While the sheep are pretty, and the chickens are my favorite, the pigs are the animals that keep the farm running. We will hopefully be getting our own 1/2 hog within the next month or so. In the meantime, the BIG pigs from our pen have been… harvested… and a new group has been dropped off.
Here on the island we have variable trash pickups, with one week being for recycling and the next for trash. We actually have very little organic waste to get rid of, since most of that goes to the pigs. Pretty much everything that isn’t bone or pig-based (no cannibal piggies, please) goes to the pigs, and we empty their slop/snack bucket over our back fence. Supposedly pigs don’t poop where they eat, so the theory is that we drop the food in the pen closest to our house, and there should be less piggie scent. So far so good.
The new batch of pigs.
The Sheep Are Out... 
yeah pigs
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:38:29 +0000 To: grandbelle@hotmail.com
Do you get your half hog already processed? Or do you get to butcher it out yourself? I think that’d be kindof fun. Work, yes. But still interesting and a great way to figure out your cuts of meat and what you want to do with them.
Joel Salatin says his kids used to fish for pigs by dangling a cob of corn from a string on a stick, then they would jump on and go for a ride while the pigs would try to shake them off. Maybe you should teach Little Man that trick.
While I am interested in learning more about animal butchery, I am actually thinking of starting with something a little smaller like a fish. I’m trying to imagine Dave and I hauling in the 1/2 hog to our kitchen, or maybe the dining room since that table is longer… I’m not sure how Little Man would deal with all of that.
But I’ll be sure to take pictures if Dave decides to become a hog wrangler…
Marie! I’m all caught up on your blogs and I’ve really enjoyed reading them. It’s a great way to keep up with what’s happening over there, over seas. 😀 I can also relate to you about ‘water’. Those Hopwoods are crazy. I’m more like you. Give me lukewarm, calm, not too deep, water…then I’m okay. You’ll have to ask Erin about she and I going swimming in Puerto Vallarta. She laughed then and she still laughs when we talk about it. Okay honey….I’ll be talking to you soon… I hope. xoxo Auntie Marcia
Better yet, we’ll have to go swimming in Puerto Vallarta and make new stories. ‘Sta luego!
I wish I had pigs! I love to buy bellies and make my own bacon. You have the neatest place and I enjoy looking at your farm pics!
Thanks, Cheryl. Ohhh… Making your own bacon… I’ve got to try that. Do you have any special tips? And have you read Novella Carpenter’s Farm City? I think you would like her description of dumpster diving for her pigs.