Saying Goodbye

Donkey (our pig) had a litter of 15 piglets, of which 12 survived, a little over 11 weeks ago. Today we said goodbye to the last two we have sold, and they appear to have found a nice home and a paddock to churn up for the rest of their lives (before ending up in the freezer...) We have kept six who will stay with us until February, and I'm looking forward to seeing them let loose in the orchard to deal with the spring growth and the apples to follow shortly.

We also said good-bye to the last of the Light Sussex chooks who have gone to someone much keener on the breed than me. That leaves us with the Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, the Pekin Bantams, and what I think are some Gold Partridge Brahmas.

Decisions re Donkey (the pig's) future are still being made - she's been a fabulous mother but we're now without a boar of a suitable age - the one we have is 9 weeks old and not up to the job quite yet! I'd like to be able to afford to be sentimental and let her retire in style - but keeping a pig is an expensive exercise, especially now as grain prices have risen with the drought. It's all a bit of a conundrum - especially as there are some strong differences of opinion amongst us.

As we are nearly out of bacon I'm thinking that those opinions might begin to change soon....