One might imagine that trying to get a 80+ pound sow into a dog kennel might prove to be an adventure in farming. It was. I was hoping that Jessy would be able to photojournal the experience, but suffice it to say, we needed all hands on deck, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.
We basically had a plan. Maggie would go into the pen, and I would have the crate at the gateway, ready for Ebony to walk calmly into it, after a snack and then close the door while Jessy snapped away.
Well, we forgot the snack. And decided that we’d just try and herd her into the opening made by the gate and the wall, into the crate. It almost worked the very first try, but then at the opening of the crate, Ebby’s piggy sense kicked in and she thought… this is what they WANT me to do! EGADS!!! No thank you!!!
And she backed out and began to run around the pen and avoid Maggie like the plague.
After several near misses, it was apparent that we needed an additional pig wrangler, so I was called in and Jessy became the door gal.
That was the trick, and within a turn or two around the pen, we had her in the crate. She just barely fits and believe it or not, could turn around in it, but she sort of bowed out the sides a bit when she did that maneuver. I suspect this is her last trip in the crate!
We used the trusty wheelbarrow to gently wheel her off to Blue for her big romantic adventure on Kristina and Daniel’s farm. Being an endangered heritage farm animal, there aren’t a lot of them around and it’s important to keep the breed true. And with different bloodlines. That’s where Harry comes in.
But I digress. We got her in the car and she about broke my heart. She was making the softest little noises of distress, almost like a little porcine sob. They say pigs are quite smart and I can’t help but think she was sad over leaving her lovely little piggy palace here at our place. She is the queen of her own domain here, and treated so nicely. We even let her out to roam the gardens and pastures and she has really flourished here in the two months we’ve had her. I spoke to her and let her know, she’d be back and Jessy went and got her some Cap’n Crunch Berries. Apparently, she was much happier with the cereal then my special heartfelt words. She perked right up when she learned there was going to be inflight livestock crack.
This is Harry. And his friend. A big potbelly piggy girl whom he is also romancing. It was only about 20 or so minutes across the border to Kristina and Daniel’s homestead… it’s so cool to see young people so interested in homesteading and farming, and making it happen. They raise goats, rabbits, hogs and chickens along with a few sheep and a cute pair of donkeys! And have several beautiful dogs. Their place is so much like ours, bigger, but still with it’s challenges and it’s rewards!
Ebony was glad to get out of the dog crate, but she wasn’t totally impressed with her date for the next couple weeks. He was pretty interested in her, after they shared a little corn together. She kept sitting down if he got a little forward and reminded him that she was not that kind of pig. She needed a little more wooing and time to accept this new chapter in her life! It was interesting to see a more mature hog in all his glory. And to see Ebony’s mom, a pen over. I was thinking that Ebby was getting bigger and fuller. She is, but she’s still got some more growth over the next 6 months or so, I suspect. I thought she might be closer to 100 pounds, but in the crate, we could estimate that she was about 80 or so pounds. Harry is considered about 130 to 140 pounds and he’s not quite filled out as well.
The goats watched on with mild interest. It’s a shame that their one large wooden barn is having a roof failure. The walls and foundation are solid, it’s just the roof. They are letting it settle a bit more, then will be taking it off and rebuilding it someday. Looks like a huge task to me, but once it’s done, it will be awesome. I wish we had an old barn, but to be honest, I love our metal big barn… it’s super solid and was built around 1920 and still looks awesome. As much as one might love the allure of these beautiful wooden barns, all that I know that have them, report that they are a lot of work and upkeep. I know for sure, since our poultry barn, a wooden structure, was built around 1960 and it’s in rough shape!
These two goats are relatives to our Buttercup!!! They are twins and you can see the resembles in their faces! At least I can!
They also have some lovely sheep… Finn sheep and blue faced Leisters! Lovely wool!
And a pair of donkeys! They were pretty cool for sure… 
And apparently, one was being a bit of an ass.
I’m pretty sure that owning donkeys means that you get free rein to make all the ass jokes you can… it’s a sort of right of ownership. Before we knew they were in the pasture, one let out with a huge bray and Jessy and I turned in surprise at the noise… and then Daniel says, “Oh, that’s just my ass…” hahahahahaha…. silly, I know, but still funny. Still, they are pretty cool little critters. I wonder if one someday might not be a good equine companion for Cody. He would sure like another of his own kind to pal around with, I know it. Someday… 
Well, after a little feed and a visit, Ebony was a little more interested in her prince charming. Pigs cycle about 20 days, so we’ll see how it goes. She’s got a reservation for about a month or six weeks to see if we can catch two cycles. If she is indeed bred the first time around, she won’t be interested again. Just will be a bit of a wait and see situation. If all goes well, we are hoping that we might be able to trade a piglet or two to a different breeder for a young boar or a weanling boar piglet. That would be the best situation for sure. It would be much easier, obviously, to have our own boar on the farm. And it’s another reason that we just adore these guinea hogs… Harry is so sweet, he will flop down for a belly rub and is just a sweet hog. Even with two sows in his presence, he’s fine with Daniel being in there and has such a lovely temperament for a hog. Just a perfect homestead hog to raise for sure.
While Ebony is gone, we will be working on creating a big outside paddock for her. It will be to the north of the big barn, attached to her pen so she will have a big huge area to root around in and enjoy the outside without getting into trouble. We loved letting her roam about, but after a few days, she was getting into trouble. Mainly, she was pushing her way into the chicken coop yards and eating all their scratch! Even though they are smaller, they are very strong. She will need hog panel fencing for her little pasture. Her pasture will run about $200 for posts and panels… we’ll get it done one way or another. We want to make sure she has a wonderful home to raise her first litter of little wee ones! Pigs gestation is fun… 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days!!! If we’re lucky and she is bred by the end of June… we would be looking at the end of October. If not, then perhaps middle of November. WInter pig babies in the big barn. It will be a fun reason to go out and visit for sure even in the cold!
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