The two gilts (female pigs) we are raising are growing very nicely so far. Rather quickly, too, and we’ve been trying to get a larger space built for them, but with the heat wave we just endured and that just broke yesterday, we have been unable to tackle that project until now. The girls have a portable hut that we move around to a new pasture space each day for them, but we want to build a proper fenced yard with more space for them. For pigs, this will involve both rigid fencing as well as a hot wire at the bottom to discourage them from digging out – something at which they are quite adept.
Pigs can’t sweat, which is why they seek external cooling methods, like wallowing in water or mud. People say “happier than a pig in shit” but pigs don’t actually want to be in their own shit, from what I can tell. They seem to choose a particular corner in which to pinch their loaves and then avoid laying around in that corner. The mud, however, helps them to cool down. With all of the heat we’ve been enduring, we knew if we were miserable, they had to be feeling even worse, so we’ve been providing “shower time” for them with the garden hose, and they love it. They run through it like little kids – and as an added bonus, it makes for some great mud puddles!
Some have asked us if we will be offering pork when these girls go to slaughter, and no, we are raising these strictly for our own family. To be honest, that is the direction we anticipate taking with most of our ventures here on the farm moving forward. We started farming with the goal of improving our family’s food supply, and our lives along with that. We’ve been reflecting recently on whether we are achieving those goals, and what changes we need to make in order to do so. But that’s another post for another day! In the meantime, please enjoy the delight of pigs running through the water!
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