Make do and mend

Our pigs are destructive, each group that spends time in an enclosure add their bit of destructiveness. They love to dig and dig and dig this is sometimes under their huts, they don't understand about foundations or when digging inside a hut can cause a pool of water to collect when it rains in the winter. Often digging causes mud to cover the electric fence, it fills their water and food containers and makes huge holes in the ground but they are so happy digging, a natural instinct that is stopped when a ring is placed in their nose (this along with tail docking and teeth cutting is not allowed in organic farming but is routine in intensive indoor production) and is something that we would never endorse.

A favourite past time of dismantling huts by knocking out planks of wood is enjoyed as much as pulling at the plastic covering that farmer J used to cover the backs of huts last year that was left over from building work. Strips were torn off with pig in chase games as one ran around plastic in mouth with the others following. Buckets offer endless fun, tossed in the air with bonus points won if the handle comes off. Pigs do cause maintenance work a lot of the time.

Before the winter sets in this year we plan to move the pigs furthest away to enclosures nearer for carrying food buckets and water in the mud and snow is no fun. These spaces have been rested for half the year (clearing any parasites from last inhabitants) but before pigs can be moved huts need to be mended with floors being built (hopefully to stop digging and to keep them dry).

The first pen had to be finished for five new piglets we brought in to replace ones lost
from Sandy's litter. They are Champion the boars off springs, farmer J picked them up this afternoon. Their enclosure was ready, hut with clean straw, new water container and food laid out in a clean half drain pipe, all very clean and tidy, probably not for very long.