Our Dexters Become Mums

We weren't quite sure of the dates our two Dexters would be calving, so it was with great surprise when we spotted a small black shape on the grass near Bonnie back on 22 October. One dear little fellow who we have called Charlie.

Proud first-time Mum Bonnie, with Charlie - one day old

Not to be outdone, Bella then produced, with no fuss, nine days later on 31 October while we had visitors, little Clarissa

Bella with Clarissa, one day old

So, Charlie is now just over four weeks old and Clarissa is just three weeks old today. Clarissa is finer and taller than Charlie.

To try to give you an idea of size - remember, the Dexters are three quarter sized cattle. The top of their backs are probably not even chest high.

Jennifer trying to get up close to Charlie who is four weeks old in this photo.

Meet the Freezer Packs

We both happened to be home one Friday, and went up to the weekly Friday Clareville Livestock Sale. We had hastily hammered up a pen at the back corner of our new implement shed (complete with FREE wooden pallet which, tied up with baling twine, has made a splendid gate) and shot up there. Quite a few weaner calves on sale. (No weaner pigs either). We wanted heifers, so while spending half the time keeping an ear out on the going prices for bull calves, we picked 'ours' out. We got one that we wanted, a nice, large friesian/hereford; missed out on another (opposition bidding too high), and were undecided until we realised the auctioneer was trying to get just $5 for a dear little brown friesian/hereford calf that nobody seemed to want. Denise's hand shot up like greased lightning, and she was ours instantly.

We have had a nice solid stock crate with spring-loaded gate tailor-made for our farm runabout ute - one which we middle-aged folk can easily manouevre on and off, so it was no problem getting them home. Unfortunately, we were still suffering from the effects of an extraordinarily wet September, so couldn't drive the ute right up to the shed, so they were lifted off the back of the ute and 'guided' in to their new pen.

Zita, the little $5 bargain baby, being 'guided' towards her new home by her two new Mums. Note our new fence now sealing off the big paddock enabling us to create a 'home garden'. We had the posts put in several weeks ago, and we have been buying and nailing up the planks as we have progressively sold our baleage. There are still 4 gates to be made ...

First thing we did was to give the two babies a couple of litres each of electrolyte solution as a precautionary measure, as we are now going to start feeding them with powdered milk. The solution clears up minor diarrhea and scours which can easily occur through sale stress, change of environment, diet, etc.

Denise enjoying feeding her first calf. This one, we named ZELDA. She is the biggest of the two. The pink spray mark on her head is to show she was our bid.

As stated - Zelda is a big-framed strong little girl - we estimate here, about 6 days old. Unfortunately, at this tender age, the stomach takes a while to tell the brain that the tucker has actually finished. Even at a few days old, she packs a strong 'surprise'.

Zelda and Zita have continued to do well, with only a minor case of scours each in the first few days. Zita is turning out to be a not so tiny calf now, and we are thrilled at how she has come on.

Zelda and Zita enjoying the last of their milk powder feeding. Here - they are about 7 weeks old, and we will be switching to calf growing pellets and hay as alternative grass feed. They have been regularly browsing well on Moozlee, a molasses sweetened crushed grain and corn mixture

Zita and Zelda learned very quickly about electric fences. They are 7 weeks old now, and are hoping for more feed. That's the rest of our new fence, giving us an enclosed home garden.

All going well, we hope to keep Zita and Zelda for almost two years, and then, we are afraid, (but secretly looking forward to) we will have them home-killed. You will all be able to say in a couple of years when you come for a BBQ - 'Oh yes, I remember reading about Zita - she was the $5 runt that nobody wanted, right?'

A Lesson Well Learned - or How We Wanted 2 Pigs, Paid for 5, Ended up with 4 ...

When we purchased the land for Fossils Retreat, there was a set of unfinished yards. We built and put up two new gates, Jennifer sorted through the huge stacks of derelict wood from the house renovations, and Porker Villa was built - a very flash and roomy dwelling constructed of 4x2, 17mm ply and solid matai plank floor, topped with recycled removable corrugated iron roof.

