Pig Vandal

Pig games are very simple. Pig brains are very simple. Contrary to popular opinion pigs are not all that intelligent.  At least mine aren’t.  Not as clever as my dogs and not as clever as a toddler.  No toddler I know is happy to lie under a tree all by herself without a sound for days on end then get up to eat then break a few things , graze, empty their water onto the ground before they had a drink and then lay back down again for hours. Like many animals they live in the moment with great contentment. They don’t get bored as much as see opportunities. At least this is my opinion.

Like how a cow loves an open gate – if you open a gate they will walk through it. No real reason other than the gate was open and there might be better food on the other side.  Pigs will learn routines and like cows and sheep will respond to simple commands and calls.  Pigs are affectionate though, similar to dogs they like humans and enjoy playing with them and leaning on them and training them to bring food. They can learn a few tricks and be taught to poo outside (if it is not raining). But they do not think about consequences and do not lie under their trees plotting and love to roll in cow shit.  They see an open gate and always with caution,  follow their noses through.  After observing pigs for years I do not believe they are cognitive. Intelligent is too strong a word for them I think. I know there will be an outcry but this is what I think.

And I love working with pigs and would also love to spend more time sleeping under a tree with Our Sheila. But that is all Sheila does. Sleep.

Some pigs are busier than other pigs though. And every pig is different. We are presently building an electric fence to try and keep Poppy in her field across the way. It will be hit and miss (literally)  as to whether we can train her to respect an electric wire. As a piglet she would just run really fast and dive under the electric fence, squealing.  But I would rather all the pigs lived outside in big fields in the summer, not breaking stuff in the barns, so we will give it a go.

Tahiti is a case in point-  if a pig sees a gap she will worry at it until she makes a bigger gap. If someone closes the gap she will go and find another gap to worry at.  Pigs get their noses under things and pull up with their very strong snouts.  They are great destroyers of structures which is fair enough, the great outdoors is a better place for a pig.

Tahiti is a case in point. She saw a hole in the the back of the rat house wall, so she pulled at the board until she got the board off so she could jam her head past the exposed nails, scratching up her face, to see in, then spent the rest of the day back and forth watching the chickens lay eggs until I discovered the hole and taking my nails and hammer closed the gap.

Now that they cannot see through the wall they have lost interest in it. Back to the tree. Pigs do not lick their wounds or wash themselves so I will have to anoint her scratches for a few days and try to keep the flies away.

The back wall on the Rat House barn is rotten, I need to put fixing that on the list. West Walls do not fare well here – it is the same with the big barn. The West Wall is due to be replaced. These old wooden buildings built in a hurry by farmers with untreated timber and too many nails do not last as long as we would like. And they all need stripping and painting or replacing. And painting rotten boards is about as clever as a pig gnawing at his shelter till it falls apart or eating the roots of the tree he sleeps under.  So these are big jobs.

Sometimes I will only farm as long as my barns are standing. Maybe I am an opportunist too just like a pig.

Molly and Tahiti are not sleeping in the root cellar that we filled with fresh straw for them. They will go down into it if I am there and call them in but it is too enclosed I think – they think it is spooky, it probably has a ghost in there.  They prefer to sleep under the tree.  I don’t blame them. I would not sleep in there either – the ghost of the old house who lives in there is the silent broody type.

My sister called my place The House of Rags because I cut up all old clothes and fabric and use them as rags in the house and in the barn. Then string the clothes line with them every day. NO damp cloth is used for more than one task.  Once a rag or tea towel is used it goes straight into the washing bucket. Dampness in hot weather becomes a petri-dish of horror. And we are dealing daily with  a little multitude of animals and people some with questionable toilet habits combined with raw milk and fresh food. Any cloth that goes near my cows udder or farm dirty hands, or even wiping the chopping boards goes straight out to The Wash. I wash them every day in hot soapy water and hang them in the sun to dry. 

Gosh is that the time! Must run! I hope you have a lovely day.

I think we will!

celi