So, this may be unbelievable and the video I took just doesn’t do it justice because I had to do it more than once to get any video. Of course it was perfect when I wasn’t videoing it. I am still working on socializing the smaller pigs. I have had 2 of them for 7 months and 2 for 6 months. They are still not completely socialized. Well let’s say 3 out of 4 aren’t. Brutus is getting clingy. So, I was sitting in the dirt in the pen and remembered hearing pigs like music. I decided to play some music. Brutus starting oinking and acting like he was almost singing. It was the cutest thing. It was amazing. Not only that, but the other pigs came close and they were all wagging their tails. I wish everyone could see these animals and how smart they are. I get amazed almost daily by something they have done or are doing. And sorry, I am unable to download the video!!  

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I had a sweet lady ask me yesterday how often I had my dogs and pigs together. I told her honestly, never. I have seen so many reports of dog attacks to pigs and the pigs get hurt badly. I have never taken the risk. Daisy has always cried at the pens wanting so badly to play with them. She does this with the cats also. She is still a puppy and all she wants is to play. Here lately I have noticed Gus and Spam almost growling at Daisy and both of them lunging at her. Thank goodness there is fencing in between them. It might be bad. I’ve never seen daisy retaliate but that doesn’t mean she won’t. I do feel bad for her but I am protecting all of them. I have seen horrible photos of attacks between dogs and pigs. The pigs usually loose their ears in the attack. It’s really sad. It’s also said pigs start it. I can see it!!

I have finally figured out Spam and her aggression. She is such a toot at times. She will lunge at me and she will try to bite me at times. I keep my eyes on her all of the time because I know she does this.  I have finally figured out why she does this. It’s nothing but jealousy. I don’t give her all the attention and have just noticed that she only snaps at me when I’m petting on another pig. All she wants is my love and attention. I mean I had thought that’s probably what it was but wasn’t completely sure. The last couple weeks, she has really shown that was what the problem was. She will do this crying thing, sounds so pitiful, when she wants to be petted. If I don’t pet her at that one time, she will then snap at me. Poor girl just feels neglected, even though she isn’t. They are all spoiled pigs. She just wants my attention, that’s all it is. Since I have figured that out, she hasn’t snapped at me one time. I call that a win in my book.

A few days ago I was out in the pig pen after spending time with the donkey and goats. I had been out there awhile and start hearing the goats bleating. I didn’t know that’s what their noises were called but apparently it is. They just kept on and kept on. I couldn’t figure out what was going on and then I saw Cracker Jack laying in the field. I started running to get in the pen and calling his name. He normally gets up really fast but that day he wasn’t getting up. Of course I panic. My husband was in town but wasn’t home. I start calling him but he doesn’t answer. I knew he had gone to load up some wood. So I get out to where Cracker Jack is and he starts to get up. He made it up but he was struggling to get up and was really struggling to walk. I start checking his hooves and noticed he had mud and junk all caked into his hooves making it hard for him to walk. Thank goodness my husband got home about that time. He was able to help me get the donkey tied up so I could clean out his hooves. I was able to get it done with his help. Not sure why I panic but I do. All is back to normal with Cracker Jack now.

I’m sitting out in the pig pen as I write this. I have been watching my sweet Patsy for awhile now. In all honesty, she has never looked like a healthy pig. She has been here since June. She still walks with her tail tucked and she always has her ears down. She is so very shy and timid. She will come to me but is still so scared. I wish I knew how to help her. She is doing so much better, I just cannot seem to get the break through I need with her. She hasn’t been feeling too well either the last day or two but no fever and is eating and drinking like normal. She seems better today. I really just wish there was something I could do for her that would help her understand that she is okay here. She is the one that was so depressed when she came here that she would stay in the corner and not eat. I have noticed recently that Bacon bit is top hog in this pen and is not nice to her. I’m sure it’s because she is so timid. I just hate to see this. It really breaks my heart. She is super sweet but doesn’t like you to try to pet her. Hands scare her so badly. I really just want her to be happy.

