Going Pro with Pigs

It is 5 till 4 on Saturday. We totally forgot we are getting pigs today. We're getting our breeding pigs, a boar and a gilt, hopefully to be a sow one day. That— a gilt is a female pig, uh, that hasn't had babies yet, so they're young. We're just gonna put them in the deep bedding till we get them used to us. I need to get it ready. That's not hard. It looks pretty ready. I might set this up. Okay, I should maybe double-check and see if the door will close. We got some episodic vendors through there. They're getting stressed out. We got some of that. The door shuts. It could be a little easier. Fix that later. We've got plenty of wood chips stored up to add to their deep bedding. How are we gonna get them in here? Okay, we've piled mucho wood in our path, so I think— I haven't built our pole barn yet, so they could— they could drive through there, I'm pretty sure. Let's remove some of those poles. It all happens at once, doesn't it? Jona's out there trying to put the calf up, having some problems calling us. All right, so what's going on?

Stead muffin's here. I need you to herd them both out of here.

Okay, so you got the calf back in with— or in with the sheep, and I gotta herd these guys back up to their paddock. I think this is classic. I think she's going back into heat. She misses the last two times. She missed on our very first heat. So I'm not too alarmed. I just don't want you to miss again. All right, Phyllis, don't let her go into that fence while it's not on. She'll start charging it even if it is on if she gets out once with it off. All right, we got the cows under control and in the right place. So what are we doing with, uh, a boar and only one gilt? Well, we're gonna get more gilts, hopefully to have 3 in total, to have sows one day, 2 litters, or 2 litters from each of them a year. We're going in the pig business. We're going pro. And what better than pigs? Because we can't expand pasture-based ruminant animals because we're already maxing out our pastures. But we have 75 total acres, only 8-ish are in pasture. So what loves the forest? Pigs for everyone. So we'll probably get these guys in the stall, train them to a feed bucket, train them to us, get them used to us, and also train them probably to a 2-strand electric. We're gonna have a bunch of pigs. We're gonna have bigger paddocks. Lily, we need to find— oh, there's one right here. You know where another one is? I know we have more than this. Oh yeah, cool. Let's put that over at the greenhouse. We'll use this one for now. Here, let's get it some feet, some feet in it. I think— I forget just how old these guys are. I think the little, the little gilt— I, I don't know. I don't know how old they are. I will find out when they get here.

I forget.

Anyway, I once knew how old they were. When I bought them like 4 months ago. Yeah, just put one scoop in there. Good. That's apple cider vinegar. They're gonna be totally stressed out from their trip. This is gonna be a health boost. Here, give them another. Let's, let's really sock it to them. All right, yeah, pour that in there. One. Good. Now let's go get a spade and stir that. Good deal. Josiah, I need you to come get a hose. Would you come get a hose and let's fill up our water barrel at the pigs? I hear the people, I think. Yep, that's, that's people. Okay, that's them. Let's go, let's go greet them. All right, let's see what we got here. Okay, so who's who? What do you think, guys? Those beautiful pigs. That's a strong word for a pig, but I think they're beautiful. You what?

Did you buy all of those pigs?

No, just two. The pigs are here, bro. I know, and they look about 4 or 5 months old, so they're gonna be— look, they're gonna need some more food than that. I'm not finding our— we have some nice metal cages. Jonah, you know where everything is on this farm. Do you know where the metal cages are? In the stall? I can't find them.

I don't know where those are.

Okay, well, I was hoping to use them as a chute.

They're probably somewhere around the barn.

You can sure back one good. You don't want to go into pork business together?

Sure.

You forgot about that, didn't you? Yeah, this is business. Yep. Can you say business? Business.

Yeah, I want to put business.

