Wow! What a fall this has been!! I feel like I’ve been all over the place, yet I feel less stressed than I have in years. Things on the farm are going well, and I am starting into the last part of breeding season.
The wether does have been in with the buck since the end of August, and it looks like the majority are bred. Now I won’t know for sure until we pull blood for the BioPryn test, which will happen this week. I will be testing all of the percentage wether does, and those who are not bred will be given additional time with the buck. Everything will be pulled from the bucks on December 1, since I don’t want any babies born later than about May 1.
The fullblood does have been in with the bucks a month now, and should be bred as well. However, I won’t pull blood on them for pregnancy testing until the first to middle of December, as the does must be at least 30 days along to show bred on the blood test. I prefer to use the blood test instead of an ultrasound because of the cost, and because I haven’t had one be wrong yet. I’ve had ultrasounds be wrong. It’s easy for me to do on the farm, and I don’t have to haul the does anywhere and risk stressing them.
The Nubian and Alpine dairy bucks were turned in on October 13**, and will remain with the does until December 1 as well, except for the Nigerians, which will have until around Christmas, since I just turned in the Nigerian bucks with the does on Nov. 1. I prefer for my Nigerian babies to be born later, because it’s warmer and their chance of survival is higher. My only LaMancha doe will be bred off farm, and I used a CIDR and PG600 protocol for the first time ever to sync her heat cycle. I knew I would have to be out of town, and this allowed me to bring her into heat when it worked for me. Reproductive technology is so cool!
I will pull blood on the dairy goats and the fullblood Boers around Christmas and will check for pregnancy at that time. I will also send blood samples in for disease testing at that time, so I only have to pull blood once.
I am fairly confident that I have four of the seven alpacas bred, and will use the “spit test” this week to see if they took. Alpacas are induced ovulators, and if they are bred, they will spit at the male and will not allow him to breed. Fingers crossed! I will continued to work with the remaining three females to get them bred this fall.
On the pig front I have some exciting, but at the same time, sad news. I have made the decision to disperse my entire herd, except for my old gal, who will remain on the farm until her time to pass. Financially, the sows I have are not holding up their end of the bargain on the breeding contract, and their continued persistence on destroying everything has become very frustrating. So I will be completely selling out.
However, I am not getting of pigs. After some deliberation I have decided to purchase a couple of bred hogs this fall, and will farrow them on the farm. I expect to have two litters of pigs, so I will have no problem filling the orders that have already been committed. Once the sow is weaned, I will sell her, as well as all of the babies from the litter, unless I am keeping one back to feed. I will not be retaining any gilts.
Financially this strategy makes more sense, as I don’t like farrowing summer litters with the heat and flies, and summer litters are harder to sell. I won’t have to worry about sows overheating or turning over waterers in the summer, or rooting up entire fences when it rains. It will allow me to stay in the hog industry and be financially sound, which is important to the longevity of my business.
I am still taking reservations on Boer and dairy goats on a first come, first serve basis. I will take reservations on hogs up to 14, because I know I can guarantee that many. This next year will be an exciting year for Champion Livestock market animals!