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08/05/2007: "Wee Wee Wee, All the Way Home"

Friday evening Nate and I went and picked up a piglet! It's another first for the farm, and Nate's already enjoying the experience.


The piglet was in a pen with several littermates. They were all pretty darn wily and did not want to be caught. We picked him out because of his bright eyes and curly tail. We also liked his color,his size in comparison to his litter mates, as well as his rather calm disposition. We don't want our first pig experience to be with a wild boar. The woman we bought him from used a large salmon fishing net to nab him out of the mob of piglets. Then she picked him up by the hind legs and the squeal that he emitted was amazing! Who knew such an obnoxious noise could come from such a small critter. (But then again, human babies make some pretty awful noises too!) We put the little guy into a large pet carrier we had brought along and then into the back of the neighbor's pickup truck. We had a discourse with the pig selling woman that was rather amusing. She told us about the great deals on white bread, the best place to find cheap hog feed, and the best dosages for getting rid of parasites. Nate and I listened politely and tried to assure her that the pig was going to a home where it would be well taken care of. She was pleased that it was going to receive the leftover skim milk from our cow, and all of the table scraps. We didn't tell her about the grain Nate has grown, nor the rotating pen system we're hoping to work out. We want this pig to EAT.



So we've started feeding it. The piglet seems a little confused by our offerings. "This is not wonderbread!" he sniffs.


Today, the second full day he's been here, he seems to have discovered the joys of pears. With fruit season on full throttle, the pig will be given all of the downed fruit, and all of the fruit that's a little wormy. Boy does he love it! That pig practically pranced when Nate threw in a couple of pears. Yummy!

Our pig is a Durock cross. The Durock is a "lard" breed, which Nate is very excited about. It is difficult to find a winter source of vitamin D, especially in the grey pacific northwest. But lard from pastured pigs contains a healthy dose of it. Plus, it's an all natural fat source that can be made on farm. The pig will have plenty of meat too.

Nate built a small pen that's easy to move. He has wound barbed wire across the bottom of the fencing to discourage the pig rooting around the edges. There is a large metal roof for shade and straw for bedding down in. We'll be upgrading his watering bucket to a system he can't tip over once he gets a little bigger.

We're excited about the challenges this animal will present us with. He's much more sensitive to heat and cold than the cows are, as well as having a reputation for being clever. We're aiming to slaughter sometime in late December. We wonder just how much food it's going to take to bring him up to a good weight, and if the farm can support more than one. This is definitely our learning pig, for which we thank him. We hope his time with us is enjoyable, and that he learns to love fresh food!

Rich of Mossback Farm comments:

Congrats! I loved raising our pigs, but they were really wily beasts, and very hungry...we're going to hold off on raising them for a couple of years so we can get our fences tighter, and continue to up the farm productivity so we don't have to buy them much feed.

Have fun!