Operation Tusks of Max, removal of....

And so it came to the morning of the day. Time for Operation Max to swing into gear. First, let the sheep out. Done. Chickens out. Done. Geese out. Done. Elise (the heiffer) out. Done. Goats out. Done. Pigs done. No. Get the sedative into Max before he gets fed, that is what the plan was as laid down by Hubs / Head Pig Keeper. 

Got an apple. Cored it. Plan was to mix the sedative and put it into the core of the apple. Give Max the apple. Down his throat all would go. Max would then go to sleep. Cut tusks. Job done. 

No, that did not work. Max is getting a fussy eater. No competition you see. Can leave his food all day if he wants to. No one else, no other pigs, are going to eat it because no one else is living with him at the moment. Food disappears though. Chickens, crows, magpies, rats, mice, these will all partake of the food. He did not eat the apple. Took it. Dropped it on the ground. Not interested. 

Back to the kitchen. A sandwich then, that was the next plan. Sandwich made. Sandwich eaten. Rest of food given. Back to the house for breakfast. 

Later on, Max asleep? No. Dopey, yes. Zonked out? No. Lester deliberates: To do or not to do, that is the question. 

Look at those two girls standing dead still, carefully observing proceedings while Lester continues to fuss Max. 

He deliberated for quite some minutes about whether it was safe to go into the pen or not. He did. Max gave a sleepy, half hearted grunt, and retreated into his hut...... 

oh dozo boy...... 

..... "Are you coming out Maxy" says Lester, not wanting to go into the rather small hut, just in case Maxy decided to wake up and do something 'orrid to him. 

Nope, Maxy-boy was not coming out. In fact he was sinking, gradually. Hubs got a piece of cardboard between tusk and cheek...... 

......had his hacksaw ready to do the deed. Operation Tusks of Max underway.

....actually no, it wasn't. Upon feeling the pressure of the toing and froing hacksaw Max sat upright. Slowly though. Lester backed out of the hut. Maxy followed him. Stood by the door, staggering a little, but upright. Another chance to get that tusk cut perhaps.....

Hubs aimed the hacksaw at the tusk. Maxy stepped sideways thus disengaging with the hacksaw. Operation T of M dead in the water. 

A thought: perhaps a sort of secateur might be better. But not the one we use for cutting plants. No, a gigantic thingy. That's a plan. Hubs off to the local Brico as soon as it was open after its two hour shut for lunch. Got a gigantic thingy. Two hours had passed though. Max was on the wake. But Lester bravely went into the hut again, wherein Maxy-boy was now upright but still floppy...... 

........Lester aimed the jaws of the thingy at a tusk. And got it. Maxy, oh Maxy..... 

..... into the corner he thrust his face. 'Enough', his body stance was saying. 

Meanwhile.......

.....Max's girls waited patiently for him to come out to play. He did. This morning. Lester opened the gate between the two pens and through to his girls he sauntered, swinging his rear end cockily, past them he went, straight for their food. The girls, meanwhile, went straight past Max and into his pen so they could investigate his living quarters. Ah well, there was a sniff of the tails as they passed each other, and hopefully they will soon be making piglets for next year. I am sure that they will enjoy trying. 

As for Operation Tusks of Max, well, it was half a success, one ingrowing tusk now safely trimmed. The other tusk will have to wait for another day.