This is Charlotte's beau, Mr. Pig. He is on loan to us from a neighbor's farm and moved in with Charlotte last Thursday. He seems quite happy with his new living arrangements and seems to like Charlotte just fine. SHE wasn't to sure about him in the beginning, but has decided he's not so bad.
He loves her bed....I imagine it's quite cushy compared to where he lives. She has warmed up to him in the last few days and if yesterday's breeding was successful, we should have piglets around 4/1/10. Gestation is approximately 114 days. We will keep him another month just to make sure she is bred. He's very respectful of humans and waits patiently for his feed unlike his bunkmate. She's a hog in every sense of the word :) This is our first experience raising pigs and I wasn't sure what to expect having a boar around. He definitely has a unique odor but it's not offensive. You can tell when you open the barn door that their is an unfamiliar smell. He's not loud and it's really been very simple. We will keep our fingers crossed that the rest of the process goes as well. 
Speaking of swine, my Dad gave me this cute little piggy calendar for Christmas. Below is January's cover pig. 
A face anybody could love :)
7 comments:
It's good to have a beau. I hope the mating was successful. We're picking up one of our goats from being breed today. I hope it took.
We thought about raising piggies but have to get the sheep and goats straight first. I love pigs. They are so smart and have such great personalities. You keep you pigs in the barn? Is it very messy? Keep us posted about Charlotte. Looking forward to piglets.
Kelly
I am going to enjoy reading about your pig raising efforts. We have never done any either except finishing some for the freezer. The boss's dad used to though, back in the day. He had a smokehouse too and was a highly respected producer of ham for others...and never taught the boss how to do it, alas.
We have never had our own boar. When I was a kid we took the sow to the boar. Oh, how much fun. I can hardly wait to meet your new little piglets. Baby pigs are as much fun as puppies.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Cute piggy face! Hopefully this spring we will have pigs again! Miss the pork in the freezer!
I love my piggies too. Of course my girl is named Charlotte ( I guess we all loved that spider). and her mate is Wilbur. It is really hard to not get overly attached to them because they are like dogs if handled from a young age. I promised myself I would raise these pigs to be butchered but the more I think about it the more I realize that they will be the left to breed and maybe some the babies will make it to the table. Glad you are having such a nice experience with your borrowed boy!
Good that Mr. Pig is a gentleman. I wouldn't want to be around a pushy boar. The calendar is cute! Brings a smile to my face for sure.
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