Yesterday, I spent all day scything pasture in order to set up fencing. The weather was perfect for manual labor, cloudy and in the high 50s. This was after selling 6 piglets. While we were completing the transaction, Ice Cream (the bigger sow) vaulted the 3 ft wooden barrier and came pummeling toward her squealing babies. Luckily, we were able to react quickly and keep her contained in the barn.
In the evening, Stuart (the farm manager), Jade (who is also doing a project with pigs this summer, and is a great pig handler) and I attempted to move the pigs to pasture.
It was a disaster, albeit an entertaining one.
The pigs weren't hungry enough to be guided by our grain and milk, instead what happened is the sows bee-lined for the compost heaps while the piglets ricocheted about. Next we beckoned them into a trailer, but the trailer couldn't make it down the farm road because of low-lying branches and rutted out conditions. So, they spent the night in the trailer.
I had class all morning, but Stuart, farm manager extraordinaire that he is, moved the pigs via a different route first thing in the morning. The weather today is steamy relative to the weather we've been having, around 80 and clear skies.
I just got back from visiting them on pasture. Man, do they look good! I re-filled their water, gave the sows a drink of cold water straight from the house, and doused some of the piglets. Before leaving I made sure to give my favorite pig (a black and brown striped one named Stout) a back rub and was on my way. Soon, I will remember my camera so you too can revel in the perfect picture that is a pig on pasture!
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