Category: Pigs

Our newest addition, these pigs will be breeding stock and be given the job of clearing up the woods.

Autumn Dawn Endeavors > Farm > Pigs

Pig House v.3

Posted on by AutumnDawn

Pig House number one was merely an extra-large dog crate covered in an old blanket for insulation and a tarp for water shedding. Pig House number two was 2 pallets screwed together as an A-frame with a few boards nailed across the bottom for bracing and some plastic stapled to the top. The pigs have outgrown both, though somehow they still cram themselves into the dog crate together to cuddle.

It was time for a thorough upgrade:

Labrador thinks it’s awesome!

I used some pallets, some extra sheets of plywood, and a 2×4 and made a large shelter for my pigs. It should be nice and airy through the summer and easy to amend for winterization. We added a thin coat of white paint to help the water shed from the wood. Come winter, I’ll close the ends and probably 2/3 of the front.

Tamworth Pigs: Five Month Update

Posted on by AutumnDawn
Muddy Babies

It’s hard to believe they’ve grown so much since we brought them home in March. Follow this link to see how little they were on their first day with us: https://autumndawn.net/blog/2021/03/16/we-have-piggies/

We are waiting on some fence posts from Timeless Fence to get them moved to their permanent location by the woods. They already have a shed down there to move into.

(I’m trying out a new video editor, please excuse the watermark.)

New additions for May of 2021

Posted on by AutumnDawn
Muscovy Duck eggs should hatch around June 19th.
We bought these St. Croix/Katahdin cross ewes to add some size to our meat stock.
This registered St. Croix is a rehome rescue. She had no sheep friends and we hope she’ll be happier here.

As you can see, we’ve been busy making homes for our new additions. The adult rams have been moved to the lower pastures to work on those. Once these new sheep have passed quarantine, they’ll join our other ewe and the baby rams will be removed to their own pasture until breeding season.

The piggies are currently getting wire trained (they do not like the ouchie wire) and have a waterbarrel with a pig nipple to drink from.

The garden is coming along, though I am late getting my beans in. Tomorrow is another day!

Construction projects

Posted on by AutumnDawn

The piglets are growing fast and are going to need a little more space to stretch out. It’s not pretty and needs a tarp tacked on, but I can pull it with a rope and move it with the pigs.

This is the beginning of a greenhouse. There used to be a small tree and some flowers here but this is south-facing real estate and I need a place to put my starts when they outgrow the indoor greenhouse.

Surprise!

Posted on by AutumnDawn

We had been pondering getting pigs for some time and I had been looking at heritage breeds. They don’t have issues with sunburn as their hair-coats have not been bred out of them. Tamworth pigs filtered to the top of my list due to their hardiness, good mothering skills, and highly-rated meat.

After some time perusing registries, farm pages, and Facebook pages, I reached out to a farm about an hour from me. They had a sow that had recently had piglets and I asked if they had any that were still available to be reserved. Yes, they still had two gilts. Wonderful! How long until they were weaned?… Ready to go and these were the last two…

Well, a little serendipity, a little Fear Of Missing Out, and a lot of crazy-farm-lady later and the decision was made. We are getting two pigs. Tomorrow.

I made an early trip to Tractor Supply and bought some hog panels, some quick links, a dog crate, an extra hog pan (we have other extra containers), a bag of t-post clips, some tarps, and a bag of feed. I’ll order some minerals, hit up the feed mill and get a couple mixes done for the pigs and the sheep this week. I’m also gonna pick up some wood pallets (skids) and build the pigs a little house I can roll along with their pen.

Crazy? Yes. Scary? A little. Excited? Definitely!

Wish us luck!

Credit Wikipedia Photo