Our beloved preemie pig, Booger, has reached a major milestone today as she turns one month old. Booger was born on November 1st two weeks premature and very underdeveloped. She was born with her eyes sealed shut which is not normal for baby pigs and the veterinarian said she had little chance of survival.
The farm owner, Dotty, would not let booger go without giving her every chance to fight for her little life. She dropper fed Booger every 2 hours around the clock and after 2 weeks was able to teach her how to suck from a bottle. Although much smaller than her brothers and sisters, Booger has finally begun to put on some weight and get much bigger.
How does this happen when the other babies were full term? It is possible for a pig to conceive babies on different days but deliver them all at the same time. Booger was conceived 2 weeks after her littermates.
Most of these babies do not survive but as Booger has grown she has shown a strong spirit and will to live, which combined with Dotty's determination to
give her every fighting chance has led to Booger reaching her one month milestone.
She has even made a best friend in the family's chihuahua, Max, who has become a surrogate father to little Booger, cleaning her face after bottle feeding and snuggling with her to keep her warm. Booger now thinks she too is a dog and when introduced to her siblings for playtime didn't want anything to do with any pig! Booger is the only pig in the litter that will not be sold as a house pig, instead she will remain at the farm to live out her life as a house pig with the Thompson family and her beloved best friend Max.
Dotty, not wanting to get too attached in the beginning began to call her little booger instead of giving her a real name, thinking if she didn't survive that it would somehow make Dotty feel worse. Now that Booger's survival is looking good dotty has decided to put a feminine twist on the name Booger and call her Bougee AKA Princess Bougee You can meet Princess Bougee at the farm Wednesday through Sunday in her basket in the giftshop where she sleeps in on her heating pad and waits for her bottle feeding. Come by and visit little Booger and see first hand how love and perseverance can beat all odds!
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