It is easy to personify other species. As a human who works a lot with animals, namely chickens, cattle and hogs, I relate to them as I know how: though my lens as a human. As my own lens broadens and my awareness grows, I find that how I see the world of our animals is less obscured. Still, I cannot help but think this pig is smiling.
We are in full summer here, and as a family we have tried a new experiment with childcare. The Pandemic taught us many things, one of which was how (and how not) to work with and among our kids. So this summer we have partnered with our dear friends and neighbors to have a “kid share,” where we alternate on different days to spend quality time with the whole group of six kids. Layton is the youngest at 2 1/2, and Cedar is the oldest at 9.
My time with them most often consists of a lunch extravaganza and an afternoon adventure taking us right to dinnertime. One afternoon this week we took a walk to visit the pigs. The kids do not see the pigs every day and so we were amazed at how much they have grown since the last time we saw them!
As we watched them root and sniff their way towards us we talked about how quickly pigs grow. We typically get our pigs when they are eight weeks old and have just been weaned from their mothers. They weigh in about 20-30 lbs at this age. From there they get an Organic Grain ration and all the fun things they can find on pasture like grass and legumes as well as roots and tubers in the ground, grubs and insects, nuts and so much more. In five to six months’ time those little 20 lb piglets grow to their “finished weight” of about 250-300 lbs. That is well over 1 lb per day of growth all summer long. “Can you imagine if we grew that fast?” they asked.
“I would have to set out much more lunch!” I replied.
Pigs are naturally curious. After a few minutes of calmly sitting and watching them approach they began to sniff our toes and fingers, and even nibble our clothes. We picked out names for a few of them, tried our best to pick a favorite, and used golden rod as “pig fishing poles” to get them nibbling and then “reel” them closer. (I wish I had a good picture of that game:)
The weather this summer has been mild. Still, with the afternoon temperatures touching 80 degrees, pigs and children alike found a spot in the shade to enjoy the afternoon. We move our pigs to fresh pasture every week, but on a hot summer day the grass under the shade of a wild apple tree is worn to dirt in a short time. Who wouldn’t want to hang out under there?
It takes us about two months to come back to the same paddock, and by that time the grass has regrown and once again there are many interesting things for the pigs to nibble on.
Think they would nibble my toes?!
Reber Rock Farm Blog 