Random thoughts of the day

All the kids had their weekly weigh in today. Everyone was up except for Laertes. Laertes is down 40g from usual, which I'm putting down to the fact he's still running with Nia. No change in condition so I'm sure he's fine. He'll move back to his bachelor cage tomorrow as It's been three weeks since Nia has been on heat, and I saw the wax plug three weeks ago. If she isn't preggers I'll just pop them back together later.

Today has been very busy as a new rabbit came into the RSPCA and I'm her new foster carer. "Trixie" is a very sweet sooty fawn charlie lop, she looks like a cross breed. Her ears are lopped but she has a fair amount of control of them, unlike Luther who can barely move his a cm. She had her vaccination today and is booked in to be desexed on Thursday. I've fallen in love already, she may end up staying if she gets on well with Lu.

In other bigger news the Samsara cavies may be moving to a new shed. They are currently in the spare bedroom which will soon need to be used as a bedroom, so it looks like we'll be moving out into a garden shed. More on that once a shed is chosen and of course built. We have a great spot for it out under an enormous old peach tree.

Lots of traveling coming up for the pigs as well. Some time in the next two weeks I'll be heading out to Grafton to collect a DEW sow who will be joining the ranks. It's an eight hour round trip, but should be worth it. Then the new girl, Laertes and Piggles will be heading down the mountain for a week in Sydney on the 16th of October. The new girl will stay on at a friends to meet a stud boar and Laertes and Piggles will be attending the show on the 21st. I will also be collecting Afflexian Choc Jem at the same time a sweet baby choc himi who will come back with me. Rosie may also be coming back, not sure on that though, she may stay on where she is until she litters. Haven't really decided. I will also be collecting something like six other pigs that are a temporary lend for the next aca display. Around the same time Ayanna will move into Charmers cage for her second litter. She's rebounded amazingly and shows no sign that she has recently littered. If I wait till after summer she's likely to be too fat and comfortable, I would rather breed her again while she remains in perfect breeding condition. Then once we get back from our week in Sydney (which also involves The Legally Blonde Musical, and a ghost tour for the human), we have a very brief break before putting one a pedigree display in Armidale on the 4th of November. Then we head back down the mountain on the 10th for the NSWCC show on the 11th. I'll pair my last litter then as well. Lavinia will also be due at his point. We then have a brief three week break before the final show of the year for NSWCC on December 2nd. Then we all collapse until the show season starts again in February....

So life will be chaotic but also very very fun, I do enjoy all the travelling and my 'show team' (currently consisting of Champion Symphonia Laertes and Piggles) don't seem to mind it either. They are both very relaxed about the driving and eat, sleep and drink while we are in motion. They ride on the drivers seat next to me in an extra large carrier (each have a 45cm x 30cm area) and don't seem to mind the activity, they then generally get a chance to stretch their legs when we arrive as I stay with another breeder, so I can unpack the wiggles into spare cages if needed.

Thoughts...

I haven't got much to add today. Life continues as usual in Samsara land. I have a new project that has me very excited but I won't be posting much about it until I have some definite results.

I do have new pigs coming though as a friend collected a little himi sow for me on the weekend who is likely to play a part in my project.

Mainly I've been working on organizing for the national next year which I am so very excited for. I'm hoping to take along two or three longs, maybe a dally, maybe a rex and several of my new project. Because any cavy shown at the national must be six months old, any prospective pigs must be born by mid Feb, conceived by December 9th. Which means I need to pair up by November 10th at the absolute latest. So Nia and Laertes were paired up on the 4th (wax plug seen on the 7th) and Rosie was paired up with a lovely silver agouti rex on the 8th. Yanna has rebounded really well so I'll pair her up again November 10th. Then I'm hoping to have two litters for my project... one is organized and will be paired up early November but haven't worked out the second one yet.

Other than that I've been studying hard for exams in two weeks and dreaming of the fantastic holiday I get after it... I'm driving down to Sydney to go see Legally Blonde the Musical and then spending time with friends, going on a ghost tour and finishing it all with a NSWCC show.

