And we have a pig!

George our new Pot-bellied Pig!

At this point in the game I really shouldn't be surprised to see a pig standing in my kitchen, I mean no one else seems to be.  In fact I posted a status on my personal Facebook page last night after we brought George home that said "Something I never thought I would say: "Knock it off you guys!! Watch out for the pig!!" to which my friend replied, "I'm not surprised you eventually said that!"  But I have to admit, seeing a pig in my kitchen is going to take some getting used to.

So meet George, the newest addition to Our Little Coop.   Kevin and I briefly tossed around the idea of getting a pig last year but put the thought to bed after we discovered how expensive they were to buy. But as fate always has it, these things (animals) always end up making their way into our lives... somehow. 

This year our kids asked if they could have ponies come to their birthday party and our son had a special request: a pig.  I called Patch 22, the farm where we had gotten our birthday ponies in the past, and asked if this year we could do two ponies and possibly a pig.  I explained to them that since the last time they were out we had gotten a few chickens and there was really no need to bring a pen for the pig because we had the run for the chickens.  Dan called me back and left a message. "Well, I have to throw this out there. Every year at the end of the season we like to find homes for our pigs and since you have the chickens,  I would be willing to bring him to the kids party if you would be willing to take him."  Say wahhh? I ran outside to tell Kevin but I quickly put my excitement into check reminding myself why we didn't have a pig in the first place: price.  I called Dan back and told him we were interested in taking the pig but cautiously asked him how much he was selling him for.  He told me he wasn't looking to make money off of the pig but just wanted him to have a good home.  Ok..excited again! Sold!!  I told Dan that we wanted to come out and meet him before he came home.  I wasn't sure how big he would be and we also wanted to see how his behavior and personality was.  We brought a cage with "just in case," but we knew damn well we were bringing him home.  The kids at that point didn't know what was going on.  We wanted it to be a surprise but as soon as our daughter saw the cage she knew something was up. When I told her we were not bringing him home she cried. Ok fine fine... I just told her.  Yes, your crazy parents are getting you a pig.  

When we got to the farm, Dan took us over to the pen where George, his four brothers, mom and dad were kept.  We were both really surprised to see how small he was.  Obviously still young and going to get A LOT bigger,  we really weren't prepared to bring home such a tiny guy and I have to say I was relieved.   We didn't take too much time.  It was cold out and starting to rain.  We finally decided on George because he had the most spots and seemed to be a little smaller than the other three. Once we told Dan which one we wanted, we all experienced the thrill of hearing a pig scream for the first time.  The kids weren't expecting it at all and scattered, one hid behind me the other ran behind the truck.  I reassured them that he was fine and in fact not being murdered.  If you've never heard a pig scream,  it will stop your heart.  Dan loaded him up in the crate and we promised him that we would come back to visit. He told us that he had given a pig to another family last year who came back to visit and pulled up with the pig in the passenger seat.  We are hoping to one up that and are open to all suggestions :).   

On the ride home we tossed around names.  Of course Wilbur was an option but we figured every pig and their brother was named Wilbur.  I told Kevin we needed to name him after a country singer and said we should name him George. After throwing around a few other names I remembered that our kids watch a show called "Peppa Pig" and we asked our daughter what Peppas brothers name was. She said it was George and we were kind of sold at that point,  George it was.  

When we got home we let him run around the yard.  It was cold and raining but he seemed so happy to have some space to run around we decided to just let him take take it all in.  As it got darker... and finally dark we started to worry about how we were going to get him in for the night.  We had talked about keeping him in the garage and building him a little house to sleep in,   but after seeing how tame and small he was, we just couldn't. So the challenge now became getting him inside. Now most of us know how comical it is to watch grown adults chase chickens around, but you haven't seen anything until you've seen grown adults chase a pig.  We tried everything to avoid picking him up.....but after lassoing him with a dog leash, luring him with treats, chasing him in the direction of the house only to have him run in the opposite direction we had no choice.  I picked him up as fast as I could and ran to the house, pig screaming the entire way.  Finally made it inside only to see my brother and sister next door running out of their house like something had just been murdered.  I will NEVER pick a pig up again.  

