Stripe is a mostly-hampsire sow that's new to my farm; she's been here about 6 months. When I first got her she'd never seen dirt -- she'd been born on concrete and was there until she was sold to me. I bring in new pigs and new genetics from time to time, and the hampshire breed of pig is one that I think does pretty well. I'm going for a hampshire/berkshire cross herd, mostly.
Her 7 piglets are actually under and around her. Behind her you can see the rear end of a brown-and-black piglet and over the top you can see a black piglet.
Stripe is actually the brave one that is leading her piglets and the other pigs out of the hay barn and onto the field. She'll take a few steps, and then pause as everyone catches up, and then repeat. They're a few acres from the barn, making a wide leisurely tour of the pasture. Eventually they'll end up back at the barn and go to sleep for the night.
She's teaching them to forage; that's one nice thing about breeding your own pigs. Each generation introduces the next generation to your system, and there's really not much I have to do, other than make sure that the feed and water are there, and the fencing is in good shape. It's kinda peaceful, actually.
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Good for Stripe. Looks like she has a happy life now and appears pretty proud of her brood as she takes them for a walk. I met with a local farmer over the weekend and ended up ordering the last 4 available Berkshire weaners that he has from his last litter. They'll be ready around Christmas. Looking forward very much to having pigs around the farm again!
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