I have to tell you. These pigs are bonded. Not just the sibling groups, the rest of them are, too. Of course, the siblings are very bonded but it’s just amazing to me how much these pigs love each other. Gus won’t leave the area by the pens when I get him out of the pen. He won’t leave the area, he has to be able to see the girls and to hear them. It is the cutest thing. In the other pen, all 4 of them came from the same place but at different times. They love each other though. The 2 girls in that pen are always loving on each other. The boys like to fight a bit but they love each other, too. They all run around and play together. Brutus gives Bacon bit belly rubs. Brutus also gives Patsy and Pork chop belly rubs also. He really is a lover, except toward me. He screams at me. I just find it amazing how they have all bonded to each other. 

The pigs in both pens were out of straw. What happens to the straw?? Where does it go?? There is no straw in those pens. At one point 2 doghouses were full of straw and the lean to for the big pigs was full of straw, too. It’s all gone. Seriously, people, where does it go?!?! Anyway. I will never know what happens to it so I’m not going to get worked up about it. I haven’t really worried about it too much and hadn’t put anymore in the pens since it’s been so hot out. It’s starting to get cooler at night so I decided to put more in the pens. All 3 pens. The donkey and goats just wanted to see what I was doing and then they went on about their eating. The little pigs didn’t pay any attention to me at all but they will love it when they get in those houses. The big pigs acted like it was the best thing ever. They were doing zoomies and running in it and rolling around in it. It was so cute to watch them. They were having the best time. I love to see that. It makes me happy to know they are happy. That’s the only reason I have them, to keep them happy.

Alright, I have figured something else out by spending time with all of these animals. Spam has been really aggressive. Not all the time and I don’t think she means to be. She used to be worse. She has actually gotten so much better. If you remember, she has always been the protector of Treat. When I got these two, Treat was very sick. I won’t go back into all the details, but Spam is her sister and she was very protective of her. Now she just steals her food and is sometimes mean to her. Probably like all siblings. Here lately when petting Treat or Gus, Spam will lunge at me and try to bite me. Luckily I’m pretty quick and she has not bit me in that manner yet. What I realized yesterday is that she is jealous. If she lunges at me while I am petting one of the other ones, then immediately start to pet her, she calms way down. She is starting to enjoy being petted and is becoming jealous. They are all that way though. At least I am figuring that out and am giving her more attention now. Hopefully that will help her not to be so aggressive. I think she might have finally realized that she is in her forever home and I am not going to hurt her. It has taken almost 6 months for her to realize this. I know she was scared when I first got her and she has just been in survival mode but now she is relaxing, finally.

Figured out a thing or two tonight. I went out to the donkey and goat pen and things got weird. Cracker Jack was by himself and I was petting him. The minute Hercules came up, Cracker Jack wanted to get away from me. So I followed him. Same thing happened. I knew Cracker Jack didn’t like Hercules but it looks like it might be getting worse. So I went to get feed for them. I put some in for the goats and then some in Cracker Jack’s bowl. They were fine while separated. But, when the goats started going toward Cracker’s bowl, he literally started crying out. It was really sad. So I went and got a little more for him. That calmed him down. Then I brought out some hay for him also. He has always been very good aggressive and will kick at the goats. When they get too close to his food. I learned tonight that I am not the problem, Hercules is. All of the goats and the donkey are all males and I think Cracker and Hercules fight for the head position in that pen. I feel bad for Cracker now. Hercules doesn’t care. I hope they work it out. I can’t separate them. Cracker tolerates Romeo and him and Lucky are inseparable. 

