Because I am not busy enough (SARCASM), I decided that this year was the year to try out pigs. After having cattle that test our fencing and our patience often, I figured pigs couldn’t be much worse. Right?
Of course, I’ve heard all the horror stories from commercial pig farmers down to the backyard hobby farmers about how difficult pigs can be to keep. Some of their concerns are also concerns for me. It’s one thing if a halter broke, tame horse escapes and goes on a galloping spree through the neighborhood, but will eventually come back because it knows when the sweet feed is doled out. It’s another game altogether when a semi-feral swine roots under the fence, can eat just about anything, and has zero intention of being told what to do or where to go. Which is why it’s taken me so long to talk myself into getting pigs in the first place.
However, I’m a firm believer that life’s too short to let fear dominate my choices. We did our research, rearranged animals in the barns and pastures, and I got my name in with a local breeder for two piglets. After a few months fattening up with their mother, Adam and I went to pick up two little Hereford gilts. Initially, they were a bit shellshocked by the whole experience. A car ride and a new environment, on top of new creatures keeping them company–Dancer snorted at them for several hours before getting over her apprehension, while Panama was much more persistent. Part of her job as a livestock guardian dog is to let us know when something’s awry (a.k.a. she barks), and for almost an entire day, she was out in the barn barking and whining about the odd little critters in the center stall. Understandably, the piglets were jumpy and squealed and scampered at every sound. It’s taken them a while, but they’ve settled in enough that I can give them a scratch behind the ears while they’re stuffing their faces.
While her insistence can sometimes be annoying, she is also very intelligent and gave up her personal crusade after a day or so. Now, she still enjoys watching them with interest, though she’s accepted that they’re supposed to be there.
Since the girls arrived in October, Katherine named them Trixie and Treat because, yes, eventually they’ll end up in our freezer, where they’ll feed us, our friends, and our carnivorous animals. Until then, we are enjoying them immensely. Not only do I *love* that they gladly accept our kitchen scraps, they eat with such gusto that it’s hard not to be happy while watching them clean up their veggie peelings and fruit cores. They aren’t hard to please, and have been growing happily. Bonus: they are definitely the tidiest of all our barnyard animals–they have their straw bed in one corner, their food and water in another, and their toilet on the opposite side. Cleaning a stall has never been so easy!
So far, I’m really enjoying this new addition to our homestead, and am seriously considering bringing on a momma hog full time, depending on our costs, finding buyers for the extra piglets, and our schedules. When I was in college, studying animal science with the intention of going to vet school, I never dreamed that I’d be using my education on such a microscale of animal management, but in almost every way, I enjoy it more than if I was was running a commercial operation. These little piggies are a joy, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to have a lifestyle that allows me to have them.
