Holding Life in My Hands

This may be a mix between a life update and a welcome into my world for those who are unacquainted with me. I have loved working and tending to livestock for my life’s purpose and those tasks started with dogs and horses, making sure they were fed and cared for. However, four years ago my family and I embarked on a new journey in our lives and raising pigs became our new endeavor. A new challenge if you will.

By now you are probably wondering where I am going with this. I will tell you. While at college I have taken an internship that allows me to be involved in every step of the process of raising pigs from birth to show or reintroduction back into the herd. This operation has allowed me to work side by side with Mr. Scott Dean who has taken a similar path to what I may hope to achieve one day. Scott, his wife, Katie, and three kiddos have welcomed me into their home and have allowed me to grow with them as well as help them expand their business, SD Genetics. In recent days the task at hand has been tough, but is something I have cherished: farrowing sows!

One simple statement makes this all completely worth it: Holding life in your hands is one of the most worthwhile gifts that God has ever provided. It is almost a sense of reassurance and hope. Mind you I was holding a seconds-old piglet; however, it still is truly a magical thing no matter the creature. It is no easy task tending a laboring sow and catching babies that come flying out sometimes. Other times it is much more difficult having to help the sows deliver by pulling the babies by hand. Sleaving your arm and going shoulder deep up the rear end of a sow certainly is not for the faint of heart. Educational though? Oh heck yeah! Learning first hand (literally!) the anatomy of a pig's reproductive system is so fascinating, being able to identify exactly where you are without your sight and only your hand to guide you to where the piglet may be stuck. There are times that a little coaxing is all you need to deliver one of these little pigs. Other times it takes longer with a cramping hand and tired arm before you unearth one.

Perhaps my favorite part of this whole experience is getting to hold one and try to wake it up and partly revive it after its long trip through the sow’s birth canal. Cleaning them off and getting them dry all while their little hearts beat faster and faster with every stroke of a rag. Before you know it they are bright eyed and bushy tailed bustling for the first colostrum they are promised by the sow’s milk line.

Whether it be a good day time farrowing or pulling an all nighter, I simply love this time of year, the farrowing rooms are teaming with life and we are getting excited to see the cream of the crop rise up to provide young individuals with a high class barrow or gilt to exhibit at county, state and national shows.

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