My nephews were down this weekend. Ben was intrigued by the goats and donkey. Jackson on the other hand, he loved the pigs. So much that he is now asking for one. Hahaha!!! I was able to pick Brutus up, which I know he hates by the way he screams, but I don’t normally pick him up. I did so Jackson could pet him. The squealing scared Ben and then the donkey started braying which scared him, too. See, that donkey is protective even though he isn’t in the same pen. Anyway. I was able to get Jackson in the pen with the little pigs and he was able to hand feed them. Made me so happy that Brutus was friendly with a stranger. I know I’m doing something right by them.

Well, I’m sure you have seen, Maggie is having hot spot problems again. This poor girl can’t catch a break. I have had her to the vet and she is on meds again. She is still so miserable though. Her leg is just exposed. And she stinks so bad because of that spot. I just feel so bad for her. She is still eating and drinking and running around. I need to figure out what is causing them so I can change it. She will continue to get them like this until we figure out where it’s coming from. She is definitely allergic to something and these are progressing so fast with her. She is looking better and I hope she continues to look better. We bought some stuff that I hope will stop them when they start now.

This weekend, we had some special visitors. One of my nephews has Down syndrome. He doesn’t know it and no one stops him from doing anything because of it. As it should be. However, he wanted to go into the pen with the goats. Of course I wasn’t going to tell him no, but I worried about Hercules. He is really bothersome most of the time. He demands attention. He will eat your shoelaces, which he tried with my older nephew. He loves to jump on people, and he did with my brother in law. Now, what I’m about to say makes my heart so happy. That goat did not one time jump on my younger nephew. He did not knock him down, like my dog did, which he was fine but good grief. That goat let him pet on him and run around with him, but did not do anything in injure him at all. I am so grateful my animals are so caring and so loving to everyone and everything. It truly was a special thing to see Hercules like that. I was leery of him and watched closely to step in if I needed to. Ben loves every minute of it. Pigs screaming and donkeys braying were intriguing to him. So fun to see. I sure do love those boys. So glad they all came down.

So, I thought I would be cute this afternoon with the little pigs. I brought in their food, which they are smart and knew what it was. I put it on top of their house and then tried to pet on them and love on them. They were okay with it for a minute but then Bacon bit literally knocked me down to the ground. I laughed so hard I was crying. Of course they were all checking on me. It wasn’t an aggressive knock me down, she wanted her food. After I got up, I surely did give them their food. Before I did though, Bacon bit gave me kisses. I got to pet on Pork Chop and Patsy. Brutus is so good, he was trying to crawl up on my back. If you have been following my story with these pigs, I have been trying to get them socialized for months. They are making so much progress daily. I love working with them and finally getting to love on them more. I am working toward them being friendly and cuddly with everyone that comes to see them. At one point, they just screamed and ran around the pen when anyone entered and then would hide.  Now, they greet me at the door. They are eating out of my hand and all of them will give kisses, on their terms though. You can’t push them. I only have one that will belly flop for rubs. The progress they have made is so amazing. I won’t stop working with them. They are here to stay, so they have plenty of time to make more progress. If anyone has pigs and they are frustrated with their progress, just remember, they have trust issues and some are harder than others to break through that, but it’s an amazing feeling when they finally do.

Last night as I was whistling for daisy to come home, the sounds I received back was coyotes howling. I mean several of them and close. Of course I freak out. I have so many animals out there. I would bring them all in if I could, but then I would look a little crazy. Can you imagine, a donkey in the house?? No, me either. My husband would be so mad. They all have housing and the pigs are in a pen but I know coyotes can jump the fence if they want to. I also know they usually would rather get a meal without having to jump a fence. It still makes me nervous. So nervous, I lost sleep. When I don’t hear the coyotes, I don’t freak out like I do when I hear them. I have a light on the pens and the pigs stay in their shelters, but still. So last night, I literally didn’t sleep much. The dogs barked all night also and every time they would wake me up, I would pray that my animals were safe. I thought I needed to check on them, but I didn’t. I couldn’t force myself out of bed. I wasn’t resting but could get up. That’s almost an every night thing. I had nightmares so bad last night about coyotes. It’s ridiculous really but I prayed a thank you prayer this morning when I heard them all oinking. I know Cracker will take care of the goats and himself so I worry less about that pen. Good grief, sometimes I’m a mess and wonder about myself.

