The Empty Pen

I mentioned in an earlier post that there would be a change in our plans regarding the piglets and one of the adult pigs. The sow we called Olivia had had some sort of miscarriage. She would not be delivering piglets after all.

We don't really understand exactly what happened, but it's likely that the sow had miscarried and her body absorbed the embryos. This was also the sow that did not get pregnant on the first attempt at breeding. We've decided to cut our loses and sell her for slaughter.

Not knowing just how many she might have had if she had carried to term,it's difficult to say exactly how much money the miscarriage has cost us, but at approximately 7,000 pesos per saleable pig, it's quite a bit. (that number comes from the selling of a 70 kilo pig @ 100 per kilo).

The top photo shows Olivia's empty pen. She was sold a few days ago, and unfortunately we were unable to get more than 95 peso per kilo. Normally, the buyers want a 70 kilo pig and this one weighed more than 100 kilos. None of the buyers could budget for such a large sow.

The second photo is of Olivia's sister, Peppa - the mother of the piglets. The plan now is to sell two of the piglets when they've reached about 70 kilos. One of the remaining piglets will be raised for breeding, while the fourth piglet will be fed until November, when it will be slaughtered for my wife's birthday.