Everybody's Favorite

I've raised sheep for more than 50 years. During that span, my favorite sheep was Ms. Piggy. Ms. Piggy died on October 2, the day I got out of the hospital after having gall bladder surgery. She was 10 years old.

Ms. Piggy earned her moniker because she was a "pig." She had a voracious appetite, from the day she was born until the day she died. In fact, it was her appetite that killed her. She choked on soy hull pellets because she ate too fast. 

Ms. Piggy: the Matriarch (2020)

Ms. Piggy was born a triplet. Her mother didn't have enough milk for three lambs to grow satisfactorily, so I supplemented two of them. I left them on their mother so they could both nurse and drink from a bottle. Ms. Piggy did both. In fact, she was always eating. 

Everybody that came to buy sheep that year wanted to buy Ms. Piggy. She was a triplet, she grew well, and she had good conformation. She was red. Many people, including me, favor the color. From the beginning, I knew I was going to keep her. I wasn't going to sell her.

Over the years, Ms. Piggy produced a lot of good lambs. One year, she birthed two dead lambs, but adopted two lambs from a litter of four. Never had a ewe do that before or since. Ms. Piggy usually raised three lambs. One year she raised quads -- all good lambs. This year, her 10th, she had twins. I kept both of them. 

The daughter is a "clone" of her mother in looks and behavior. Rosie was born with a broken leg. It's possible I caused it, as I delivered her breach. I put a cast on her leg (made from paint rollers; I saw it on YouTube), and after six weeks she was as good as new. The son (Wade) is very stocky. I'm using him as a breeder. He's friendly like his mom. That's not necessarily a good thing for a ram.

Ms. Piggy's adopted family (2014)

I saved Ms. Piggy's first offspring in 2015. Since then, I've saved quite a few of her offspring for breeding. In fact, about a quarter of the flock is related to her:  daughter, granddaughter etc. Like Ms. Piggy, they are all productive animals. I call them the Pig line. All but one are red in color.

Ms. Piggy wasn't just my favorite sheep, she was everybody's favorite. While other sheep kept their distance, Ms. Piggy always sought visitors out. She especially liked children. My sister's grandkids always wanted to see her. They always remembered her. Alex, especially, bonded with her.

Ms. Piggy's ashes are in a box next to the ashes of my other pets and guardian dogs. I miss her. The farm's just not the same without her. But fortunately her legacy lives on, through Rosie and all the other related animals.

RIP Ms. Piggy
2010-2020