The pigs are gone! (Pics added)

[Mitra]

It wasn't a fiasco and it wasn't a rodeo but it didn't go as smoothly as planned either.
My SIL Marcia has a beautiful horse trailer which we used last year to transport pigs. Our pigs had their appt yesterday (which we'd made 4 months in advance). Marcia showed up with her horse trailer and we got it set up for the pigs to walk up the ramp into the trailer. Last year's piggies RAN into the trailer. This year's piggies had no such intentions. They were very suspicious. After an hour of hanging around and trying to encourage them/entice them in with treats, two finally got in. The other two were not going to do it. We decided that we needed to close up the trailer and take the two we had and make another appt for the other two. Max and his sister left with the pigs and when they arrived at their destination, the lady pulled out a spiral notbook and said the next available date for the other two was December 17th!!!!! That was NOT going to work. She said if we could get the other two to them by early morning the next day (today) that could work. Marcia and Max came back and set up the trailer in the same spot and Marcia went home. Murphy's Law kicked in and of course Max was leaving yesterday afternoon to go back to work in Mass. I was supposed to get the two pigs into the trailer and wait for Marcia to arrive for the early morning jaunt back to the butcher. Yeah right!
LUCKY for me, Max went to check on the pigs one last time before he left and arrived in their area just in time to see a pig butt disappearing into the trailer. He creeped over and saw that they were both in there. He leapt over the fence and tried to slam the ramp shut. He almost didn't make it. They realized what was happening and were hurling themselves at the ramp/door as it was being shut. It took all his strength mixed with much adrenalin to get the door shut. The pigs decided that if they couldn't slam their way out, they'd try jumping out the top where the window/ dutch doors were still open. Gonzo, the biggest pig, had both hooves over the edge and his head out and Max could hear his back feet scrabbling against the door as he tried to climb out. Max slammed the two window/doors shut and not a second too soon. They were very angry pigs. I was so relived he'd gotten them in. They overnighted in the trailer and Marcia showed up bright and early, expertly hooked up the trailer to her truck, and off we went. They were very calm on the way. When we got there, they pigs did not want to go into the holding pen. Two of the employees got in there and very gently encouraged them out. They were very kind to these very uncooperative beasts. I'm sure that part of their hesitation was due to the smell of blood in the air. Several animals had been slaughtered before we got there. In fact there were two mooseheads in the driveway that had to be moved so she could back her trailer up to the holding pen.
So it's done and all is quiet around here again. We're looking forward to our boxes and boxes and boxes of pork we'll be getting soon.

[Jessika]

Good work Mitra! I could write a book about our experiences loading pigs! Like for instance we have a mammoth 11 month old barrow mixed in with a bunch of smaller feeder pigs like 40 of them. He is very smart and will not load on the trailer. His sister was the same only she hopped the fence in with the breeders, got bred and is due to farrow on Christmas day! We named her Maple, because she should have been Maple breakfast sausage!
Jessika

[Deleted]

Wow Mitra. Glad that is all done for you. My friends also used a horse trailer and they left it in with the pigs for a week or so and fed them in it. The pigs got really used to it and started sleeping in it and they had no problems loading them on the morning of.
I understand that you have to book months in advance to have your pigs done but what I wonder is how do you really know when your pigs will be at the exact weight you want in order to have them butchered? Prior experience.....guessing?
Can't wait to hear how the meat is when you get it back.
P.S. I am still cracking up over Jessika's comment about "Maple".
Janet

[Liz]

Whenever we have taken a trailer into the pig pen they attack the tires! How do you guys keep them from chewing the valve stems?
Pigs are so smart, which makes them a real challenge sometimes!
Congrats Mitra on a job well done!

[Mitra]

Here are the four big boys!

Well not so big at first - March 31, 2007 Seven weeks old-ahhhwwwww


Tray of sausages


Pigs in May 2007 (not much to snout yet but it's starting to green up)


It greened up nicely (the parts they didn't excavate)



Six months later in September (a lot bigger!)



Max putting a trough back in its box


Max scritching them with the "get back" stick



October 8th - Departure Day

This ramp is intersting but we are highly suspicious.



Gonzo decides to try some of the milk-soaked-cracked-corn from the ramp.


Some good stuff way up here!


Max decides to do some coaxing - Gonzo doesn't care to move forward but enjoys the back rub.

