Six Little Fighters: The Story of Annie's Piglets

It was supposed to be a straightforward Monday morning. Then Annie had other ideas.

Our resident sow delivered a litter of seven piglets — spotty, pink, and absolutely tiny — but promptly decided that motherhood wasn't quite for her. Whether she filed it under "not my problem" or simply didn't get the memo on how this was supposed to work, Annie rejected her piglets almost immediately, leaving the little ones without the colostrum and warmth they desperately needed.

Then the weather joined in. Because of course it did.

The piglets spent Monday night outside in what can only be described as exactly the wrong conditions — a storm rolling through, temperatures dropping, and seven very small pigs with no mother, no shelter, and no milk. By Tuesday morning, the news wasn't good. One of the seven hadn't made it through the night. The remaining six were huddled together, shivering, barely moving — a sorry, soggy heap of spots and pink ears that looked more like a still life than a litter.

What happened next was rather less dramatic than a Disney film but considerably more effective. Heaters on. Heat lamps positioned. Towels deployed. Bottles of powdered milk mixed up and offered, one snout at a time, via what can only be described as the least glamorous feeding shift imaginable.

The image of a tiny piglet latching onto a Stockshop bottle with surprising enthusiasm is, we'll admit, one of the more unexpectedly heartwarming things to happen on the farm in some time.

By Tuesday evening, the six were warmer, fed, and beginning to look like pigs again rather than small pink question marks. By Wednesday morning? Reader, they made it. All six. Feeding well, running laps of their cosy indoor enclosure, and apparently entirely unbothered by their dramatic entry into the world.

Annie remains unrepentant.

The piglets, we're pleased to report, have absolutely no idea how close it was — and long may that innocence continue. They've earned a warm bed, a full belly, and whatever name the team decides to land on them.

Six little fighters. Welcome to the farm.