I have been so exhausted today. I got up and then went back to bed. I just couldn’t adult today. I couldn’t keep my eyes up. My husband wasn’t feeling well today either so I didn’t mind staying in bed while he got up and sat in the recliner. So, I went back to bed and Persia came in and literally stayed right there with me. She used to sleep next to me all the time, but hasn’t since we moved. That was like 2 years ago. She crawled in under the covers and snuggled up next to me. I woke up after about an hour and she got up and went to lay by my feet. I went back to sleep and slept another hour and a half with her on my feet. I sure have missed snuggling with that crazy cat. Bubba snuggles a lot when I’m sitting on the couch, which isn’t too much these days. I have had these cats for about 9 years now and they are still my little sweeties. I love them so much.

Cracker Jack has been so mad at me lately. I’ve been out there in the pen every day and he hasn’t been letting me pet him and if he does it’s just a few minutes and then he takes off because he wants food. I have been bringing apples as treats to help repair this relationship. It hasn’t worked. I am not sure how long he is going to be mad at me and I’m not really sure why he is so mad. Yesterday he finally came to me in the pen and was trying to knock me over which is what he does when he wants attention. So, I’m hoping he is getting over whatever made him so mad. He was braying at me this morning like crazy. I normally don’t give them hay in the morning because they have a pasture to graze, but I did this morning. I think he is over it. Finally. 2 weeks is a long time. He definitely is a stubborn one. The goats still like me and run to me. Romeo about knocked me over jumping on me like a dog would. Those hooves hurt when he does that, too. Romeo for some reason was trying to lick my arm. So weird. And Lucky let me pet him. It was a weird a day but looks like progress is being made again.

Look at this face. Persia is so sweet, most of the time. She is definitely my baby. She is a cat though, they kind of do what they want to. This morning when I woke up, she wasn’t in her regular spot on the bed. I didn’t think must of it because she has been laying on the stairs a lot. She does her own thing. I didn’t look for her because I just figured she was upstairs. I go into the kitchen to let the dogs out and guess who I find?? Persia. She is hiding under the sink so Daisy doesn’t get her. Daisy wouldn’t hurt her, but she is still a puppy and gets very excited. Persia was doing her best to stay hidden. Daisy saw her right before I let her outside. She was too excited to get outside to mess with Persia. It looked like Persia had been there all night. Poor thing. I feel so bad that I didn’t know but Persia knows better. She has been pretty cuddly since I sat down a few minutes ago. She must have had a rough night. Hopefully she learned her lesson.

Got home late tonight and it is starting to get dark earlier. The fall and winter months are not going to be good for me or my animals. It was dark before I got finished so I had to finish in the dark and it started raining. Yuck. These babies are worth it though. Cracker Jack is still mad at me and won’t have anything to do with me. The goats run to me like they haven’t seen me in a long time. Little toots. They are funny. The little pigs are still nervous of me since Bacon bit had to go to the vet. That was a fiasco for sure. She is staying as far away from me as possible. I thought things were looking up there, too, but I was wrong. She was going to let me touch her nose, but she faked me out and ran off. On to the big pigs. I gave them good stuff tonight. Actually all of the animals got good stuff tonight. Anyway. So I gave them a smaller portion of feed and added broccoli, grapes, yogurt, and lettuce. They love stuff like that. I wish I had pics of this, but I don’t. I was able to kinda toss the grapes to the big pigs and they would catch it to eat it. They missed some but they caught a lot, too. I had so much fun doing this. Treat was trying to jump while catching them!! Oh, they do something everyday that just has me cracking up. Spam even participated which doesn’t happen much. She caught some grapes even!! I love these guys and their personalities!! It’s amazing how smart they are.

Oh, Spam. She is such a finicky little thing. She loves me, she hates me, she loves me again. I can never tell and it’s minute to minute with her. She makes me nervous sometimes just because she really can be aggressive. She tries to bite me sometimes while I’m petting her. I know she is still having issues with trust. I understand and I’m being patient with her. She came with a rough start. She will know eventually that she is loved. Tonight she was trying to eat my pants. Hahaha!!! Treat is doing amazing. She still gives piggy kisses and wants to be loved on. She is so sweet!! Gus is always been sweet. He always wants to be loved on. These pigs really are therapy for me. They are wonderful pets. I never knew and I really don’t think most people know it either. 

