February 18, 2008...11:09 am
This Little Piggie — Moo
Ahhh … I need a couple more weekends like this past one. I took a trip to Oak Hill, Ohio, on Saturday. Went up to a friend’s farm to see the ‘new’ pigs and calves. It isn’t a large farm by most standards. It is larger than I would like to run myself.
It only takes a couple hours to get up there. It’s a beautiful area, very rural. Last year I went up via Route 33 out of Ripley into Point Pleasant. This year I went via Rt 35 through Winfield to Pt. Pleasant. Unfortunately it wasnt’ warm enough to ride. But, it was a nice change of pace.
This is my nephew’s back. I took him with me. He’s nine and has never seen pigs or calves in person. He seemed to enjoy it. He was a little unsure what he was seeing, but he asked some good questions. The sow to his right is called a “blue butt”. She was to have been moved in with the boar later in the afternoon.
This is a piggy pile. They are under a heat-lamp. The sow is to their left. Although they are in a barn, it is still very cold. The heat lamps help keep them warm till they are old enough to get by on their own.
Now, my friend has the darndest luck. Last year they had a calf that was born away from the barn and got pretty cold. They brought it in the house for a few days, but the poor thing was too dumb to eat. They tube fed it for a while and it straightened up. This year they have a calf with front leg issues. I don’t know what all the parts are called, but this calf walks on it’s wrists. They haven’t decided what to do with it yet. It gets around just fine, considering. The cow feeds and looks after it fine. Heck, he doesn’t know he has a problem.
In the background of this shot is one of the prettiest bull calves I think I have ever seen. His mother keeps him very clean and he’s soft and fluffy! He’s a darling …. for now!
The cows were ‘talking’ to the calves. It isn’t something the average city slicker would ever hear. The best I can describe it would be a series of low growls. The bull is fenced off from the cows and calves. He doesn’t like it at all and would bellow as long as he could see us. My friend said, aside from the obvious reasons, the bull doesn’t like to be seperated. If he can get to an area where he can be along the fence with the cows he’s ok. Right now he can’t get along side them, so he’s isolated and … unhappy.
I love little trips like this. It helps settle my nerves and refresh my perspective. I need to do it more often, really.
I’m getting the spring fever. I’m wanting to get my bike out and ride. I’m thinking of riding to Nashville in June, taking the backroads through Williamson WV, then Hazard KY to Nashville. I need a couple pieces of luggage before I take a trip like that. I have saddle-bags but they won’t hold rain gear and a change of clothes. That’s a subject for another post.
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