soon. Rosie lost a lot of her weight during nursing especially with nine piggys in her brood.

The animals I tend and the ones I visit are well cared for and much welcomed additions to the farms they reside on.

By the way, I had bet on Father's Day for the delivery. Not a single entry got it right.

Mary Houle is a master gardener, master composter, certified Square Foot Gardener instructor, and SOUL graduate. Houle completed the UVM master gardener training 10 years ago and recently completed the UVM Extension Master Gardener certification process again. Additionally, she completed a six-hour training program and exam to qualify as a First Detector related to plant health issues.