g-d bless pigmerica

in honor of the holiday, four new little fellas make pork chop hill their home.  after initially putting them into the same paddock as oprah, who is preggers and a half, the new gang hopped ship to the hospital pen we built for tommy—sanctuary, relief.  since we were all out of town for the holiday, and we are in the middle of some fencing (and re-fencing) on pork chop hill, the hospital pen will make due for now. 

every piglet’s first slop on pch is a memorable one.  after that first pour, that very first splat, the bond is formed, and i am their friend.  easy peasy.

what’s hilarious for me to see is how buddy-buddy these new piglets have instantly become with tommy, our injured hog.  in the real world—general population in the next paddock—these guys would be bottom of the barrel right from the start.  no respect, eat last, and get out of the mud pool. 

in the hospital pen, however, with the mild mannered and recuperating tommy, these guys are instant contenders.  a little slop here, a little mud there—like they own the joint.

this week, once the fencing projects are complete, there will be some serious shifting around on pch, and the piglet’s day in the sun will most likely come to an end.  some priorities:  oprah giving birth, organizing tommy’s slaughter, introducing the piglets to general population, and separating the boars from the herd to be housed with our sows.  with big animals, and little fences, it’s always a bit of a “watch and see”, but at least we have a plan to shoot for.