Okay guys, the saga continues...

So, we decided that raising American Guinea hogs was for us!

I have to admit, from the beginning, I was skeptical. I thought we should fence off part of the land specifically for the pigs. Now, our land is totally fenced in with chain link fencing, (a real blessing!), and my husband thought we could just allow them to roam the whole place. They were not supposed to be destructive animals, they shouldn't really hurt anything. They are said to respect fences. They are docile and should be safe for the kids to be around. They could roam around the yard, browsing on grass and whatever, and raise their babies with lots of freedom.

I didn't believe in this fantasy.
Hogs are hogs. They can be very dangerous animals. Pound for pound, they are super strong! They have wicked teeth! Yes, we would be raising these from babies and they would be tame, but what happens when the mother gives birth?! What about when the boar is jealous of us messing with his lady? I was nervous.
We decided to give it a try anyway, on a trial basis.

First we found our little girl pig.

She loved belly rubs.

Well, the first night we brought her home and turned her loose, she found a place in the fence that it should have been impossible to get out of, and got out. She ran off squealing and carrying on, trying to find another pig to be with. My husband took off running after her and barely caught her before she made it to the woods and freedom. We would never have got her back if she had made it there.
We fixed the offending spot, and though she spent another half hour running the perimeter, she did not escape again.
Lucky for us, we already had plans to get her mate the next day. After he arrived, she calmed down immensely and we had no more 'escaping' issues for the entire 'project'.

The new boy

We named them Groot, (boy), and OinkyPig, (girl). Here they are, leaping up upon being discovered cuddling.

For a time, all was well.

The pigs grew quickly, eating grass mainly, and sharing fermented chicken feed with our free-range hens.

They grew and grew, but they did not grow anywhere near as fast as their commercial breed counterparts.
This was expected, but still it was frustrating waiting on them to grow big enough to breed. Finally the time came, and they bred successfully. I believe they were about 8 months at this point.

Now, I'd like to talk for a minute about the temperament and behavior of these guys.

As far as pigs go, they were very mellow and docile. HOWEVER, the male pig was indeed a boar. He wasn't mean, BUT he did test my authority, on a regular basis. No animal should be trusted completely, but Groot needed keeping an eye on. Do not turn your back on him or forget he is following you around.
If he thought he could get away with it, he would snort and start tossing his head and whacking you with his snout and trying to push you around. I was able to maintain his grudging respect by constantly making sure he was in his place and NOT taking any crap from him, but it was another story for the kids.

They grew to fear him.

He never really hurt them, but there were a couple instances of Groot knocking them down that really scared them... and me, honestly. He wasn't a daddy yet, but he was all male and wanted to be in charge.

Now his lovely bride, OinkyPig, was a different story. She remained tame and friendly, even in the latter stages of pregnancy.

OinkPig was a sweetie pie overall. I had no issues with her. I was, however, very worried about how she would behave toward us after giving birth...

I think Ill break this up and add another part to this saga. It's taking more space than I thought...

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for part three!

Part 1
Part 3

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