[Deleted]

Mitra,
good job with the play-by-play photos. They cracked me up.
Janet

[mazurzoo]

We also just took our pigs in today. It was a fiasco loading them!!!

[mazurzoo]

A question:

When we arrived at the processor, the guy that unloaded the pigs for us, was kicking our pigs in the rump/hams to get them to move. He was really kicking them. Is my meat going to be bruised? I almost got made at the guy, but I figure this is the first time I have raised pigs, what do I know?

[Selden]

Wonderful story, Mitra. I have had pig loadings go smoothly and ... not so smoothly. To say the least. I once saw a pig try to vault out a window also, in my case out of pure adrenalin panic. It reminded me of the expression, "When pigs fly." One thing I soon realized is that I couldn't have macho men around, because they quickly got impatient and decided to go for the forceful method, which almost always backfires with pigs.

If the pigs won't go up the ramp in pursuit of food, the best success I've had is to put a 10-gallon bucket over their heads and BACK THEM quietly up the ramp. They don't scream and squeal because they're confused by the bucket; they back because of the pressure; and once they're inside the trailer I take off the bucket, they look around, and they fall on the food completely happily.

I hate taking any animals to slaughter but pigs most of all, because they're very smart and not very herdable and I've seen some very mean behavior from men with shock sticks trying to push them along in the process. I'm glad you had gentle guys.

[Tricia]

marzurzoo, our butcher doesn't unload our pigs, we do. They have assisted with the cows but no beating or shock sticks. I freak at the thought of a shock stick. We've used some sticks to prod them along a tad but always keeping in mind, not to abuse the animal.
With pigs, some sort of shield works to move them along. A friend uses old plastic bread trays, we use a piece of plywood. It creates a wall to direct them along. Actually since we started raising the pigs on a rotational grazing system, they are curious about where they are going next. They hop in the trailer for the ride, then stroll right off at the butcher.

The last 4 go on Sunday so now that I have said this, it will not go smoothly of course. I can picture the girls running the opposite direction! No, NO we'll stay here all winter! Especially after reading what Mitra went through!
DH is feeding them in the trailer this evening to introduce them to the new digs.

NO ONE should be beating on your animals at the butcher. If possible correct the guy, complain like crazy and find someone else. You raised this animal with care and dignity and they should have the same at the end. Explain that too them.
Even better, unload them yourself. I've seen a tiny woman, 5 foot tall and maybe 100lbs, unload a dozen pigs. She handles them all the time during their upbringing. She climbs in the trailer, tags their ears, writes the number on the clipboard, opens the gate and they stroll on out. Ever since then, we are in charge of unloading our animals, it is our responsibility and the least we can do at the end. But man, I do not like stepping in pig excretement. I bring a change of clothes for the long ride home.

[hazelsmilker]

We hauled our pigs to the butcher this morning. This is the third set we've taken over, and the easiest by far. I found a small but solid utility trailer at a yard sale last month, and converted it to a pig chariot. (The conversion consisted of wiring plywood over the top.) Last weekend we backed the trailer up to the pasture gate and attached a very solid ramp. I fed the pigs in the trailer for the last couple of days. (They had climbed in a couple times previous to explore.) This morning I gave them a big breakfast in the trailer, closed the gate behind them, detached the ramp, and drove off for an uneventful trip to the butcher. The hardest part was backing the trailer up to the ramp at the slaughter house. (Did I mention it's a home-made trailer...) This is the kind of pig-hauling I like! I've tried loading them in the back of pick-up's with kludged up ramps (Lots of muscle and adrenaline involved in that one!) and renting a stock trailer (Big, costs $$, and time and gas to pick up and return plus they had to be muscled in anyway because we only had it for a day.). I'm really feeling that the $$ for the little trailer were well spent. Plus now we'll have it to haul hay, calves, and all the other things that seem to need to be hauled around.

[Tricia]

Remember yesterday when I said the girls wouldn't load well. They would run in the opposite direction!!! THEY DID RUN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. It took some poly wire sheep fence and an hour and a half to load those wild things. DH though he could put the trailer in the pen and they would hop on like the last batch did. Nope, 2 on 2 off, then 2 off other 2 on. grrrr... Finally they are gone. I am writing a booklet for DH to read before loading any animals anymore. Do not skip any steps.