Oh this Daisy dog... I love her so much but she is such a pain in my backside. Anyone this knows me, really knows me, knows I’m not a morning person. At all, like I despise mornings. I snooze that alarm for as long as possible. I’ve always been that way. Well, the last few months, Daisy has been running off in the mornings. I definitely don’t have time for that. I feed all the animals and make sure they have water and that the water isn’t frozen. When Daisy runs off, I’m almost late for work most days. I haven’t been late yet but some days it’s close because she is roaming. Well, she is doing it at night also. Some nights I don’t think she is coming back because it takes so long. And it’s so cold. Brought her in tonight so she wouldn’t run off, she wasn’t having it. I’m afraid to know where she is at this moment. Earlier the UPS man dropped off some packages, usually I have time to grab her so she won’t run after him. Tonight I didn’t and she ran all the way down the driveway (and it’s long). For whatever reason, I thought it would be a good idea to walk it. By the time I got to the end she was running back and forth across the street which can be a busy highway. I didn’t think she would come back!! But, she did. She knows how to cross now though and I’m not sure she will stay here!! Oh that’s dog!!

So, as I was out tonight, I got to looking at my big pigs. I never knew the mini pig myth.. I knew nothing about pigs at all until I got these 2 pink ones. As I was looking at them though I was thinking how much they have grown, so here are size comparison pics. The pink ones, Treat and Spam were about 10-12 weeks old when I rescued them in March. These pics are from March, April and November. The black one, Gus was a few months old or so and I got him from a loving family that had to rehome him. His pics are from June and November. There is a huge difference with all of them. I wanted to share this with you.

I know a lot of people on here know about pigs and the fact that the mini pig stuff is actually a myth. So, for educational purposes, I want you to look at this picture. The top pics are my big pigs. I call them that because of how much bigger they are compared to my other pigs. Here is the deal though, the bigger pigs weren’t bred to be a “mini” pig. However, the smaller pigs were. Now, these are rescued pigs but you can definitely tell the difference. I have worked with the smaller ones and have put a lot of weight on them, but they are still very small. The top black pig is a little over a year old. The 2 pink ones are a year old next month. The smaller ones are between 7 and 8 months old. Can you see the difference?? It’s really a sad thing when you see it like this. Just wanted to share for some education.  This is also why there is such a pig epidemic in this country. I had no idea until I got a couple pigs and realized how bad things are. What happens is breeder breed them to be small which also leads to unhealthy pigs. The breeders tell people what to feed them to keep them small which stunts their growth further and causes more health issues. Another thing that can happen is the breeder will sell them why sooner than they should be away from the other and tell people they are older than they are to show them small, which also leads to health problems and sometimes death if the new owner doesn’t know this. Last point I will make is that more often that not, the pig will get bigger than the owner thought and then doesn’t want them anymore so they have to get rid of them. This is why all the rescues are full of pigs and why shelters are getting an influx of pigs and they have no knowledge of how to care for them. A mini pig is anything under 300 lbs. Pigs don’t stay small. There’s my education for today.

