Pigs like to wallow in mud, but I didn't know they would create their own mud by dumping every container of water we put into the enclosure. We moved the pigs from the backyard because they kept rubbing up against the fence, the house and anything else they could. They dug pits to lay in too, and rooted up around the slab on the house and out at the patio.
We currently have them in a garden area, it is overgrown with weeds...but they can root around all they want out there. It is just 2"x4" field fence though. They escaped the first time we got them in the garden, the gate was very flimsy. I made a sturdy gate and got it hung up and so far it is holding. I think as long as they have food and mud, and shade they will stay in the garden. They will follow you if you have food, but I got my foot stepped on and got pretty muddy yesterday trying to get it set up for them...and I put their food in dog dishes...kinda silly, but easier to carry. So far they like dog food pretty well, I put corn and oats with it and most of those were left on the ground. I guess we have picky eaters.
I thought they had escaped yesterday, I couldn't see them...the pool was overturned and so was the 20 gallon barrel...I went in the enclosure and next thing you know these empty containers started moving...and the two pigs came out. They were well camouflaged with thick mud. I went and got some dog food and cracked corn for them and ended up getting my foot stepped on and mud rubbed all over me. After I put down the food I tried getting the containers flipped back over and refilled. I got an old tarp and we strung it up to give them some shade. It was in bad shape and was sort of falling apart, but it worked until today...they pulled it and it tore more, so I put a new tarp up over the rooster pens, and took the smaller tarps down and used one of them for shade for the pigs...I picked one that was also not in the best shape, but if they can reach it...I didn't want to waste a new tarp finding out.
I think both of the containers they dumped totaled about 75 gallons, maybe more...they made a couple of good sized mud pits after the water softened up the ground and they rooted up all the grass. The pits are deep enough that it is hard to tell anything is wallowing in the mud, until they move. We took the 20 gallon container out and replaced it with the bigger Rubbermaid trough we had in the goose area...I think it holds 55 gallons and is large enough for one of the pigs to lay in. So far they have not flipped it over. My husband got the hose and refilled their mud holes today, squirted them down a little too...they really enjoy that. I can't really blame them wanting in the mud, since they have been here, these great big huge horse flies have been getting on them. I thought about spraying some bug repellent on the poor things, but I am not sure if it would hurt them. So for now, mud is their best protection.
Oh, and I remember the stench of the pig farm that use to be off of Highway 30 and Beach Street when I was a kid, so far it doesn't smell that bad...but pig poop does stink. I am sure it will be smelling pretty gross if they are here much longer. If they clean up the weeds out in the garden and turn the soil well, it is soft enough and the area is big enough for the two of them it shouldn't get too awful. Once the weeds are gone, I can rake the area easier anyway. In our heat here in Texas, things usually dry up fast and break down pretty quickly...but in the mean time my garden plot is getting fertilized and aerated pretty well. If we end up being pig owners I will have to build a shelter in the shade for them a bit further away from the house and the chicken yard. Maybe down by the creek someplace so I don't have to supply as much mud water for them...lol, we shall see what happens. I still wonder if someone dropped them off because they couldn't feed them any more? Who knows, in the mean time they are safe and sound...they won't get hit by a logging truck going 60 miles an hour and I feel better knowing a coyote won't be eating them for dinner.
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