Post by Shawn on Apr 22, 2020 10:13:10 GMT -5
Well, it's been a few years since we had escapees... We thought we had piglet proofed the pen. The difficulty is we have a very old barn, that has a foundation of rocks. By the time the pigs are butcher weight, they have done a lot of landscaping and renovating, so we have trouble finding all the little gaps.
So, now the story. Yesterday, at 4, we loaded up the two boys to take to the vet for castrating. We took the females from the stock trailer and put them into the pig pen. I went to the vet, DH had to go to town.
I get home at 6. DH was home about half an hour before me. Said they were in the pen when he got home and now they're gone. So we put the boys back in the stock trailer. He said "Do you think we'll ever see them again?" I said "We've got a sporting chance."
The last time pigs got out, my sister had brought me 3 babies and a goat. I didn't ask for a goat, but I got one. Those pigs and goats had been raised together. So the piglets would get out, roam around all day, then come back, go back in the pen with the goat and sleep all night. This was back when DH was new to farm stuff and it distressed him terribly. I finally said, "Quit worrying about it. They'll eventually get too big to get out/we'll get all the holes plugged and they'll stay in the pen." He worked every day patching another spot on the pen. Eventually, they did stay in and we did more work on the pen.
So, back to current day. Last night, at chore time, I went into the barn and thought I heard a grunt. I didn't see anybody, so figured I was just wishful thinking. (The stock trailer was too far away to hear the boys) I got the cows in, went across the yard to the chickens and looked up and saw them standing in the road. (So I do think they were in the barn and the cows scared them out) I yelled to DH as he just had seen them, too, and he walked out and shooed them back into the yard. They meandered through the yard, out into the pasture, tried to go across the neighbor's dry lot but the mule was having none of that. (Which was a good thing, kept them on our property) I got them turned back toward the barn and left them alone. I knew they would hear the boys grunting and try to stay close. Later at dark, DH said he saw them closer around the barn, so I said they'll be fine, we'll catch them eventually. (I told him this is where the sporting part comes in)
I fretted about them all night apparently as I had this crazy dream. We had a farm that looked completely different and I saw them out in a lane, walked out there, sat down trying to figure out how to catch them and the red one came and crawled in my lap. She was scared and wanted to be with me, I guess. (There is a larger red one and the little black one is the runt).
So this morning on the way to the barn I remember to be quiet and listen for them. I checked the pig pen, nope. I start to step down into the milk room and I heard something. (Had a black snake laying there once, so I'm wary of the dark step down) I stop and a piglet moves. I quietly shut the door above them and got the pig pusher, went around the other way. They were right in a corner snuggled down in some waste hay. I was able to use the pusher, reach over and grab them both. You could really tell they were not as eager to dash away somewhere, as they realized "somewhere" was rather scary. I got them back into the stock trailer, reunited with their brothers.
I could almost hear them saying "Wow, it's scary out there, you can't believe it" and their brothers saying "Wow, you know what happened to us?" LOL
So all's well that ends well I guess. Now back to the pigpen repair...
So, now the story. Yesterday, at 4, we loaded up the two boys to take to the vet for castrating. We took the females from the stock trailer and put them into the pig pen. I went to the vet, DH had to go to town.
I get home at 6. DH was home about half an hour before me. Said they were in the pen when he got home and now they're gone. So we put the boys back in the stock trailer. He said "Do you think we'll ever see them again?" I said "We've got a sporting chance."
The last time pigs got out, my sister had brought me 3 babies and a goat. I didn't ask for a goat, but I got one. Those pigs and goats had been raised together. So the piglets would get out, roam around all day, then come back, go back in the pen with the goat and sleep all night. This was back when DH was new to farm stuff and it distressed him terribly. I finally said, "Quit worrying about it. They'll eventually get too big to get out/we'll get all the holes plugged and they'll stay in the pen." He worked every day patching another spot on the pen. Eventually, they did stay in and we did more work on the pen.
So, back to current day. Last night, at chore time, I went into the barn and thought I heard a grunt. I didn't see anybody, so figured I was just wishful thinking. (The stock trailer was too far away to hear the boys) I got the cows in, went across the yard to the chickens and looked up and saw them standing in the road. (So I do think they were in the barn and the cows scared them out) I yelled to DH as he just had seen them, too, and he walked out and shooed them back into the yard. They meandered through the yard, out into the pasture, tried to go across the neighbor's dry lot but the mule was having none of that. (Which was a good thing, kept them on our property) I got them turned back toward the barn and left them alone. I knew they would hear the boys grunting and try to stay close. Later at dark, DH said he saw them closer around the barn, so I said they'll be fine, we'll catch them eventually. (I told him this is where the sporting part comes in)
I fretted about them all night apparently as I had this crazy dream. We had a farm that looked completely different and I saw them out in a lane, walked out there, sat down trying to figure out how to catch them and the red one came and crawled in my lap. She was scared and wanted to be with me, I guess. (There is a larger red one and the little black one is the runt).
So this morning on the way to the barn I remember to be quiet and listen for them. I checked the pig pen, nope. I start to step down into the milk room and I heard something. (Had a black snake laying there once, so I'm wary of the dark step down) I stop and a piglet moves. I quietly shut the door above them and got the pig pusher, went around the other way. They were right in a corner snuggled down in some waste hay. I was able to use the pusher, reach over and grab them both. You could really tell they were not as eager to dash away somewhere, as they realized "somewhere" was rather scary. I got them back into the stock trailer, reunited with their brothers.
I could almost hear them saying "Wow, it's scary out there, you can't believe it" and their brothers saying "Wow, you know what happened to us?" LOL
So all's well that ends well I guess. Now back to the pigpen repair...