You do? My guess is the cages are up at the barn. Let's get that long pallet We might have to run that 2x6 through it. They are— oh, this is heavy. Okay, so they're sorting our 2 pigs from the rest and putting them towards the end of the trailer, and then we'll, uh— so while they're doing that, let's just go ahead and cut out the drama now, set up some management. What are you gonna do with that? Put it right there. Put that through there. That might work. Okay, we're gonna try this. We've got the two that are coming to me in the back. Yeah, um, just pull that— he wants that— pull that a little further out. And then Josiah, you stand in the gap that's going to be there. They're not as likely to climb up that mulch.

There you go.

I'll stand here with the pig born. You're gonna have to persuade them out.

That's okay.

Oh, there we go. You come Come on, guys. I know you're tired of being in the trailer.

You are especially, huh, little guy?

You want to try leading them with feed? You think they'll follow feed? No, probably not. No? There we go. There we go.

There, front ways works better. Okay, um, there we go.

Make sure they get in the stall. He's hungry. Everybody, I'd like to introduce you to Beefcake. I want her to eat too. Are you okay, Miss Thing?

Is she a thing?

That's a she. That's gonna be a mama, and this is the papa. He's not jumpy when I touch him. Yeah, you must be handled. She is stressed out. No, that's, that's— leave her. Yeah, let's not. She seems a little more stressed out than Beefcake.

What is her name? Her?

His name? You're probably, uh, motion sick, aren't you? Lily had the idea to get him some grass, which is a really good idea. Get him some greens to help him. She's sniffing around. She's, she's starting to sniff around a bit. That— ooh, that's some nice tender grass. I bet they'll go for that. I feel like I should get them some chicken broth or something. I think we have some, actually. I went to get some chicken broth, saw this old yogurt which will have some probiotics, so I think I'm gonna just do that instead.

They're cute. I like them. They're cute. They're like— they're sweet looking, and they, they seem very docile. Sunny, like, not like all are. I mean, not that they're like— they're not super friendly, which is fine, but they're not, um, like scared. They're not huddling in that corner.

So I got this yogurt. I'm happy. Everybody, I've seen her eat, I've seen her drink. I'm happy. I was a little nervous. I mean, when you, when you transport an animal and they're coming from a different farm to another It's, it's a risk and we know this.

Yeah.

And so we're gonna be very diligent about getting them some probiotics. Rebecca got them together some— this is kelp DE. They've already eat the DE for like worms. And then a NutriBalancer.

Swine NutriBalancer.

Swine. Here you go, here you go, guys. Have you ever had yogurt? They are so stupid. They're very nice. Watch this, I want to see them get that yogurt.

I gave him a lot of apples.

He's not so sure. Oh, there he goes.

Oh, you're gonna like it, don't you worry.

You're gonna go nuts for that.

Get you some good probiotics.

Aren't they a handsome pig?

They are handsome.

I think they're the most handsome pig.

I like their ears.

They're white with black spots. They have their big old ears over their eyes.

They can't see a thing.

I don't know what the practicality of that is. Okay, look, Jonah, this is something I've never noticed in a pig. There, she's digging. He's digging with his front paws. Oh, that's great. It's gonna be great for tilling.

Digging him a bed.

I like it. I've seen them dig with their snouts, of course. I like it. We got us some tillers.

I think he's digging him a bed.

We got a lot of work for you, beefcake. These are the old spot pigs. Let's, let's try my best. Gloucestershire Old Spots. The reason we got them, they're a fast-growing pig but not the fastest growing pig, so they're going to be efficient but also homestead friendly. They are also friendly pigs from what we hear. They're not, they're not going to try to get busting out of fences. A few other things, we've consulted our coach here, Claire, from our member area. Wasn't that a blessing?

Oh, she's such a blessing, such a blessing, such a blessing. We're not the only teachers in the member It's funny, she's trying to tell me congratulations on the pregnancy and I'm just like talking about the pigs.

I know, we just kind of— this snuck up on us and we knew these pigs were coming. Well, actually, we thought they were coming in November. We had, we had warning though. We had like a week, week or two. Oh yeah, yeah, warning. And we just kind of forgot. But it's not— I mean, we've gotten pigs many times. We have charcoal and we have vitamin C. Well, we're out of feed pans, so I figured that'd be more Jerry.

