swine

We are trying pigs for the first time.  We were told that these two pigs are the breed "Spotted Poland China". A quick search though claims that name is no longer used, if they are "Spotted Swine" then they are white with black spots and if they are Poland China then they are black with white spots. Don't they look somewhere in the middle? Well they are closely related and are the type that will get HUGE. We are using them for soil prep (sod busting) and it's easy to see that they are going to be excellent for that purpose. So far so good, no smell and they have only escaped twice!!

duck brood

The duck was a fair bit luckier than the turkey with her clutch of eggs and this morning appeared with 12 or 13 ducklings, considering that 13 is an average clutch size, she did quite well. She was such an excellent brooder going for what seemed like weeks without visiting the pond. We may have to try and catch the males and keep them away from the pond for a spell as they are not at all gentle with the ducklings.