My donkey has been acting hungry all the time!! He has an entire pasture in his pen to eat. He just gets so moody sometimes. He hasn’t really wanted me to love on him much lately either. I think he is still mad at me from me being sick for a week or so. I have been trying to get back in his good graces but he is making it so hard on me. I fed him apples today. He took those just fine but when I was in the pen, he just wanted food, not petting. Crazy donkey. Romeo was trying to eat my clothes like always. Hercules was trying to eat my hand which I totally don’t understand. Lucky took apples from me along with Hercules and Romeo. Lucky still doesn’t want me to pet him. Romeo peed on me again also. These animals have lost their minds!! But, I love them!!! 

Gus has been looking a little rough. His skin has been so dry from the heat and the water he is in all of the time. His last little photo shoot yesterday had me thinking he might have something more than just dry skin. He hadn’t really shown any signs of having mites or anything but I sure didn’t want to deal with that again. That was terrible with my 2 pink pigs. I knew he was dirty from playing in the mud and the mud drying on his skin. But, I needed to make 100 percent sure. So, I went to get feed today. I usually shop at Tractor supply but I went to Atwood’s today and they had some swine conditioner. I bought some and used it!!! 1 time and look at the difference!! I think what he really had was dirt all over him!! I’m so glad it isn’t mites!! Of course, he is already dirty again, but, he is a pig. That’s kinda what they do. They love the mud!!

Guys, my sweet Gramma was on the farm with the family this last week. She is so funny. She was loving on Cracker Jack through the fence and he loved it. She got her shoe untied by Hercules. That’s hilarious in itself. She doesn’t get in the pen since they have the potential of knocking her down but she still is apart of all the craziness that is the farm. She was feeding Spam and Treat through the fence with Cheerios. She got to see that Spam is a bully and will fight poor Treat over food. Spam gave Treat a few minor scratches while fighting on that particular day. I love how she wants to interact with the animals. She usually has food put back for all the animals, too. It is so sweet. I love her so much!!

Since my husband and I bought our place with land, my sister was trying to get us to get animals. We had not done the fencing or any of that and I wasn’t sure when we would get around to that particular important detail. Making sure the 22 acres we have was fenced to keep in animals was very important. Can you see me chasing down a cow?? And what would I do to get it back it back in?? Here cow, come here, please. That cracks me up thinking about it. Poor girl, she sent me all these animals looking for homes and I kept having to say no. We just weren’t ready for it. My sister then moved to Canada and what do we do, we get animals!! It’s sad to me that she isn’t around to see all of the craziness all the time since we did get animals. I wish we had gotten them sooner. So, my sister and her family are in from Canada and they finally got to meet the animals!! It was such a fun day!! I loved watching them with all my animals!! Lacey loves Hercules and Gus. Tanner got to feed the baby pigs and Gus. All of the animals minus the baby pigs were all friendly to them which was great. It made my heart happy.

The other day Ronnie came out to the pen at feeding time. He had not seen the pigs at feeding time with their squealing and their foaming at the mouth. Yes, pigs foam at the mouth when they are smelling food or know there is food on the way. I freaked out the first time I saw this. I had no idea. I googled it to make sure there wasn’t something crazy going on. Rabies is the only reason I thought an animal foamed at the mouth. Apparently not pigs. They don’t drool like a dog, they foam. It is weird to see for the first time. After that it’s just normal. Ronnie had not seen this. He looked at me and asked me what was wrong with my pigs. It was funny to me because I had the same reaction the first time. I’m just glad I’m not the only one that thought that was odd. I really don’t notice it anymore though.