So we get George in to the house, he spent the rest of the evening cautiously walking around on his tippy toes.  The hardwood floors were a little hard for him to walk on, but he made his way around. We set up a portable dog cage with blankets that he took to right away and when we were ready for bed, we lured him in with a treat and zipped him up.  I was fully expecting to be up with him during the night or at the very least find the cage and blankets shredded into a million pieces by morning.  I never thought that he would have slept through the entire night and Kevin would actually have to bribe him out of his crate to go outside.  Awesome! We are pretty sure that despite living outside his entire life, he is  house trained.  Granted we have only had him for 48 hours but I have to give this little pig credit, he hasn't had a single accident in the house or in his crate.

Everyone says pigs are extremely intelligent.  Within a day george has learned his name and is coming to the house when we call him. He also learned that the chicken coop is where the goldmine of food is and has already been kicked out twice.  He's still pretty stinky from living the farmlife and we are hoping that we can manage to get him into the bathtub at some point, but really don't want to traumatize him or our children with his bloody screams.  For now we have resorted to pouring warm glasses of water over his back as he runs by, which he doesn't seem to mind but not really fond of either.  I checked the local ordinances (after getting him...whoops!) and it is legal to have a potbelly pig where we live so we are hoping we can harness him up and walk him as much as we can and aside from people thinking we are freaks for walking a pig, we wont need to worry about being reported or him being taken away.  And that our friends is really about it! We look forward to many years with George and can't wait to share him with you all! Our crazy little journey continues! Thanks for being a part of it! 

Plowing WIth Pigs and Other Creative, Low Budget Homesteading Solutions- A Book Review

Book: Plowing with Pigs by Hank Will

When I first received the book, Plowing with Pigs and Other Creative, Low-Budget Homesteading Solutions, by, Hank and Karen Will ,I felt a bit silly, considering we do live on a quarter-acre lot, we don't have pigs, and we certainly don't plow with pigs. But truth-be-told, I was captivated by the beautiful cover and was eager to see what creative and low-budget homesteading solutions the book had to offer. I must say that I was PLEASANTLY surprised! So don't let the title fool you my friends, there is something in this book for everyone! The information that the authors provide in this book is intelligent, to the point, and covers every homesteading topic you can think of, ranging from how to have your animals work for you to setting up your very own food business.

Do you recall the time when you decided you were going to become more self-sufficient? That chilly spring day when you purchased your first chicks, built a raised garden bed, began introducing more natural and organic foods into your kitchen? For us, this decision started not too long ago with a trip to the library and a quick Google search for local farmers selling chickens. Looking back, I can remember the feelings that came to me when we began our trip down the rewarding road to self-sufficiency. Our journey has taken a lot of hard work, and looking around us, I have noticed that it is not something that everybody is doing. There have been many unanswered questions that have sometimes been a bit overwhelming. With so much information out there on the internet but very little hands-on learning, it is easy to get wrapped up in the details and confusion of the many contradicting opinions out that are out there.

Just eighteen pages into this book, however, the authors state, "We encourage you to try the methods that make sense in your particular setting rather than blindly following some lists of rules from some expert."

Of course because I am bit biased, I was most impressed by the amount of fantastic information that was presented regarding chicken and poultry keeping. Starting our backyard chicken adventure was by far the scariest thing we have done so far in terms of homesteading, and man...I wish I had this book when we were starting out because I probably would have been a lot calmer about things! Everything you REALLY need to know about keeping poultry in your backyard is in this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is just starting out.

Besides chicken-keeping, the book contains helpful information about keeping sheep, goats, and cattle -- which is unfortunately not something that applied to us, but was an interesting read nonetheless! Kevin loved the chapters that explored harvesting nearby trees and using them for woodworking and building, as well as the chapter explaining DIY projects constructing everything from rakes to fences!
The authors also discuss row crops that can be grown by hand, how to cook from scratch and keep a well-stocked pantry (love it!) and RECIPES!... an abundance of amazing recipes, using wholesome ingredients that I am dying to try: maple icing, homemade mozzarella, and brown bread ice cream just to name a few! Yum!

This really is a great book that covers all of the bases and did I mention that it doesn't leave you feeling overwhelmed!? I think this is what homesteading is all about: It's about reconnecting with the earth, relaxing at the end of a hard day’s work and marveling at what amazing things you can accomplish with what is around you.

With spring lurking right around the corner, reading this book kicked up my motivation and drive reminding me why we are doing what we are doing and to keep doing what we are doing here at Our Little Coop.

Whether you are beginning or furthering your homesteading journey, I encourage you to grab your copy of Plowing with Pigs, and Other Creative, Low-Budget Homesteading Solutions and be inspired. "You can't buy this life. You can only live it!"

Pick up your copy HERE!