The pigs have arrived! For the second year in a row, we are partnering with a local 4H group in Maple Ridge by housing their pigs on our property. Keeping the pigs here means that 4H students have a farm to visit everyday to learn how to care for and interact with them, while we have the benefit of having adorable animals around that poop in and dig up our fields which is GREAT for our soil.
I snapped this shot of two of the pigs running through our field, ears-a-flying. I’m in love.
I’ve been away from the farm for 10 days and haven’t gotten caught up on progress that was made while I was gone yet. That said, when I went to let the pigs out this morning, I noticed some great improvements to their pen: better feed box system and the ability to now open their door without having to walk right in to the pen (no more pig poo on my boots first thing in the morning – yay!). Until I get back to documenting things in current time, here are some piggy shots from a few weeks ago.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaQWoETwf9E?wmode=transparent]
The 4H pigs arrived today! We were all looking forward to welcoming the newest members to the farm, but I for one had no idea they’d make such a loud entrance. Warning: I recommend you turn the volume down on your computer before you watch the video above – those pigs did some serious screaming while being carried from the truck to their new pig pen (they were so loud the horses from two doors down ran to their fence to try to see what was going on!).
Once the pigs were inside their pen, the screams stopped and they settled right in, marking their territory, eating food and cuddling up under the heat lamp. When we opend the door from their house to their outdoor pen, they quickly made their way outside to get acquainted with their new surroundings. Although they’re bigger than I was expecting (not quite the small pink piglets I was visualizing in my head), they’re pretty cute and I’m excited to get to know them. Cutest physical trait? The ears – they’re awesome!
In addition to our own farm boys, we had the 4H kids and Brie, the daughter of some good friends of mine, welcome the bigs. The video below gives you a good idea of how chill the pigs are around people. Pretty fun! More pig stories to come I’m sure.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb3ex5A4QGw?wmode=transparent]