We're adding photo albums of specific subjects so you can get to know more of our incredible animals and a bit of life on the farm.
We are thrilled to say that we have a total of 11 Red Wattles living here with us now. We started with 3 young weaner pigs from Marian Van Beaver of Five Ponds Farms in Missouri. That was back in late May (2008) and was a complete wild ride that I will detail later on. In Aug 2008, we acquired 3 more RW's. A young barrow intended for the freezer as well as two mature (unrelated) sows bred to 2 different boars.
That's "8-ball" in the picture above. She had only been here for one day when we took this picture and she was just getting used to the notion of humans being "friends".
"8-ball" again, during the ride home. We had to travel through the hottest parts of the state and we used block ice (see white square by her side) to help keep the hogs cool. Our other "secret weapon" for the hot trip was watermelon.. and lots of it. The hogs loved it and it helped keep them hydrated. Anne did the "chef's honors" by the side of the road several times during the trip.
With the addition of the two bred sows, we are adding a much larger variety of genetics to our herd, which will make it possible for us to be able to put together "breeding packages" of boars and gilts of suitable genetics.
"Big Momma" (above) is trying hard to fit into that water trough in an effort to keep cool in the hot August weather. Believe it or not, but she did actually fit in it once, though I didn't have the camera on hand when it happened. These are just the neatest hogs we have ever encountered. So friendly and easy to handle. If you offer to scratch their bellies they will just flop over and enjoy. There is nothing quite like being surrounded by 500+ lb animals that just want to "hang out" with you.
Look closely (sorry for the shadows) and you will see a small "pig pile" of sleeping pigs. It was a big day for them and they were tired. That's Redbeard on the bottom, with Violet on top.