We had noticed with growing anxiety, very few weaner piglets for sale, due no doubt to folk with more foresight than us having already snapped up all the available weaners who were now, no doubt, well on their way to being Christmas fare. Jennifer found some on offer on Trade Me and won the bid for two. Porker Villa was all but finished, when the piglet gilts arrived a day early - and very small they were too. Realisation dawned that these two could easily escape by burrowing under the yard planks, so much hurried scrabbling (in foul weather) to find suitable extra planks from the mountainous scrap wood piles. However - all in vain as the little sods were out within 10 minutes and spent the afternoon hooning all around the neighbourhood paddocks.

We spent most of the evening rounding them up (they had been christened Penelope and Poppy at this stage) only to have them escape from a new place in the enclosure. As it was dark and we had already walked miles and miles and miles, we turned in for the night. We were out at daybreak the next morning after fixing the last escape exit by torchlight, and found them huddled far out in a neighbour's paddock. They were duly rounded up and herded home - only to escape again later that day. The frustrating thing was that they didn't respond to the usual 'rattle clunk' of the feeding bucket, to 'Here, Pig Pig Pig Pig Pig' or to following you with bread or feed nuggets, so we assumed they must have just been taken from their mother.

Regular escapes occurred over the next two days, with each exit blocked after discovery. After herding them home again at near on dark, they broke out of our fence and under the neighbour's fence and off into the moonlight. We had had enough. Denise swore she was off pigs forever. We both lost some weight over these few days and developed blisters on our heels.

As so much time and effort had now been put into the construction of Porker Villa and its sunken water trough, abundant pea straw bedding and sunny recreational area - Jennifer went off to the Livestock Sale held weekly at Clareville, north Carterton, and came home with two more gilts. Quite a bit bigger than Penelope and Poppy. These two were named Phyllis and Prudence. Later that evening, while entertaining a guest for dinner, three glasses of wine down and it was already dark, we had a knock on the door from a neighbour advising that two pigs were running around the paddock. We managed to retrieve Phyllis and block the escape route, but Prudence was last seen heading south. We hoped she would turn up at the villa next morning, but she never appeared again.

The price of three pigs down, and we had one. Pigs need company, both for amicability and general wellbeing, and they snuggle together to keep warm. Phyllis was rather dejected. Her tail never quite made it to curly. The following Friday, Jennifer visited the Livestock Sale again and came home with a companion for Phyllis - a handsome lad who was christened Pharoah. Phyllis was well pleased, and upon his arrival, after a shared lunch, they disappeared into the villa to make the bed.

Phyllis and Pharoah were getting along just fine, and both had very curly tails within a day or so. Anyway, about 4 or 5 days later, a neighbour rang to say that a dairy farmer away east about 2kms away had our two piglets - Penelope and Poppy. They were duly collected from the kind dairy farmer who had been fattening them on excess milk with a promise from us to return with some bacon.

So now we have four pigs. We hope to be able to send Pharoah off for hams and bacon in time for Christmas. He is getting to be a bit of a worry and is getting very athletic with Phyllis, but we are sure they are both too young for such shenanigans.

Penelope, Phyllis, Pharoah and Poppy waiting anxiously to be let out for the afternoon's free range. We only let them out when we are home, and in the afternoon. They range all over the paddocks (under constant supervision!) and get under the gates and annoy the sheep and cows. They now respond beautifully to 'Here Pig Pig Pig Pig' and the rattle of the food bucket and hassle you back to their yard to get fed and locked for the night.

We are lucky in that Denise gets to bring home a 10 litre bucket full of yummy food scraps such as left over bread and fruit and the like. Neighbours and friends also help out. Every night we cook on our woodburner, a big stock pot full of peas. Lovely warm mushy peas for breakfast every day - yum. When there's a shortage of food scraps, we use pig nuggets. With the free ranging in the afternoon - a pig will eat grass and forage in dirt for nutrients and will consume one third of its daily food needs. Plus all that sunshine and fresh air and running around!

Phyllis (at back), Poppy and Pharoah doing what pigs do best - using those little snouts to forage and dig. Note those lovely curly tails!

So, the lesson well learned - don't buy livestock off the net. Much better (and cheaper!) to buy at the Livestock Sale where you can see what you are getting - just hoping nobody else is after weaner gilts when you want two.