Standing bacon now on the farm

Craiglist is the devil. Simply put. I find myself regularly skimming through the lists seeing if there are any deals that must be purchased. This usually doesn’t end well for my farm budget. One such case unfolded two weeks ago. While perusing the farm listings, I found a brand new post for 8 week old piglets.

Keep in mind, the farm plan did not include pigs until next year. I needed more pasture, better fencing, housing, food and watering equipment and working knowledge of raising pigs beyond understanding which end is the input and which end is the output. For some reason, none of these issues stopped me from purchasing 3 piglets from a farm about an hour away.

They were selling quickly so I had to purchase that day. To show my ignorance, I wasn’t even sure what an 8 week old pig looked like. We had to transport them in our Xterra which meant putting them in cages. I had two large dog-sized pet cages that just barely fit in the car but I had no idea whether they would hold 3 piglets. Fortunately, they fits snugly into the cages.

The trip back with three pigs in the car was somewhat comical. Evidently, stress and trauma give pigs loose bowels. While pigs aren’t known for their hygiene in the first place, a stressed out pig really can turn into a mess quickly. We drove home as fast as we could with all the windows down! I was so thankful I invested in the custom fit cargo trays and mats for the car when we first bought it. If it weren’t for those, we would have had to burn the car afterwards.

Once we were home, we had to find a place to keep them until I could get a pasture fenced off. The garden space was an ideal temporary holding cell and had not been planted yet. The smaller mobile chicken coup (which is unused now that they have been moved) turned out to be a perfect pig hut for the three little pigs (yes, that is the cliché reference we use).

The following weekend, with the help of my parents, we were able to fence in an area (220 feet perimeter) that gave them plenty of fresh grass, a small stream for water and wallowing, and a few trees for shade. It also got them well away from the house and down in the valley since we weren’t quite sure of the aroma.

As with any farm animal, the more room you give them, the less the smell accumulates. There is hardly any odor at all. Pigs are surprising clean once they acclimate to their surroundings. They designate a certain area of the pasture to take care of business and don’t wallow in their own filth.

At this age, they are really quite playful and the boys enjoy playing with them and watching them root. Their snouts are like little plows and they can turn over large amounts of ground in very little time.

My biggest concern with them is predator issues. They are the farthest away from the house of any animal and well outside the protection zone offered by our lab. She doesn’t venture into the valley at night and only patrons the house bench where the chickens and garden are. While woven wire fencing is typically overkill for pigs, I had to use it for my peace of mind. To keep them from rooting under the fence, we placed a single strand of electric fencing six inches from the ground around the inside of the pasture. They have quickly learned what it can do and give it the necessary respect.

Old sayings that I now have a new found appreciation for are:

Squeal like a stuck pig – Or even “like a grasped pig”. They are quite vocal when you grab hold of one and the squeal is a cross between fingernails on a chalk board at a high rate of speed and dragging the needle of a record player across the record. Not pleasant.

Eat like a pig – While they aren’t messing per se, they smack their lips constantly as they chew. Imagine a three year old child with bad nasal congestion trying to eat a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Audible, indeed.

Happier than a pig in ____ – Again, they don’t wallow in their own filth, but they do like access to mud. Their snouts seem to crave the dirt and mud makes it easy to plow all day.

You can put lipstick on a pig and it is still a pig – Haven’t tried it yet, but as I imagine it in my mind, you can’t really gussy up a pig. Hopefully, personality counts for something. It did for Wilbur.

Hog wild – After they eat, they want to play. Frolicking is an understatement. Pig on crack may be more descriptive. They spin in circles, run laps around the pasture, and even appear to joust with their snouts. It is quite entertaining and makes great farm TV.

The goal is to get a larger pasture area made that can be easily divided in to multiple pastures so I can rotate them. This will give them fresh grass and allow the other pastures to heal from their rooting.

This fall we will select two for breeding and one for the freezer if I don’t fail in my animal husbandry responsibilities. We will post their progress throughout the summer.