Hogs Gone Wild

Have you ever browsed tv channels and something caught your eye?  That's what happened to me last year.  The show was on the Discovery Channel and the title was "Hogs Gone Wild."  Right before my eyes, I saw pigs swarming property, attacking humans and destroying everything in their path.  The show entirely changed what I thought about pigs.

I've been interested in adding pigs to the farm for years.  I did my research (or so I thought) and I decided on Red Wattle Hogs.  Red Wattles used to populate many of our farms years ago but they fell by the wayside as factory farming came into existence and the emphasis changed from family farm to large scale food production.  There's been a resurgence of Red Wattles lately and after learning more about them, they sounded just right for my farm but that was until I saw Hogs Gone Wild.

Pigs are wonderful but they have one thing on their mind - eating.  And in their frenzy to eat they can become quite excited.  Red Wattles weigh in at 1,000 pounds.  Hmm, a 1,000 pound eating machine?  Not for me.  Especially after hearing true stories of people killed by pigs at feeding time.

I decided to remain pigless.  I saw photos of adorable teacup pigs who shared homes with their people but I really was looking for farm animals and the idea of sharing space with a pig just wasn't that appealing to me.

I started seeing posts on Facebook (where else?) about Kune Kune pigs.  Supposedly they were very friendly and didn't look intimidating at all.  I did lots of research and discovered they mature at around 150 pounds or less and they were bred to graze on pasture.  I knew I didn't want a boar or a gilt (female pig) and probably wouldn't have found them anyway as KuneKune pigs are snapped up like hot cakes.  But I did finally find two neutered KuneKune pigs (called barrows) who I named Wilboar and Festus.  They were tiny at first and it was winter here so I housed them in the barn where they quickly discovered my hay.

And just as it was when the geese arrived, I was intimidated by these piglets at first.  Visions of marauding pigs floated through my head as I approached these tiny creatures cautiously.  I learned more about pigs those first few days.  First, they SQUEAL.  When they are excited, they squeal.  When they are scared, they squeal.  Even such tiny pigs can make ear splitting sounds.  And they smell.  Yes, they do.  They have a distinctive odor unlike any I've smelled.  And even with two tiny piglets, you need to be vigilant in clean up or suffer the consequences.

I introduced them slowly to the horses.

And everyone got along just fine.  Finally, it was warm enough to move them outside. And that's when the real fun began.  I learned pigs love wading pools.

And they develop bonds with each other.

It wasn't long before I was so smitten with these Kunes, I wanted more so I added another barrow, Lorenzo.

And then my fourth and final barrow named Calvin Houdini.

Calvin Houdini is not as innocent as he appears.  He knows how to climb and open gate latches and it's been hard staying one step ahead of him.

I spend time with my pigs every day.  Sometimes we play dress up.

But most of the time, we just hang out.  I'll sit with them and they will plop down right on my feet.  I'll tickle their bellies and they'll grunt with pleasure and fall fast asleep.

I've learned how friendly pigs can be, how smart they are and how easy they are to train but now and then when I carry their bucket filled with food into their pasture and they swarm around me squealing with delight, I can't help thing of Hogs Gone Wild!