Day of Pigs: This Op Was a Success!

This is how you load a pig.  Jim, the farmer we bought her from, and Herb are lowering her into the pallet-crate in the back of our truck.  As long as she is being held firmly, she doesn't struggle.  One down, one to go!

Here goes the next one.  Jim's helper is handing off his end to Jim who just handed the rear end off to Herb on the tailgate.  This is the tricky part!  (Well, one of them!)

Another tricky part is Jim holding his end of the pig up while climbing up on the tailgate.  Since these pigs weigh about 100 lbs. instead of 50 like the last ones, that's harder than it looks!  After the pigs were carefully lowered into the crate, Herb wired another pallet across the top.  That way no pig can try to climb the sides to escape en route, and as a bonus, they get shade for the drive.

One of them sat up for part of the drive, but by the time we got home, they were cuddled up like this.

The pig on top has a crooked ear because Jim's LGD pulled her into the barn by her ear.  There were loud sirens outside, and the dog was trying to protect the pigs.  This one didn't want to go, so the dog pulled on her ear.

A bit of food got this one's attention.

Awww!  They really are sweet together.

We opened the bottom gate of the Home Pasture, and Herb backed in until the tailgate could open straight out to the hill.  These girls are much to heavy for him to lift out single-handedly, so he took apart the back of the crate and left them to walk out.  This pig was on the bottom, so we assumed she was the less dominant, but she was the first to go exploring and hop off the tailgate.



A smile for the camera!  Meet Hammy Faye Bakker.

This girl just did not want to get off.  Herb tried to nudge her gently toward the tailgate.

By the look in her eye, I think she knows her own mind.  Herb may weigh more than she does, but she has gravity in her favor.

Herb finally resorted to another method of getting her off the truck.  I won't say he dragged her kicking and screaming because she didn't move or make a sound, but he had to drag her clear onto the grass.  There she lay stretched out for several minutes as if she was too exhausted to move a muscle.  What a drama queen!

All the while, farther up the hill, Hammy Faye was busy eating grass and checking out the shady grove of trees.

Finally our actress mustered her last bit of energy and sat up.  Meet Spamela Anderson!

Eventually Spamela got to her feet and wandered off to find Hammy Faye.

And that concludes this special op, The Day of Pigs, with Hammy and Spammy happily grazing in their new home.