3.7.21
Buster was a lovely boar, kind, lovable, gentle and awfully good looking! When dispatch day rolled around it was hard not to give him one last hug before the deed was done…
Darrell and I have been raising pigs for nigh on 30 years now. It all started with Milly and Tilly, two lovely gilts we bought from Val, a friend of mine in Redmond, Oregon. From Milly and Tilly we raised some wonderful meat pigs and our breeding herd was firmly established. Over the years our goal was simple, raise good quality piglets that would dress out a fine pork with a hanging on the rail weight of around 200 pounds at just over 6 months of age. Not too fat, not too lean but just right.
In early 2019 we bought a handsome piglet from a breeder who is well known for raising super quality show pigs. We needed a replacement boar for our girls as Samwise Gamgee, a big old Gloucester Old Spot fellow, was getting some age on him and was becoming too large to breed to young females. We had bought a very nice young boar raised at the Oregon State University veterinary school, but sadly he turned out to be a right old dud! So, we needed a new fellow and I splurged and bought a fancy looking 10 week old piglet. Buster Blue Butt would be his name!
He was a dandy! Within a few days of being installed in one of our cosy farrowing stalls, he became a friendly chap, to the point of coming for a cuddle and if I let him a climb to lay in my lap. Since he was destined to one day be a breeding boar, it was important he learn his manners, was gentle and would lay down on command as soon as you scratched his belly! Yes, I fell in love with Buster Blue Butt. He would be a fine addition to our breeding herd, and we were so excited to see the piglets he and the girls produced!
Time went by and he grew and grew. Soon comfortably ensconced in his own paddock complete with a nice shelter full of straw and a dandy water hole – although it took him a good while to decide a water bath was a fun thing however! Each day he would run to the fence to say hello to anyone who came by. As soon as I went in his paddock he was there for his cuddle and belly rub, flopping contentedly on his side so I could give him a good scratch! Oh, I could not wait to see Buster piglets running about the place!
One summer’s morning, Buster was not his usually perky self. He tottered out of his house but seemed reluctant to put any weight on one of his hind legs. His appetite was off and when I went to give him his morning cuddle, he was hot to the touch. Looking him over I saw what appeared to be a few red, swollen areas – insect bites or stings I thought – with one being on his left shoulder, his left haunch, belly and one smack on his left testicle! Poor chappie! I kept a close eye on him and within a couple of days his appetite was back although he was dead lame, and his back legs were swollen. Our vet was coming out to see one of our milk cows, I would have her take a peek at Buster too. The long and the short of it was we figured poor Buster had been zapped by a scorpion. The swellings slowly went down, his lameness persisted for a good while longer, but he was otherwise back to his normal self.
The day finally arrived! Our younger sow Poppy had weaned off a fine littler of piglets and it was time for her to once again be bred and Buster was certainly old enough and eager enough to do the job! Poppy would be an ideal “first date” for Buster as she was the perfect size for him and was, as they say, an easy breeder. Poppy was let into Buster’s paddock and the courtship began, culminating in what I thought – and Poppy did too – a successful breeding! Samwise Gamgee just stood in his adjacent paddock probably wondering why this usurper was taking over his job! A week later it was Sylvia’s turn to visit Buster’s domain. She was a no-nonsense sow and quickly taught Buster that manners with the ladies is just as important as courtship!
I was happy. Two sows bred and in another month Buster would get to breed our two young gilts we were adding to the herd. Anxiously I waited and watched Poppy as day 21 drew near after her breeding. This would tell me if Buster had been successful. One morning as I headed down to feed the girls, I looked at Poppy and my heart sank. She was coming back into season. Now Poppy, as I mentioned, had always been a very easy breeder. Oh well, no worries, it was Buster’s first time, I will just put her back in with him I thought. Once again, the courtship went well and the deed was accomplished. Now I waited to watch if Sylvia showed signs of being bred. Drat! There she was, back in full blown heat! Another girl not bred and another girl who normally breeds slick as a whistle! Blast it! In she went with Buster again and my fingers and toes were crossed.
Well, thankfully we still had Samwise Gamgee, for both Poppy and Sylvia came back into season and he successfully bred them both. They farrowed and raised some fine piglets, although not Buster bairns as I had hoped for. We would give Buster another chance when the girls were ready to be bred again. Another disappointment was in store. Samwise Gamgee was no longer with us and Buster, once again, failed to fulfill his role. It certainly looked as if the stings Buster had received, as well as where he had received them, and his subsequent fever had rendered our fine fellow sterile. What a blow!
In early April of 2020, as you all know, I came down with a very severe case of Bell’s palsy. I needed to cut back and one day made the decision to take a break from the pig raising business. We sold our gilts and sows as breeding stock but I could not sell Buster. We could of course not keep a boar just as a pet pig, so I decided he would go in the freezer… one of these days.
We needed some weaner piglets to raise up for meat and a young lady we know had a few she had raised as bottle babies when their mum dried up her milk supply just after the piglets were born. We bought them and poured the grain and apples and whey from my cheese making to them, but despite our best efforts they were not growing as fast as I would have liked. We would dispatch them early I thought as there was no sense putting all this feed into pigs that were growing so slowly to butcher size. Now all three pigs in the pen were young females. Buster was in his large field adjacent to the girl’s feeder pen but two fences separated the two paddocks. Besides, Buster was sterile and had never got out as he, and all our pigs, are well trained to electric fences!
Ha! Never underestimate the power of the pig! Buster did indeed get out of his field and into the girl’s pen, but since he was sterile, as had been proven numerous times, I was not concerned. Besides, in a couple of weeks he was going to be dispatched. Well, a lot can happen in a fortnight! We never did see the deed being done and besides, the gilts were so young! Buster was duly dispatched and my goodness he made some tasty bacon and sausage! The gilts continued to eat away and eventually it was decided their dispatch day was arriving soon. As I fed them one morning a few weeks ago, I looked closely at one of the girls and thought “Goodness! She looks pregnant!” Darrell thought the same thing. So into the farrowing house she went where I watched her closely and spent a good bit of time with her as she was soon, not sure when, but soon to become a mother!
Not knowing exactly when she was due to give birth, being a young gilt of only just over 8 months old, I watched her like a hawk. I have to admit to being excited. I had been missing my “Big Pigs” as I called my sows, plus we had been having a hard time finding piglets to raise up, finally driving over to a lady we know in Vale to pick up six weaners for the butcher pen. Maybe this was an omen? Maybe this was Fate telling us it was time to get back to pigging? After all, hardly a week goes by when we do not have a call or message from someone looking for piglets! Yes, Fate was whispering in our ears.
Last Tuesday the two other young gilts were dispatched and are resting comfortably in the cooler. The following day, early in the morning, Lady – as I call her – gave birth to some lovely piglets. She has five healthy, happy porkers at her side. Buster’s bairns I call them – bairns being the name for wee children in Newcastle where I was born. He has left a legacy behind after all. Maybe one of the little boar piglets might remain intact, a future breeder here on the Triple H Homestead. Fate indeed has a big smile on her face right now I think!