I've been rearranging pigs as well, well in my head at least. Rosie is unlikely to stay after she litters as she's demonstrated implicitly that she much prefers living at the stud where her boyfriends are rather than with my herd. So she'll likely go there with implicit instructions that I will take her back at any time if they don't want her. I'll see her every month and she'll get even fatter and lazier LOL. I'll probably move Nia on after she litters as well, she doesn't fit well into the sow herd and would be better off in a quite pet home.

I also need to speak to my vet about neutering Zibby and Sterling. Neither will ever get on with other boars and they are both extremely lonely. Sterling is getting snipped for several reasons. Mainly though because Any already has more curl than Sterling ever has and I know I'd rather continue with Any and Charmer. I won't be breeding enough to warrant three stud boars and I have no intentions of moving Sterling on. So instead I'll get him snipped and return him to his on true ladylove.

I have some pigs that will always stay regardless. Feather, Fortinbras, Frederick and Ferdinand are a package deal and will be with me till they die. The same goes for Ebony, Piggles, Pebbles and Laertes. Once Sterling is neutered he'll join my core of 9 must have pigs, even if only two of them are actually useful when it comes to showing or breeding. Yanna will probably have one more maybe two litters with me and then return to her breeder who rather misses the sweetie pie. I'm hoping Zibby and Tommi will one day find their own special homes, though I still haven't had any serious interest.

Show results

The samsara crew have done three shows in the last two weeks, between those and Eddie and Any's birth life has been pretty hectic.

But we did well at all shows.

ACA Inverell show 2/9/12

Best Marked went to Symphonia Laertes
Best Coarsecoat went to Symphonia Rosaline\
Best Ticked went to Chantilly Wilbur
Best Longhair went to Chantilly Emmanuel
Best Crested went to Piggles

Symphonia Laertes got Reserve In Show
Chantilly Wilbur got Best In Show

Since apart from my ten only one other pedigree attended, we kind of swept the board... Tisn't much fun without competition. But the show did go well and I came hom with two newbies. Both are I guess you could call them wannabe shebas who have been christened Frederick and Ferdinand and have joined Feather and Fortinbras to make a herd.

Then on 9/9/12 we attended a double show. Wilbur and Manny returned to their breeder, Wilbur because he was only a temporary lend for the ACA show and Manny because I've come to realize I just don't like shelties. He was an angel to wrap but a pest when it came to the judges table. I will miss how easy it was to groom him though. Another reason he went back is that I really can't have a longhair in wrappers over the next few months as I'm spending time away and though the pigs are well cared for I can't ask someone to do his wrappers. So he'll find a nice show home elsewhere.

Okay so in the Young Stock show Symphonia Laertes got Best of Breed and Reserve Marked.

He then went on to take out Best of Breed in the Sydney Titles as well! Piggles won a Best of Breed too and Charmer got Best Pet.

I collected Shemelle Charmer at the show and he is just wonderful, he's a big fat boofy boy who he such a total sook. I cannot wait to see what he produces!

I also left Symphonia Rosaline at a friends for a second attempt at breeding her. This time she has gone in with Symphonia Silver Island a silver agouti rex. Hopefully we will get babies this time round.

Oh and my final piece of news, while cleaning out on Friday I found Nia with a wax plug, so it looks like Laertes may have done the job, which will make the babies due around October 16th woooo!

Sad news

I'm rather sadly writing to say that Pipsqueak Edmund passed away this weekend. He's been having on and off health issues since he was three months old and it got to the point where it was obvious I only had one choice left. He has spent five weeks with a sow so I am praying that there may be miniature Eddies in the future.

At least my baby is now out of pain. Rest In peace my baby boy.

The kiddliwinks

Well Hi to my non-existant readers..

Been a bit since my last post. Life has been extroadinarily hectic.

Firstly the Inverell Show... okay I admit I was a bit disappointed, there was almost no interest in the pedigrees. I'm starting to think I should give up on the idea of pedigree shows up here and just stick with the Sydney ones. After all I do move to Canberra at the end of 2014... it's not that far away. But I'm getting info about pigs out there and that is really what matters.

