Just thought I would let you all know that we FINALLY got some pigs today - YEAH!!! I used to raise pigs and although it's more time and labor intensive than some other projects, I love it. Don't know what the attraction is, but I enjoy dealing with and raising hogs more than anything else on the farm. And I enjoy the smile on my wife's face while she watches the pigs slurping the eggs we give them from time to time :-).

We actually went to the auction to purchace a couple feeder pigs for the freezer. I had it in my mind that the livestock auction started at 12:30pm, but it started an hour earlier, so by the time we got there they were running the sheep through - finished with the pigs. As we were leaving I noticed an add on the bulliten board for boars for sale. Took down the number, called and ended up with a Duroc boar, three York gilts, and a bag of feed pellets - all for under $150.00 (pigs weith 40-55 lbs each). I didn't think that was a bad deal!

Went out to check them a while ago because they aren't used to being on the ground. They were snuggled up in the hay under the shelter I put together for them and seemed pretty content. As my DW would say, "I'm a happy camper!" Have a good night folks, and hope your tomorrow is filled with lots of sunshine and laughter!

-- Phil in KS (pemccoy@yahoo.com), September 29, 2001

Answers

Phil, congratulations! We are just now cutting up the second of our pigs, the first ones we've raised here. I have to admit, I miss watching them--not the smell, tho! Going to get a couple or three more to raise over the winter. Jan in eastern Colorado

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), September 30, 2001.

Jan, I don't understand why you have a smell from the hogs. I've raised hogs for the table and I have a pet hog and there's no smell. Even the hog ranch down the road doesn't smell. The only thing I can surmise is the way the critters are fed, since the only folks I know who have an odor problem are those who feed scraps from their kitchen. The ranch down the road and I only feed the hog feed, nothing from our kitchens, nothing from gardens, etc. Could that be it?

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), September 30, 2001.

Well, I can't tell you why they smelled so terrible-fed them milk, bread, and veggies, along with pellets, and tried to keep the dropping cleaned up unless they tipped the water buckets over to make a mud hole, and pooped and urinated in there, which they seemed to love to do! Have to figure out some other way to water, since we can't run a water line to them and use hog nipples. But they really did SMELL! Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), September 30, 2001.

Was the pen big enough so they could pee and poop in a corner ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), September 30, 2001.