Post by Mitra on Sept 5, 2006 11:25:30 GMT -5
Late yesterday afternoon I had just finished feeding my flock of ducks and was walking back towards the house and nearly came off the ground when I heard them all start quacking and shrieking for their lives. I spun around to see a 250 pound pig running through the flock sending them running in all directions. Not far behind was another pig who had decided to stop short of the ducks to eat some apples. The pigs were out! Specifically, Frankie and Junie Beast. They were so delighted with themselves running and galumphing all over the lawn and inspecting everything. The other two, Louie Luau and Bonzai, unable to figure out where the fence breach was, were making funny worried barking noises and running along the fence.
This was the first time these pigs had gotten out of their area but I knew we had to stay completely calm. I cautioned Max not get all testosterone-y on me becuase it was going to make a potentially bad situation much worse. We needed to let them cruise around and go see where the breach was so we could ensure the other two didn't join them. We got their feed buckets ready and full of extra yummies and proceeded "calmly" to the pig area. They were not impressed with anything we had to offer and continued to snout about and kick up their heels.
Max found where they had simply pushed up the field fence with their snouts and gone under. It's amazing that a pig the size of Frankie (our biggest pig) could have scooted under the fence this way but he did! I actually think that Junie Beast (a very smart girl) was the one who figured it out and then he followed. As soon as I poured the food into their trough, the two adventurers came running and immediately went to the spot they'd gotten out from (they are so smart!) Max was inside the pen and pulled up the fence as far as he could so they could get back in easily. It was very hard to get the bottom of the fence more than 8 or 10 inches off the ground but Frankie just squeezed his hulk under by making himslef as flat as he could. Very comical. Junie Beast who has to be a good 100 pounds smaller than he is, followed him without having to squish herself hardly at all, more like a really low forward limbo.
Their area is pretty large and the fence is secured to the ground with railroad ties and tree length logs, except for a few spots
. We've had them for 4 almost months now without them testing the fence so we'd gotten complacent about those sections of fenceline. Silly us. Max felled a couple of big dead Spruces and proceeded to secure these few sections. The whole time he was working on getting the trees, I stayed inside with the pigs keeping them away from the breached section. They were intent on re-using this new exit. They are such friendly happy pigs that it was easy to keep them at bay by scratching and patting them with two big sticks I was holding, one in each hand. They'd lean in so far for an extra hard scritch they were nearly tipping over!
When Max was done with this unscheduled project he told them, "That was your first and last excursion, well except for that "final" excursion in two weeks." Louie Luau and Frankie have their date with destiny in two weeks. Bonzai and Junie Beast have theirs in the middle of October. They are from the same litter but they are the runts of the litter so they need at least an extra month to grow.
This morning they are still contained and appear to have given up on the idea of trying to get out. They've very obviously checked every inch of the fence and they are so foiled!
All's well that ends well
This was the first time these pigs had gotten out of their area but I knew we had to stay completely calm. I cautioned Max not get all testosterone-y on me becuase it was going to make a potentially bad situation much worse. We needed to let them cruise around and go see where the breach was so we could ensure the other two didn't join them. We got their feed buckets ready and full of extra yummies and proceeded "calmly" to the pig area. They were not impressed with anything we had to offer and continued to snout about and kick up their heels.
Max found where they had simply pushed up the field fence with their snouts and gone under. It's amazing that a pig the size of Frankie (our biggest pig) could have scooted under the fence this way but he did! I actually think that Junie Beast (a very smart girl) was the one who figured it out and then he followed. As soon as I poured the food into their trough, the two adventurers came running and immediately went to the spot they'd gotten out from (they are so smart!) Max was inside the pen and pulled up the fence as far as he could so they could get back in easily. It was very hard to get the bottom of the fence more than 8 or 10 inches off the ground but Frankie just squeezed his hulk under by making himslef as flat as he could. Very comical. Junie Beast who has to be a good 100 pounds smaller than he is, followed him without having to squish herself hardly at all, more like a really low forward limbo.
Their area is pretty large and the fence is secured to the ground with railroad ties and tree length logs, except for a few spots
. We've had them for 4 almost months now without them testing the fence so we'd gotten complacent about those sections of fenceline. Silly us. Max felled a couple of big dead Spruces and proceeded to secure these few sections. The whole time he was working on getting the trees, I stayed inside with the pigs keeping them away from the breached section. They were intent on re-using this new exit. They are such friendly happy pigs that it was easy to keep them at bay by scratching and patting them with two big sticks I was holding, one in each hand. They'd lean in so far for an extra hard scritch they were nearly tipping over!When Max was done with this unscheduled project he told them, "That was your first and last excursion, well except for that "final" excursion in two weeks." Louie Luau and Frankie have their date with destiny in two weeks. Bonzai and Junie Beast have theirs in the middle of October. They are from the same litter but they are the runts of the litter so they need at least an extra month to grow.
This morning they are still contained and appear to have given up on the idea of trying to get out. They've very obviously checked every inch of the fence and they are so foiled!
All's well that ends well
. 
