Loin and the loinettes

After Loin’s birth, I moved her from the makeshift canopy I had created the previous night in the field to an enclosure keeping her separate from the others.

Loins canopy

Hurricane Isaias and the evening birth

Hurricane Isaias didn’t affect the farm much. Instead, a brief but thunderous outpouring occurred just after the sun went down. Knowing the three sows were pregnant, I went out to check on them when the thunder had subsided. Sure enough, the stress incurred by the thunderstorm had induced the first sow’s birth — ‘Loin’s first litter! Three separate farrowing enclosures had been built but we had not gotten the girls inside in time. Loin was exhausted, breathing heavy, and nursing nine piglets. I built a makeshift canopy to protect Loin and the little ones through the night.