All in all, pigs are doing well.
We are scheduled to have newly weaned pigs arrive on Friday. Because we are no longer part of a sow farm, access and scheduling new pigs is different. When we were part of a sow farm, we knew our source of pigs and we were on a schedule as to when the new pigs were coming. Now, it’s kind of a free for all—hoping we find pigs and hoping the pig cost is reasonable.
Well, we did find another source and the number they had available is the exact number we need. We took this as a hint that we should buy them. Actually we have received pigs from this farm before, which is located in South Dakota.
The only problem is the availability of the pigs does not fit our schedule. When you purchase pigs, you have to take them when they are available. Normally, there isn’t any negotiation on scheduling.
The site they are going to is the farm we are currently selling out of. So what do we do with the piglets until those barns are empty and cleaned?
Well, we have pig nurseries available that we haven’t been using. The pigs will go there until the other site is emptied and cleaned. We are not willing to compromise biosecurity. Once cleaned, we will move them to the new site. Yes, lots of extra work to make it work. In fact, we had to buy another feed bin to accommodate the new pigs.
We do what we need to do, but this is precisely why we bought into a sow farm. We knew when the new pigs would be delivered. We knew the price. We knew the biosecurity protocols used. We knew (and had a say) on which vaccines they would receive.
Now, we are in a different world right and we will make the best of it.
