Pig moving, easier said than done

I spent way too much time worrying about the pigs escaping their pen all summer. Apparently once pigs grow accustomed to a place, they are very reluctant to leave it (although they always seemed to be faking us out with their chewing and digging). Why I did not know this before now is a mystery but a lesson learned for my novice pig-raising family. And one we are not likely to ever forget.

Yesterday our friends brought their livestock trailer over to our house to pick up the pigs and bring them to the Cumberland Fair. We purposefully did not fed the pigs breakfast so we could entice them with food to lure them in to the trailer.

L. tried grain.

Then bread rolls.

But no, the pigs were not fooled and refused to get near the trailer.

Then L. tried to coax them out the door with her pig board (white boards are used to direct pigs, which you often see at fair shows since pigs can not wear halters like other livestock).

She couldn't even get them close.

Then L., along with three adults armed with boards, tried to maneuver the pigs out the door.

But the pigs still could not be "coaxed" to leave.

So out came a couple of large, thick pieces of plywood to move around to close off parts of the pen as we worked the pigs toward the trailer.

After a slow start and several nimble escapes, the adults finally made this tactic work for Pulchra. But Titus, the big lazy guy who L. called her "snuggle bug" all summer, showed his true colors. We had a bugger of a time getting him out the door.

Have you ever had a 260 pound pig throw himself at the board you have braced with your arms and legs, and then crack the thick board across them?

No? Well let me tell you, it will leave you with a few bruises and some very sore knees.

After 45 minutes of manhandling and lots of disturbing piggy screaming, we did manage to get them into the trailer and off to the fairgrounds.

Once at the fairgrounds, the pigs required more manhandling to get them OUT of the trailer. But once out, they walked in to their pen without much more trouble (they were likely as exhausted as their human counterparts were).

Everyone was a little worse for the wear (pigs and the Almeida family) but Pulchra and Titus are now settled in to their new temporary home.

Here's a look into the early approach to getting the pigs in to the trailer.



Things started out calm and easy, which is when the above video was shot. But when it became clear that things were going to get ugly, I told G. to put away the camera and pick up a board to help. And trust me, it was better that we didn't get those high-pitched piggy screams on video. They were very disturbing and unsettling. No, it's better that part was not recorded, though I doubt my crew will forget this experience anytime soon.

This little piggie(s) went to market

L. has learned a lot about the day-to-day work of raising pigs since April and now she is getting ready for the next phase of this 4-H project - selling her pigs at the Cumberland Fair's 4-H Livestock Auction.

L. is responsible for "marketing" her pig to encourage people to come to the auction to bid on it. She wrote a letter to give to a few people (business owners, friends and family) asking them to attend the auction but asked me last night if I would also post it on my blog to, "let the moms know about it."

So here is L.'s letter explaining the 4-H Market Hog Auction at the fair. And please, forgive the shameless plug for L. but I figured I've shared enough stories about the pigs since April that I should include the ending of the project too.

September 2009 I would really appreciate it if you could come to the Cumberland Fair to bid on my market hog at the 4-H Livestock Auction. I have grain-fed my pig since I got her and I have taken good care of her. She’s had plenty of attention and exercise and is a good healthy pig. I am selling my hog at the livestock auction and I plan to put the money I get from selling my pig in to my savings account to use in the future. People who go to the auction to buy pigs sometimes go with friends and then they buy a pig together. If you buy my pig with a group it is cheaper for you to do it. Pigs are bid on by the pound. My hog is about 260 pounds right now. And there are people at the auction to take the hog to be processed or you can take my hog home to breed her (she is a mixed breed of Yorkshire, Hampshire and Duroc). I learned a lot about raising healthy pigs this year and I hope to do this 4-H project again next year. I learned a lot about being responsible for my pigs and raising healthy pigs. I hope you can come. 4-H Livestock Auction Wednesday, September 30 4 p.m. Show Arena From, L. Almeida

If you are wondering how she feels about the pigs going to market, I can honestly say it changes every minute of every day. Truth-be-told, I'm having the same mix of emotions as well. One thing is for sure though, there will be tears at the fairgrounds. No doubt about it. The question is who will have more, me or L. Because unlike the old nursery rhyme, no piggy is staying home - and hopefully none will run "wee wee" amok at the fairgrounds either!

8 new learnings about raising pigs

Learning #1: The pigs have not given up on their escape plans and have resorted to chewing their way out of their pen. The hole they've made is large enough to stick most of their snout through and the only thing from stopping a sniff of freedom is a stapled piece of a Tyvek feed bag (we used the empty bags to cover the shelter in an attempt to keep the rain off the already aging recycled wood we used to build it - it's worked well actually). Fino's working on a patch job as I type this since the escape plan was uncovered by L. this morning.

Learning #2: Don't ever say, "This is the LAST time I'm dumping sand in to this pen." Those words will bite you in the you-know-what (raising pigs has a tendency to do that) and you'll find yourself deciding one more time really is necessary. But in the spirit of ingenuity, and sheer discouragement at this necessity, Fino rigged up our trailer to the lawnmower tractor. Gathering and dumping sand was done with much more efficiency and we both wished this idea had come about earlier this rainy summer.

On August 30, after yet another significant rainfall, the pen was as muddy as ever and we felt another sand dump was needed to keep the pigs healthy.

Fino's new sand moving rig, which we are hoping not to have to use again this year.






Learning #3: During this latest sand dump we thought it would be helpful to secure the pigs in their shelter so we could keep the pen door open to shovel in the sand. But Titus squeezed through the small opening in the metal fence we used as a barrier for the shelter. Luckily we got the main pen door closed before he could fully escape. Had I not seen it myself, I would NOT have believed that Titus, a 240-pound hog, could ever have managed to squeeze through an opening hardly the width of a size 7 woman's boot.

Learning #4: Pigs love stale animal crackers. They grunted and nudged L. relentlessly after she gave them a handful of crackers looking for more. She felt so bad she didn't have any more that she fed them each a jelly sandwich (a rarity because the pigs are exclusively grain-fed). They wanted more of those too and L. decided they were never going to be satisfied so she stopped feeding them with a declaration, "You guys eat like pigs!" (She's quite enjoying her own pig humor these days.)



Learning #5: Chickens like pig grain as much as pigs do. While the pigs are trying to escape to the wilds of our backyard, the chickens who have free range of it are trying to get IN to the pig pen to snag their grain. This morning I had to pluck a chicken out of the pig pen. The hen recognized her error immediately and darted through the electric fence wires but couldn't manage to get over the secondary fence and back to freedom. What confused me most about this scenario (the chickens have been angling for a way in to the pig pen for a couple of weeks so it was only a matter of time before one tried it) was that the chicken seemed no worse for wear at having gone through the electric fence. I did an extra check to make sure the electricity was still running through the wires. It was. I'm thinking about re-naming that hen Houdini because it was nothing short of magic that fence didn't barbecue her.

Learning #7: A nice fall breeze can have an interesting effect on the odor in your house when its direction blows past the pig pen and through your large back door screen. We are now enjoying a fresher smelling breeze through the front door.

Learning #8: At no time can you loose your sense of humor during your first year of raising pigs. Anything less than laughing at your own naive notions about livestock is just not worth it. Grin and bear it and make changes for next time.

Did I just say next time?

                                        Big boy Titus is just a "giant snuggle bug" according to L.