I don't love mud, especially pig pen mud

I'm grateful for today's sun because I'm hoping it dries up some of the mud in the pig pen. The pigs, who I mentioned previously have a mission to dig to China in them, have completely destroyed all the grass in their living space. And because of that and all the rain we've had the past few weeks, walking in to the pen to feed the pigs has been a very messy ordeal that absolutely requires tall rubber boots.



But Fino came through with some "upgrades" yesterday that allow for fewer visits in to the pen. He installed a barrel feeder that drops grain in to a box for the pigs eat (a tarp above the pen keeps the box relatively dry). The added bonus of this contraption is that it will save us money on grain since the pigs can't knock over the box (it's secured to the side of the shelter and has a box inside to control the release of grain) like their old feed pans.

To avoid all the spilled water dishes that make the mud even juicier, he installed some reinforced pipes (protected by a 3-foot stake in the ground) for water spigots that release water when the pigs nibble on them (it's nice they have something other than my butt to bite).

These pen upgrades took a couple of weeks because we were trying to avoid buying special livestock equipment (it can be pricey) and Fino needed some time to work out the building details. And after L. measured the pigs and discovered that Pulchra was approx. 130 pounds and Titus was about 120 pounds, we knew we needed to make everything extra sturdy. When pigs at these weights want to push something around they can do it!

L.'s been knocked around a little bit recently (we've been told pigs get more aggressive as they get older and we're seeing some of that) but the pigs like it when she scratches their backs so they don't mess with her too much. Even a few pig "kisses" is a majorly messy affair because these animals are covered from head to tail in mud (and appear happy to be that way) so L. leaves the pen covered in mud well above her tall rubber boots.

I am thankful for today's sunshine and hope that the forecast for the rest of the week is drier than predicted. If not, at least L.'s visits to the pen can be minimized to scooping poop and making sure the feeder and water spigots are working correctly.

Oh, and when you tell your kids to clean their room because it's as messy as a "pig pen" well, now you have some perspective on what that really means.