Secondly, Ayanna. She finally gave up the goods and gave birth to an adorable baby boy yesterday. I walked in the door as she had her first contraction and got to watch the whole process from start to finish. It was amazing. He's nice and healthy at 147g and has been christened Samsara Any Other Name. As in "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". And yes all my longhairs will be named after shakespeare quotations....

I've also become an RSPCA foster carer as well, so a lot has been happening.

Anyway and update on my ... jeepers... seventeen babies.

Chantilly Ayanna seems to be enjoying motherhoood, I gave her an extra dose of calcium considering Any's size but so far she's happy and alert and absolutely gobbling her food.

Chantilly Emmanuel will be returning to his breeder on Sunday. He's an angel when it comes to grooming but I can't help it I just don't like shelties, the mane is just wrong... So I tried it, it didn't work and he can go to someone else who does like shelties and can continue to show him. Not fond of his peonality either, I prefer the more placid texels, shelties always seem so manic.

Ferdinand is one of the new kinda sorta sheba boys I picked up. I didn't want to give Feather anything showable or breed quality as Feather gets upset when his friends are away for even a few minutes. So I adopted two kinda sorta shebas from Sapphire City Cavy Rescue, they are cute rosetted longhair crosses, but kinda sorta sheba sounds like a more interesting breed name. Ferdinand is four months old and is a cream agouti, cream and white boy.

Frederick is the other kinda sorta sheba boy, he's just four weeks old but has had teeth issues so I took him since he couldn't go to a normal pet home. We are hoping he'll grow out of the teeth problems. He's mainly cream and white with a cream agouti face and is Ferdinands half brother.

Pebbles is doing well, still as skinny as can be but nice and solid, she's just truly shaped like a lawndart I guess.

Piggles is also gaining weight and seems to love life, though for some reason she isn't allowed near Any.... Piggles is entered in the Sydney Titles this weekend.

Pipsqueak Ebony Charm is overjoyed to have a baby to wash, even if it's not her own. She's still gaing weight, I've no idea when she'll stop LOL. She got knocked off a table at the show unforunately and is missing her top teeth now but it hasn't stopped her eating or really harmed her in anyway.

Ch Pipsqueak Edmund is very ill unfortunately. Still not too sure what's wrong but he'll be going to the vet on Tuesday. More on him later.

Pipsqueak Feather is doing great and adores his brand new friends. He's still slowly gaining weight but eats well and I think he's just too hyperactive to gain quickly, but I'll get him to 1200g one day...

Pipsqueak Fortinbras is a little shocked over the new cagemates but seems glad to have somethiong to divert Feather's attention away from him. He's sporting a brand new fringe trim courtesy of Feather. He had a brief bout of cystitis but tests showed no blood or kidney issues and it seems to have cleared upeasily with some trimidine powder and ural.

Pipsqueak Sterling is very sad having been left without a girlfriend for a while now. But he'll not be getting a new girlfriend this year so I need to sort him out a divided cage with another boar.

Shemelle Charmer is the new boy who is still at a friends place. I collect him on Sunday and oooh I can't wait, he sounds so adorable!

Symphonia Laertes is shocked that I actually put him in a cage with a sow but seems to be settling now. Hopefully there will be babies in mid november!

Symphonia Lavinia is equally shocked that I've put her in with a boar but likes not having to fight six other sows for access to the food bowl. She's a plump little madam already so I didn't want to hold off and have her get to heavy to breed safely.

Symphonia Rosaline is not pregnant unfortunately so she's heading back to a friends stud to try this again and hopefully actually get her pregnant this time. She's as happy as can be though and was very interested in Any and helped with his birth.

Tommi is doing well but I still haven't found her a home unfortunately. I'm not really sure what to do about that though....

Zibby is my new RSPCA foster of an unidentified colour, somewhere between slate and beige. But with dark eyes. I'm guessing Taupe... maybe, or a really really really washed out chocolate, he's almost lilac in tone, but brown based. He's got te most gorgeous type and he seems to enjoy living in the caviary.