Birthing babies in the barn is not a new experience at North Harford. Students of ag teacher Mrs. Aimee Densmore was on call and readily available for helping with the birth process and care after. This year, the births were tricky with students not present at school due to inclement weather on the day Ms. Cherry went into labor. Also, there were complications with Sophie the sheep who gave birth and died in the process.
Sophie gave birth to three lambs: two boys and one girl. However, she did not make it through the birthing process. Sophomore, Sophie Reinert, explained, “Sophie had to have an emergency C-section prematurely.” Junior Clayton McGraw added Sophie the sheep had “pregnancy toxemia during her pregnancy. So, the sheep was unable to get up because her body was focused on keeping her babies alive instead of herself.”
The lambs were unable to get their mother’s milk, which is the most important first milk because it contains colostrum, which is very rich in nutrients and has antibodies to protect the baby from infections. Since the lambs were not able to get this, they have a weaker immune system on top of being born prematurely. The students now bottle feed the baby lambs in Densmore’s room. Densmore shares that for the lambs, “We used a synthetic colostrum for the first 24 hours, and now we use Save A Lamb.”
Students were able to be there on Jan. 18 when a pig, Ms. Lucy, gave birth. However, on Jan. 21, Ms. Cherry, one of the resident pigs, gave birth on a day where school was canceled. Ms. Lucy is a Hampshire pig, which is characterized by a black body, and a white band around the middle. These pigs have a lifespan of around 12 years, and can weigh up to 650 pounds.
Lucy gave birth to six boys and one girl. Reinert says the type of pigs she gave birth to are called, “Blue butt pigs, which farm fairs love and have a bit of favoritism for.”
When the piglets are born, students will have the ability to castrate, give iron shots, vaccinate, tag the pigs’ ears, and clip their teeth. Students get hands-on learning here by actually doing these procedures. After birth is the best time to perform these operations because the nerves of the piglets are not fully formed yet, so it causes little harm to do so.
Castrating the male piglets is important to reduce aggressive behavior and to insure the best quality meat if future owners decided to use them for meat. Tooth chipping is also important, because after birth piglets’ teeth are razor sharp and can do major harm to the mother, other piglets, or students that are handling the piglets.
Finally, later in the school year, these piglets will be shown at the farm fair by students to be bought by the new owner who decided what to do with their pigs which were born and raised here at NHHS.
Densmore shares that “students put in an application to show the pigs,” following with describing the process students go through to train the pigs. “The students will begin working with their pigs during their barn duty times, and then when summer comes, they must be here three times a week to work with their pigs. They clean the pens, feed the pigs, bathe them, and learn how to make the pig respond to the show stick so they can show them.”
