The Empress is our little saddleback piglet. A gilt (female), she was orhpaned when her mother died during labour, and she was the only piglet to survive. She is named after the character out of PG Wodehouse's Blandings. We took her home and with a lot of help from friends who have hand reared her, she has grown nice and strong...
She goes almost everywhere with Peter, and I am sure she thinks she's a dog, having been reared by friends who had two small dogs.
Here she is in the back of the ute going to the orchard to collect apples for the rest of the pigs...
Here she is in the back of the ute going to the orchard to collect apples for the rest of the pigs...
Here she is when she was smaller and being bottle fed...
And yet further evidence she has learnt from the dogs...
There has been lots of interest in having her to stay, with many friends loving the novelty of having a pet pig for the weekend (something which their grandchildren love as well). She really has been living the life of Riley...
I am not sure what she will do when she goes back to the paddock with the rest of the drift. There will be some harsh acclimatization having to eat from the trough and sleep in the sty with the rest of them. She has perfect saddleback markings too, so will make a wonderful breeding sow.
Above and Below: The Empress in Blandings.
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Long time follower, first time commenting! After reading about your gorgeous little piglet, I felt the need to share my experience. I raised an orphaned lamb - he grew up in our house and thought he was human. We thought he'd make a great stud ram. Unfortunately, he never transitioned back to the paddock. He preferred the company of humans. When it came to raising an orphaned piglet, we were careful not to make the same mistake. She loved our company, but was happy to be amongst her own! Good luck with the Empress!
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