Totally weird yet unique ?

[Die Judicii]

Well,,, this one is a definite first for me.
A land owner mate of mine was telling me tonite, that he was out a week ago doing his usual "check the sheep, watering points etc" and saw something moving through the grass just behind the mob of sheep.
On closer inspection,,,,, it turned out to be a little black pig.
Just the one, and it was barely 7 inches high.
No other pigs (suckers or adult) to be seen anywhere.

As the mob of sheep moved on,,,,,,, so did the little black pig,, and it seemed to be following an old wether in particular.
That was as he said,, a week ago, and he never gave it any more thought other than to presume the piglet was either lost or orphaned.

Today he was checking on the same mob of sheep,,,,, and,, there it was again,,,,, the little black piglet following close behind the same wether sheep.
Old Mate this time made a point of watching the spectacle for twenty minutes,,,, and said that it was following the wether in every direction it went,,,
just like a lamb would follow its mother.
He's come to the conclusion that the sow must've been shot or died somewhere, and the little piglet has decided that the wether is a foster mum.

Weird,,,,,, but unique eh ???

[Larry]

More weird nut wonderful if it is getting any milk from the sheep.

[Die Judicii]

More weird nut wonderful if it is getting any milk from the sheep.

It's following a wether mate,,,,,, not a ewe.

[Blr243]

I shot a sow that was hanging with a mob of cattle . I was stalking it with my bow . The cattle could tell I was trying to get to the sow. They kept trying to warn the sow of my intentions. But the sow wasn’t paying enough attention . Eventually I got past the cattle and all the cattle looked worried as if they know what was goin to happen but they looked as if they knew it was to late. When I shot the sow the cattle chased me away and I had to jump over the fence. Then they formed a circle around the sow and bellowed as if it was one of their own. Later when I told the owner about it he said that sow had been living with the cattle for months. On other occasions I have killed mum witj either dogs or rifles and the suckers have run off. But I have run into the suckers again within 24 hours. They move on very quickly. They just continue to feed because they know they still have to eat. Even real young ones not weaned. They learn to start grazing real quick. They just adapt.

[deye243]

Am I the only one wondering why he hasn't shot the little s**t yet

[Blr243]

If he bonds with the sheep he may grow up the be a protector of the flock but I suspect the next time a wild dog starts honing in on the flock it’s goodnight Irene for the little one

[Jorlcrin]

The past few months, we've been dealing with an explosion in pig numbers, and our shire feral-animal control group reported same across the whole of the region(West QLD).
I note there is mention of similar in NSW in the news of late.
People suggesting that the numbers might be over 3 times what is considered 'normal'.

In these past 3 months, I've found I've needed to re-write much of what I thought I knew about pigs.
- We've seen them camping a LONG way from water during hot weather; something I'd not seen in my 50+ years.
- We've also seen them rooting up ground that I would've thought was way too hard for them.
- But, the most profound revelation that I've learned, is that pigs will survive from a MUCH younger age than I thought possible.
We shot a sow, who had just birthed about 8 minipigs; early September.
When we shot that sow, I doubt those minipigs were a week old; freaking tiny.
Over the next 2 weeks, we ended up nailing all but 2 of the minipigs, but they were still growing when last sighted, and making a go of it in pretty harsh conditions for such young animals.
The last of these minipigs we nailed, he was rooting up the ground like a trooper, which was about the consistency of sandstone.
The minipig wouldnt have been 8 inches long (before he copped a .260 round mid-centre - shortened him up quite a bit)...

So, the idea of a minipig deciding to hang out with the sheep; it doesnt surprise me.
Also wont surprise me that once that pig gains a bit of size, if that sheep ever goes down the for the count, the pig will just as happily eat him.
And the sheep needing to be dead beforehand, would be optional, as far as the pig was concerned..