06/01/2026
Farm life isn't always easy.
We share a lot of the happy moments here on the farm—new babies, playful animals, and all the things that make this life so rewarding. But the truth is that raising livestock also comes with heartbreak, and sometimes things happen that are simply beyond our control.
Last week we experienced one of those difficult days. We had artificially inseminated a gilt (young female pig) successfully for the first time and had waited 4 months for her to have her first litter of piglets. Patsy finally farrowed on May 27, more than a week overdue. We knew first litters can be challenging so we weren’t expecting great survival rates, but we never expected what happened next. While in labor, she accidentally injured the first born piglet and, despite our best efforts and veterinary care, it had to be humanely euthanized.
After getting home from the vet and milking the cows, went to check on Patsy again and were met with absolute carnage. There were 20+ buzzards in the field attacking the newborns and had them spread so far apart Patsy couldn't fight them off. By the time we discovered what had happened, the loss was devastating. (We have since put some of our guard dogs, Yeti and Savannah, in with the pigs to protect them.)
In the midst of that tragedy, however, there was one survivor. A tiny black gilt, now affectionately named Tiny, somehow made it through. Though she lost the tip of her tail to the buzzards, she proved she was a fighter from the very beginning.
Piglets do best with companions their own age, so we are incredibly grateful to Suzanne and everyone at Reverence Farms for allowing us to foster one of their runt gilts from a litter born just days later. Little Victoria (the red and white piglet) settled right in, and Patsy surprised us all by accepting her as her own within minutes.
This video is a reminder that farming is filled with both joy and heartbreak. We celebrate the victories, learn from the losses, and keep moving forward because the animals depend on us to do our very best every day.
We're rooting for Tiny and Victoria, and we can't wait to watch these two little girls grow.
(Volume up for adorable little pig noises!)