I have not shared this on the blog. I have been so stressed and so upset the last few weeks. I started noticing Bacon bit’s belly doing weird things. I thought she was pregnant. Like I truly thought she was pregnant. Her belly has been moving like there are babies in there. I even have a photo where it looks like a baby was kicking. Her belly has been hard and very round. I’m telling you, I have been freaking out. I had to take Brutus to the vet, so I talked to him about it. I was able to show him videos and pics of her belly and he said she definitely looked pregnant. My mind started going crazy. Bacon bit is still a baby herself. Could she actually give birth without getting hurt, what was I going to do if she didn’t mother them, I don’t have time to feed babies every 2 hours for weeks, would any of them survive. All of this was going through my mind. I was still praying and hoping that I was wrong. My heart sank when the vet said she was probably pregnant. Then he said it couldn’t have been Brutus because he was to small. So that would mean it was Pork Chop that got her pregnant and that’s her brother. Then I was really freaking out. I thought I had him fixed soon enough. I have been a mess!! I made an appointment for Bacon bit to go in and get checked and get all of my questions answered. That in itself was a nightmare. Remember, these smaller pigs aren’t very friendly. I tried to catch her for 2 hours the night before the appointment. I had no luck. She is fast and super smart. The next morning Ronnie came out to help me. He ended up having to somewhat tackle her. Oh it was something. I finally get her to the vet and I waited and waited. The vet came out and said he couldn’t find anything and he did not think she was pregnant after all. I had to check to make sure we had gotten the right pig into the crate to take to the vet. Once I got her back in the car, I actually cried with relief!! I didn’t want babies and I didn’t want Bacon bit hurt. She is definitely a little stand offish. She has been a little traumatized over all of this. I know she will come back around at some point. I am glad I took her and am relieved on the outcome.

It rained so much last night it was ridiculous. Of course all of my pig pens are nothing but mud. The donkey and goats are fine. There is no mud in there. They have not been happy today for some reason. Cracker Jack was braying at me all day. I went out a few times to check on him, but I think he was begging for food since his hay was soaked with water. I did give him hay and feed today so I know he is fine. The pigs were having a fun day in the mud. I even sat in the dirt, the only spot that wasn’t mud for like half an hour before they would even have anything to do with me. That is not a normal thing for them. They usually fight over time with me. Not today, the mud was priority today. That’s ok. They are pigs, that’s what they like. They finally did give me some attention. I actually think they were still upset with me since I haven’t spent a lot of time with them the last couple of weeks and this was pay back. They finally gave in though. And Treat is such a sweet little thing these days. She was so muddy, but she wanted a piggy kiss, so I had to give her one. She is precious these days and I hope she stays that way.

Bacon bit has a vet appointment in the morning. Why I thought an early morning appointment would be good is beyond me. I knew this was going to be a difficult task. I didn’t think it would be impossible. These little guys are so smart and still so unsocial. I tried to catch that pig for an hour and a half. They are so smart. The little black ones are hard to tell apart but they were all running in a group and bacon bit was in the middle of them. That way I would not be able to catch her for sure. I even fed them 3 times tonight, not full meals of course, but they are more social when they are eating. Nope, not tonight. Oh it’s been exhausting. I guess I will be going to bed soon so I can get up super early to catch her for her appointment. What was I thinking?!?! Wish me luck!! Ronnie will be home in a couple hours and he will be able to help me. I probably would have tried longer but t started raining.

Well, I fixed up some baby food again tonight for the pigs to eat. They are so funny about this. They see a certain bowl and they know. They fight over that stuff. Seriously, it’s a fight. They are so funny. They get that stuff all over them. Brutus has some on his back and Pork chop literally ate it off his back. I go over to the big pig pen and they go nuts, too. I had enough to put some in all of the bowls. They started playing musical bowls without the music. Treat was squealing, the other 2 would not let her eat. Treat couldn’t wait til I put some in her bowl and that’s why they wouldn’t let her eat. She just ate out of the big bowl. I then fed her with the spoon. That never gets old for me. It’s hilarious!!