RAIN!!!

Did I say I wanted rain? Holy, moly, it's coming down in a monsoon right now! Torrential. We need it, BAD, but the rain is not really soaking into the ground- it's just sluffing right off, because the ground was caked so hard. Hopefully, it will be enough to start filling the lakes and rivers around here, and maybe replenish my well a bit!

Yesterday was so great... mama hen took baby chick outside for the first time. She is teaching her how to forage. The little baby is soooo cute, and does everything her mama does. She is healthy, and growing well. STILL the only baby, though. I guess I won't get any more now, so I will just be grateful for the one I did get!!

I have pretty much decided to raise a couple of pigs for next year. I really wanted to stick with the heritage breed thing I've been doing, so researched pig breeds like crazy the last week or two. I decided on doing Berkshires, and raising them on pasture. The nearest Berkshire breeder is in Alberta, so I emailed them to find out about prices, etc.

I knew a heritage pig would be more expensive, but I really was not prepared... a little piglet costs $400!! When they are grown, you will get approx $650 of meat from them, so if you include feed and butchering costs, you will make no money whatsoever. The second possiblility is getting a bred sow. She will have between 5-10 piglets, and selling two of them at the end would recoup what I invested into it, the rest would be gravy. I like gravy! The thing is, am I prepared to build a larger enclosure for the extra hogs, and will I be able to afford feed for that many for a sixth month period? I plan on growing a lot of my own feed for them from the gardens, but I will need to supplement with some commercial feed, to make sure they get all the nutrients they need. It's alot to think about. Thankfully, I have given myself time to figure it all out- I don't need to make any decisions right now!