Al had pigs before I ever moved here and went a couple years without any, when he decided to get a few and raise butcher pigs. The idea of homegrown meat appealed to me in terms of cutting grocery costs and also knowing what the animals were fed and that they had nothing artificial in them.
We had a nice old shed with a "dog door" on a concrete slab. The fence was hog panels with an electric wire near the ground on the inside, "Pig proof!" Al said.
He was wrong. Around January (back a few years) they made a break for it. The pigs were half-grown and pretty agile. If you've never chased a pig before, let me tell you they're quick! They can change direction in an instant and outrun you like nothing. Chasing pigs out in the cold was no fun either.
We managed to get that lot in, but unfortunately they were not our only bunch of escapees. The following spring a new bunch broke out and tore up our garden. Al was not home and I went running across the barn yard trying to shoo them back into a shed or barn- any place contained. Finally out of desperation, I grabbed a loaf of bread and baited the sow toward the barn with bread crumbs. It worked until she grew bored and wandered off again.
We have not had any pigs for a few years now, but Alan talks about wanting to raise a few more. He will build a new fence, this time they can't get out- yeah, right.
Our last litter of piglets. They were Hampshire/Duroc cross. They sure were cute, but made an awful noise when you tried to pick them up and hold 'em.
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