Warning: video includes funny facial expressions and nasty things If you find this post offensive, please skip.

Farming requires a lot of effort, time and money.

I once shared about how I got easy money from working a dirty job in managing piglets on our manager's farm which ia fun and wonderful experience but in this blog, I will share about a sad and devastating experience not only for me but to the owner also. It is a great loss also.

One afternoon, Rona called me asking if I was busy and of course, I told her I'm not even if I am. She asked me to accompany Angelle to the manager's farm once again because a gestating sow (pregnant) had brownish discharges when the caretaker cleaned the pen in the morning amd she kept pushing and pushing but not one came out until she lost her energy and refused to stand up.

We hurried up in the place, ready for anything to happen as if we are professional technicians. 😉 But we are, Angelle and I finished in bachelor of science in Agriculture major in Animal Science and practiced in a farm before, assigned in taking care fo gestating sows, lactating sows and newborn piglets.

midwives in all of a sudden

We hurried to the sow soon after we came, searching for signs. And indeed, the sow is very weak, and had little to none response to the people around her.

She kept pushing and pushing and Angelle tried to get inside of her.
The posibilities are: multiple piglets are stuck as they tried to go out together, or the piglets have died inside her and was stuck inside of her.

She kept contracting as Angelle tried to get in, making it hard for her. It was her first parity(first pregnancy) and this also happened to many parity one sows too. But I was thinking we were too late.

Soon, Angelle touched something inside of her sharp and slimy as unborn piglets had teeth already. She tried hard and long to pull it out in no avail so I tried and soon a mummified, swollen piglet came out.

What a loss. She still kept pushing after I pulled it out and I got my arm inside again in search for another one but there is none left. Angelle took her turn and confirmed that there is nothing inside already.

But the sow is too weak and cold. She might have been poisoned by the fluids inside of her. She also shows signs of thumping, and by experience, she has a very small chance of living and they had to cull her. I reported all to Rona and sent her the video clips I took.

What a great loss from the manager. It's expensive to grow a sow: feeds, vaccination, and medications. It takes over six months for a pig to be matured enough to be ready for gestation and almost four months of waiting for the piglets to be born. All those expenses including the expense for acquiring a pig to made into a sow is all lost as she had to be culled soon.

Farming could have sad experiences like this one, as life too, is full of ups and downs.

Before we started the operation, we made sure our hands were clean and disinfected. The procedure done above does not intend to hurt the animal, but to help her in giving birth.

We were al l saddened that we couldn't do anything to save her but such is life and there are lots of things that we couldn't control to happen.

I will end this sad story here for now and I hope all your farming expeditions are successful. Keep. Safe and stay happy.

Images were screenshots from the video I took and the video are all my own.

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