12 Unexpected Piglets
We got a big surprise today. I had a hunch, but WOW! Our potbelly pig had found love after all! I don’t know why her head was buried in the straw but it was her choice, not mine.
Comments
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@Megan Venturella Camera Shy!
What a wonderful surprise!~
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@Denise Grant Silly me, I should have realized. It’s probably the extra baby weight...
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Very cool! What a blessing :). Thanks for sharing your surprise!
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Wow!! the population on your new farm is growing quickly.
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They are sooooo cute! That must have been funny walking into the barn totally unsuspecting!
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Wonderful! Congratulations on the new arrivals. So happy for you. Thank you for sharing the picture.
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A great surprise. Congratulations!
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Congratulations! They're just too sweet. More pictures, pretty please?
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They’re up and running around now. Squealing, fighting, climbing all over mommy like little fleas 😂
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I put up temporary fencing to separate mommy and babies from the older pigs, but Ripper (my son named her, he thought it was funny) just used her snout to lift up the fence like it was nothing and made herself at home on the other side. The babies seemed to follow without a problem, so hopefully all is well. She isn't the friendliest pig all the time, so I've been more hands off, just feeding her and coming out to count everyone.
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What a wonderful surprise. We have two full size sows we are hoping to breed this spring. Love all the little ones running around. Lol
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So what are you doing with all the potbellies? Selling for pets?
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@blevinandwomba I don’t really know what to do with them!! I think the potbelly pig thing for pets is kind of a scam. I read a great article on pot belly pigs for eating which got me really excited, but after carefully reading the description again I realized these pigs have probably been crossed with a lard breed. They’re so unbelievably fat. Their eyes are even fat! Their jowls are pendulous!! So I’m starting to doubt I’ll even be able to sell them. 😭
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Well, I'm pretty ignorant about raising pigs, but why can't you eat them if they are a cross breed?
If you can't eat them, can you train them? You know, like truffle hunting pigs- maybe they could be airport-fruit-sniffing pigs or police drug sniffing pigs. Kind of joking now but I hear they are really trainable.
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@blevinandwomba I think you can still eat them, but they are mostly fat. We’ll have to just try one and see. I love cooking with lard actually, so I shouldn’t be so glum. I just heard they won’t produce much meat. But I could be wrong!
If the airport sniffing career doesn’t work out for them, maybe I’ll get them a gym membership and see if they can’t put on some muscle!
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I think if your careful about what they eat, you can somewhat control the fatness of the pigs. If you can do more fruit and vegi diet they will be leaner and not as fat. If you also are feeding in a dish/bucket not letting them eat from a feeder, so your only giving x amount instead of them free eating that will also control how fast they put on weight.
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If you could train them to hunt truffles, you might have a market for them in the Pacific Northwest. Truffles grow on roots of various trees from southern BC to northern California but they are very elusive unless you have a trained pig or dog. I think dogs have become more popular but it might be worth the research to find out.
I don't think that the extra fat should be a deterrent from using them for meat. In my opinion, the extra lard would just be a bonus.
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Ok, now I want piglets. They are so much fun, until they're not.
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That is so cute! And the mama is funny- hiding for the picture like us moms do😁
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They are adorable! Hopefully in time a fantastic opportunity will show up for them. Pigs are very smart. Wish you the best for the never ending venture that is homesteading.
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What a cute surprise. Baby pigs are some of the cutest babies. I think she had her face hid saying "It was his idea, Mom. Really" lol
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Well, this is three months later. Have you determined anything?
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The amount of fat on a crossbreed will depend on what the cross was. Some breeds of pigs naturally have more fat on them (more of a lard pig) while others are known more for their meat
This site give information on a few different breeds but there are so many more....
https://www.reformationacres.com/2018/01/choosing-pig-breed.html
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They are so adorable!
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@DurwardPless Well, we took the three sows from her first litter and brought them to a processor. I was genuinely loath to try it for whatever reason, and there was a miscommunication and all the meat came back as ground pork. However! We had someone over for dinner and I made a pork stir fry. The meat was INCREDIBLE. I’ve been buying all my pork from a farmer for the last 3 years, but this was even better. I have no idea why. But wow. Now I need to learn to process it myself.
My guess is that people say they’re no good because they’re small. But I actually really like that because they’re more manageable and the amount of meat I got was manageable without having to buy an extra freezer.
So I am 100% a convert. I think I’ll have to figure out a way to separate the male and female so the siblings don’t breed. That’s my next challenge. 😊
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