The hard part of A Day in the LIfe on the Farm

Way back on October 16th I told you we had a sick piggie.  We have been treating this pig now for 2 months, she is growing and appears to not be in any pain but she continues to list to one side and definitely has not gotten back to 100%.  We have been working with a vet throughout this time and today she told us that even if we were able to get the pig well, which will cost hundreds of dollars, the pig will never be safe for human consumption.

Furthermore, she advises that we are fortunate that the other pigs have not contracted the infection so we should seclude it from these and all future pigs.  Well, as you know, we raise our hogs as food and have no desire to have a "pet" pig.  So now Frank must go out and dig a pit to hold the remains of the pig who we will have to put down.  This part of farming is very difficult but a lesson has been learned.  In the future, should we have a pig that displays these symptoms we will destroy it immediately.  It would have been much easier to dispose of a 50 lb pig than a 150 lb pig and we would not have so much time and money invested in it.

The sick pig is the one off to the side.  John, Kirsten and Dick came over to give us a hand with this distasteful project.  We used our pig panels to maneuver her into the ramp and away from the other pigs.  It is a sad day here on the farm.