We might have more feed pans on there.

Chicken? No, I've already looked. Are you sure?

I'm sure.

I think we've left them— oh, there's one in the back of Sally. Okay, and I think we left them out of the pigs because we switched them out. It's okay, I'm just gonna make this the movie about getting the pigs. There's a sapin pumpkin. Claire said pumpkin seeds is a rejuvenation. Actually, here's, here's a bunch of dry ones. Actually, do we have a rotten pumpkin that we could bust open? You feel like this one's ugly? Oh, that's half rotten. That's perfect. Hey, you know what? I wonder if we should throw these in the wood chips since they're like— they want to root so much. All right, I'm gonna spread those seeds. Have fun, guys. This is gonna be fun. I mean, they— these pigs are not comfortable with us yet. They're still stressed out. Look at him. Beefcake, you're a little jumpy. I feel like they're sluggish, but that's probably from the stress of the trip, so we're just going gangbusters. Okay, there you go, guys. That's the charcoal and that's the vitamin C. All right, let's just watch this, Rebecca. I don't know how much food scraps they've gotten. Pigs pick up right on it real quick. Look, look how they're going for that. That's what I like to hear. Listen, they're more excited about this than the grain with the yogurt on it. You must really need it. You sense that, don't you?

It's just like sitting at my dinner table.

So here it's supposed to sound like that. Look at them dig, look at them dig with their front paws back here. I love it.

I love these pigs already. I just love them. What's her name?

They're adorable. I don't know, we have to name her. We already named this one Beefcake. That's almost as good as Stun Muffin.

Man, he's really going at it.

But we— but guys, we're keeping these, Lord willing, and the creek don't rise. If you're a good breeder and if you're a good breeder, yeah, uh, you guys are our breeding— start of our breeding stock.

Part of the thing with her especially is we are very hands-off.

Yes, that's it too. So if she doesn't burn— so if she doesn't birth well by herself in the woods, yeah, with some hay bale, yeah, in a farrow—

we'll give her a farrow hut.

Yes, she will have to become—

she will have bacon. I don't know, we'll see what we're gonna do with her because I just have to research that a little bit. Yeah, but yep, we'll figure something out for her.

Yep, we're just— we're ultimately looking for hardy stock. We're hoping this is it.

I mean, you have to—

not betting money on it, it is, but I guess we are because we bought her.

But I mean, we're just gonna see what happens, and I think that's what you have to do. You can't get breeding stock and be like, this is it.

This— can't count chickens before they hatch.

Yeah, I mean, even with our sheep, like, we have put a lot of work into them, but—

and we've waited forever.

Yeah, but you know, we're gonna see what happens.

They could— none of them breed next—

well, next— this month we'll see how they breed, and then next year we'll see how they birth, and we're gonna make determinations on who we keep and all of that. Those are our goals. For our farm. Other farms may have different goals, and that's okay.

She's in the charcoal. They're loving this pumpkin though. Hey honey, are you gonna eat the pumpkin? Grandma came to bat, wrapping up the mashed potatoes.

Very appropriate tonight, we're having pork burgers.

Yeah, I know, right? And, uh, I don't know, we just, we just went crazy. With the, uh, there's the broccoli with the health. We got the broccoli going. Look at there, look at those pork burgers. Good deal. Thank you, Grandma. That's all we can do. We can just work our best, do the best we can to keep these guys healthy. We care for them. We want them to have the best, most wonderful life, but we also want good hearty stock, uh, not dependent on any other thing other than these natural things we can give them. We're gonna hope for the best. We're gonna work really hard, and we're always thinking about our grandkids. This is Hardy stock. We can find Hardy stock. We keep breeding Hardy stock. Less and less problems for our grandchildren, your children. Not anywhere. Just let it keep flying over your head as long as we can. Okay.