Packing a passel of pigs Let's just cut to the chase. I got lost. Going over a huge mountain. There was no cell service, I couldn't find the address on my GPS, and after stopping and asking four different people, I finally found someone who knew the farmers. The pigs fell off the garden tractor, and the puppy now wants to live in the shed. With the 'cool' kids. Um. I mean pigs. Phew. There. Oh, I did NOT find a good place for coffee. Luckily for me, my passenger had made sure we were well supplied before we left her house. Best coffee for a road trip? Jennifer's house. And, in case I forget, we had a BLAST!!! I love adventures! When I finally found the farm, I walked into the barn and my jaw just about hit the floor - it was so clean, you almost eat off the floor! Along one side of the barn were clean, deeply bedded 10x10 pens, with happy, contented pigs. the 'farm tractor' The breeders are super nice folks, a young couple. After an informative conversation, we loaded up our piggies and hit the road. If you've never ridden in a closed vehicle with a passel of pigs, you don't know what stinky is! "You must really love me!" I said to Jennifer. Coming home, mom helped me load our crate into the garden tractor wagon. It promptly slid off the wagon on the way up the hill. Poor mom! She tried to hold it on the wagon, but they were just too heavy. A little bit of team work and they were back on the wagon. We finally got them up to the shed. Enjoy the pictures! The little pigs, three little girls (sows), immediately began exploring, eating hay and rooting through the deep bedding. Tonight I turned on the heat lamp, gave them a nice dinner of whole grains and some kitchen scraps. Tomorrow, I'll head over to our local dairy farmer for some milk. Milk? That's another post. Of course they won't be eating traditional pig food, their diet will get a Rosalyn-style makeover - stay tuned for Pig Nutrition 101: the next blog post, and a field trip to our local cheese maker!
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Empty shed, all ready for little pigs Exit horse, enter pigs! This past summer, my long-time equine companion Rory went to live on a retirement farm in New York. Left with an empty shed, I tried a goat. Whom I loved. Unfortunately, he attacked everyone else, including my son Trey, so he too moved to another farm. Again, the shed was empty. Then I saw the little pigs for sale on craigslist. Flash forward a month or so and the adventure is unfolding! When I found this exceptional deal on little pigs (called feeders) I called friends who had gone in with me on my last pastured pig experience and they were as excited as I was to purchase little pigs and raise them out. (If you recall, we found a GREAT deal on finished pastured hogs earlier this year.) So, we spent Sunday getting ready for our little pigs. I was scheduled to take the road trip on Monday, but, as you see, the shed is still empty. The breeders are incredibly conscientious folks, and as we talked about their new living quarters it was decided that the little pigs could use one more week in the breeders' barn, so I will be going later this week. Stay tuned for pictures of our adventure - Trey will be coming along to meet the farmers and see the set up. I'm curious to see how this experience unfolds. I will be trying a co-op type relationship, where we each purchase our own pigs and supplies, but I do the daily care. I'll be keeping a journal of this experience on the blog, so you'll want to 'like' and keep an eye on the Facebook page for updates to the website. |
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