Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Onyx decided that enough was enough, and the kids were driving them nuts so they made a breakout.  They lifted up a fence and bust a little weak door and went on a bit of a holiday.  Of course, the snow drifts were too high so they could only run back and forth along the chore paths in the middle yard.  Still, it was pretty funny to see that at the screen porch door waiting for the food lady to give them a handout.

Awww…  the Windhaven American Guinea Hog family.   It’s Onyx, our boar in the middle…  with his lovely wife Ebony to the right.   And Cheyenne and Shawnee, the two piglets gilts we retained from the first litter.    One of the girls will become a breeder sow, and the other, ah…  is going to either go to freezer camp in the fall, or be sold as a full grown bred gilt.  Not sure yet.

I just love how they are all doing, getting along just fine.   That is one of the things we LOVE about AGHs…   they love family groups and in fact thrive that way.  Like they would in nature.  Our only concern is that we will have to separate Cheyenne and Shawnee soon so that their step dad doesn’t ah, play the hokey pokey with them too early.   They are still pretty small…  born October 1st…  they turned 6 months old on March 1st.   As soon as we get Oscar off to freezer camp, which will hopefully be SOOOOON…. the two little girls will be moving into his old pen for most of the summer to grow up big and strong and NOT pregnant!

Awwww…..  which is okay… that is why we retained a pair of them.  I didn’t one just one lone little piggy girl to grow up solitarily this summer.  She will have her sister with her to hang out and be cute little pig girls!

And I am pretty sure that Ebony is expecting again!   She is starting to fill out, a nice little pouffy belly!   Hogs show their pregnancies pretty early.  Since their beautiful late December wedding and move in together, Miss Ebony has had at least two heat cycles and could be either one or two months along.   I am guessing somewhere in the 6 week or so period.  In another couple weeks we’ll be able to see just how far along she is, and compare to her last pregnancy.  Pigs gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days…  nearly 4 months.   So…  best guesses would be a new litter in about, oh, 2 to 3 months…  somewhere in May, I suspect.  Perfect time for a nice litter!  She won’t be too uncomfortable all big and pregnant in the heat, but her babies will be safe and sound from any brutal cold.

We just love our American Guinea Hogs…  absolutely the best little homestead hog around.  They are easy feeders, good temperments, just nice little pigs.  It was so funny to watch them all afternoon running along the pathways and just having a little fun in the snow.  Digging around and such, enjoying the time out.   Mom and Dad would trot by and the little girls would run after them, all in single line along the pathways.  There was no danger of them getting out of the middle yard, but Maggie fixed the doorway, and soon they were back where they belonged.  Water had rotted out the board that held the hinges for the little secondary door, so once the hogs pushed the inner fence up, they just knocked down the door!   She turned it around and hung it on the good side.  For now… that will work.   We need to reframe in the doorway on that little building…   another project for the spring!!!