I did not write this, but I think it applies since Christmas is next week. People do buy loved ones animals for Christmas. They don’t see that in reality the person they are buying the animal for is normally a child. Most children are not responsible enough for this. I hope this Christmas there is not an influx of animals in the shelter because the shelters are already full and that just means more euthanized animals.
This goes for any animal!
PETS: Before/After Christmas Warning
In about 4 to 12 weeks after Christmas we are going to be seeing the "We need to re-home our pet" Posts. These are the folks who purchased puppies as Christmas gifts who are suddenly allergic, moving, having baby, don't have time, their kids won't take care of it, didn't think they'd get so big (etc....)
To these people I say:
*You didn't know you had an allergy? oops. Don't let the pet suffer. Get allergy medicine.
*You're moving? what city are you moving to that doesn't allow dogs? Bullville? find a house/ apartment / condo that will ALLOW your furry family member. PERIOD.
*Oh...you had no idea you were due to have a baby in 2 months? interesting. Get a dog trainer and suck it up buttercup, you're a pet mom and a human mom now, millions deal with this daily and manage just fine and so will you if you decide to. so just decide to do it.
*Don't have time for one 15 minute walk or to have a dog just sit next to you while you're home? really? So they're better off in a shelter than waiting in your house for you to get home? ok....get another dog to keep them company. find a solution that lets them stay in your home, it really isn't that difficult.
*Oh....you mean your 5 year old didn't step up to the plate to feed, walk, and scoop poop? And this surprised you? I guess it's time for you to step up and be the model of responsibility for your own child.
*Wrong Size? not cute as an adult? not quite the personality you expected? look in a mirror... How'd you turn out? Should we send you back or make you homeless?
Grow up, you chose to bring this puppy home, not the other way around. You can bet "that" dog would lay down his life for you.. can you say the same for him or her?
I didn't make this post to offend anyone, but rather to open eyes, and take responsibility for those without a voice that had no choice in being a gift for Christmas.
Animals are not gifts. They are living things that require time, commitment, and resources. Don't bring a pet in your home if you don't have enough of all three to give it an adequate home.

Well, I’ve noticed some issues in the pen with the big pigs. I’m not really sure what started it or if it is ever going to stop or what to do. Spam and Gus are ganging up on Treat. That poor girl doesn’t get to eat like they do. They take as much as they can and she has to fight to get any. It wasn’t that bad and then things have progressed and gotten worse. Now that they have an enclosed shed to sleep in, if she doesn’t get in there first, she doesn’t get a good spot and they fight. They don’t fight bad enough for there to be cuts and scrapes but it’s an every day ordeal. Some days she seems miserable but at the same time, I’m not sure how she would do without Spam. That’s her sister and they have never been apart much except for vet trips. I’m just not sure what to do. If I should separate them or what. The other pen has 4 smaller pigs in it and I’m not sure they would be okay with her coming in but I don’t want her to be alone and I really hate pig introductions. They are brutal. I just want her happy. I’m not sure she is all the time. I hate it and feel terrible for her.

It was so cold this morning that I didn’t hang around to love on the animals. They didn’t hang out either though. They ate and went right back to bed. I couldn’t blame them. I did finally get home for a few minutes before dark. I was able to see all my animals without a flashlight.  That doesn’t happen much anymore except the weekends. I was excited and they were also. Treat was especially excited about it. She was super clingy tonight for some reason. That girl gets in all kinds of weird and uncomfortable looking positions just to get belly rubs. Gus and Spam then get jealous. They both snapped at me tonight but I didn’t care. My girl was letting me pet her and rub her belly. That makes me happy. Since the weather has gotten colder, I don’t get to do that much anymore. But today, I sat in the cold on the ground for a very long time to give her the obvious much needed attention she wanted. That girl started it all for me with pigs. She is definitely my baby. She made me smile today. I love all my animals but she holds a special place in my heart.

Well, I just don’t know what is happening. I think I’m blaming the weather. Maggie is still better, but she is starting to get some more open places in the same area she had them before. She runs outside and she is eating and drinking with no problem. Treat isn’t coming out of the shelter except to eat. She isn’t acting herself, but is eating and drinking. I’m hoping her problem is it’s cold out. Gus now has a weird spot behind an ear that hasn’t been there. If that doesn’t go away, the vet will be seeing us soon. However, Romeo is still doing well. Thank goodness. Carlos is healing up with his ear wounds. I’m telling you, having 17 animals sometimes is crazy. Definitely keeps me on my toes. I’m watching them all closely with the weather being so warm and then so cold. It really wrecks havoc on animals sometimes. I hope they all start feeling better soon. None of them are acting sick, just not themselves, but it hasn’t been this cold in a few weeks.