RIP Freckles: hard lessons and great memories on the homestead

 Hinterland Homesteading with Racheal Pascoe 

I am usually upbeat but gee whiz, things have been a bit tough at our farmlet lately. 

I am okay with things dying, but I feel better when they are plants, not animals. About three weeks ago our favourite chicken got sick and just couldn’t be saved. Then last week we lost an alpaca. When I say 'lost' I don't mean we “misplaced” him. We had to have him put to sleep.  The vet thinks he had an immune disorder and that he was much older than we thought. I guess that old farmer I bought him off in Toowoomba told me porkies. I felt sure that something could be done for the alpaca. I am always optimistic, but also a realist. My husband Gavin was working long days. So I was the one who had to dig the hole for the alpaca. You know me by now, I am always endeavouring to work efficiently. So I chose a spot to bury the alpaca (soft soil of course) and spray painted a stencil line around him. This is so I only dug the soil out what I needed to and didn’t waste energy. Needless to say the hole was a crazy shape, because rigor mortis had set in. My plan worked though. Gavin was in awe of my hole digging procedure.  (He rolled his eyes actually). But it worked!  

Goodbye sweet girl 

This week has been the hardest though. Our dear pig Freckles hasn’t really been herself lately. We noticed she was off her food a bit, moving less and seemed depressed. Now, don’t laugh. Pigs can get depressed too!  We did notice that her belly seemed a strange shape lately. It had kind of dropped and seemed to be an odd shape. She hasn’t had a boyfriend in a long time, so we know she wouldn’t be pregnant. Our family vet came out to our property and examined Freckles. She was doing a little better that day. She was eating and was up and about. I felt a little more confident that her condition could be managed. 

After thoroughly assessing her, our vet said that Freckles had a big tumour in her abdomen. Treating pigs is very tricky and he was honest enough to say she was in pain and we needed to let her go. I think I knew in my heart that the tumour was just too big, but I was not ready for this. It has all happened so quickly. I thought she would be having an injection of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, she would turn the corner and he would visit again in a week to announce we had beaten it. Within minutes she was sedated and put to sleep.  

Living her best life 

Freckles has been our farm mascot for over 10 years now. She was the best $50 we ever spent. She was meant to be a miniature pig.  Ha. She maxed out at around 200kgs at one stage. Freckles had 2 litters of piglets over the years, they were a lot of fun. I can remember one litter kept going over to the neighbour’s place. Our lovely neighbour Julie rang one afternoon, and I said that we had worked all morning on securing their pen and that they wouldn’t be able to get out again. Julie laughed and said that they were all under her house rooting around in the dirt as we spoke on the phone.  I felt like a dill, and we laughed so hard together. Do you know how difficult it is to herd 9 naughty piglets home? Very tricky business. Thank you Keith and Julie for being so understanding all these years.  

Freckles absolutely adored my husband Gavin. If he was ever working in the paddock, mending fencing, she would saunter on over, lay at his feet and all over his tools and demand a belly rub.  She was a real character. 

We spoiled her with yummy food and good care. She in turn liked to be near us. We were friends with a pig and boy we are missing her already. 

Don’t worry, I didn’t dig the hole for Freckles. Gav was at work again but I had an excavator come in and dig a nice big hole. She is in the paddock, in the spot where she used to lay in the morning sun. This way she will be in her paddock forever. 

Farming and homesteading are full of wins and losses. It is hard to have 3 losses in a row, but I think it is a reminder to lift your head up and realise what you have enjoyed together and see all the good that is still around you.  

Happy homesteading everyone.