Feeder Pigs

[Devonviolet]

My husband waited all his life to be a.......(fill in the blank) It is a joke between us as he was single, living in the fast lane, a party animal....... a city boy.....then BAM! He laid eyes on me, lost his heart and his life has never been the same. Bless his lil' ol' pea pickin' heart......

I turned his life upside down, inside out, and have had him doing things he never dreamed of in his worst nightmares. He's been in the thick of things since he married me. Cows, chickens, pigs, more chickens, horses, a pet pot belly pig, dogs, more dogs, gardening, making him turn around for bags of leaves out by the curb (to put in the chicken coop/run-makes lovely compost several months later) moved him out of our 2500 sq ft nice brick home downtown in our former small town to a 1500 sq ft doublewide so far out in the sticks that it took 7 months to find an internet provider.

He dug the hole and prayed over our daughter's dead pet chicken, went and bought me a longhorn bull because I remarked 3 weeks earlier that I had always wanted a longhorn, cried with me when a newborn baby mule died in my arms, celebrated with me when the next mule born was perfect and healthy, hauled cows, fed horses, bought hay, worked his tail off hauling loads of horse poop for the garden and has had my back in every wacky crazy idea I have had. At least his life is not boring.

this is so funny! And so true! I've talked to Baymule's DH. He's everything she said - and more!

(Quote from frustratedearthmother) OH wow - you could be describing MY husband and his newlife, lol. We've been together 15 years now and his story is exactly as you described! The first time I asked him to help pull a baby goat you shoulda seen his face! But, his remark: "I'm a nurse - I'll try" and he did! Bless his lil' ol' pea pickin' heart! end quote
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What a stitch! My story is similar to both of yours.

DH and I are going on 17 years married. I'm a retired nurse. When we got married, neither of us had even dreamed of living on acreage, or having goats and chickens. After realizing the toxic world we live in, and how sick it had made me, I started dreaming about having land where we could raise our our own food. It took a while for DH to come on board, but he is making a valiant effort to make my dream come true. Actually, the dream has become his dream too!

 

[Baymule]

19 years for us, 20 on Valentine's Day. Isn't it hilarious how these great guys don't run away from us as fast as they can, screaming bloody murder and begging to be admitted to the looney farm? is it because they already live on the looney farm?

 

[Ferguson K]

My poor husband has just begun. We're on year two and I've already done most of those things to him...

The pig in the middle, good looking hog! I'm liking that straight back. Being as their show bred somewhere in there beware of the stress gene.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

The biggest thing mine has taken over for me is when something needs 'offed' he has learned to do that. And, I'm picky about it - he knows if it takes more than one shot I'll be upset. I used to do it myself but he knows it hurts my heart - so he's taken that on. Love him for that!

And while he's willing to help build things, mow things, move things, haul things, lift things and plan things there are a few things he hasn't hopped on board with. Like - the garden.... I till it, I row it, I plant it, I weed it, I pick it, I cook it ... but he does help EAT it! He's a good guy, lol!

I need to think about a couple more piggies - I love that fresh home grown pork.

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry, but I had to chuckle... working a garden is tedious at best (for me anyway) Some say they find it relaxing... sorry, I don't. I DO however love fresh food from said garden. Any of those other things mentioned, no problem! I HAVE come to the conclusion that doing all these self sufficiency things is MUCH easier when you have a companion to help and give you a reason to continue... I find it easier to tackle all these jobs when I'm doing it for the benefit of another rather than myself. I just don't have "another" to be doing it for, so sometimes have to fight to get motivated.

I also have a problem with procrastinating... I'll do a separate post on that later

 

[Ridgetop]

The pigs look great! You can sure see the heritage Large Black in the shape of their faces. If you have goats, you can slop them with rolled corn soaked in goat milk every day about a month before slaughter.
The problem with hogs is that they don't marble like other meat, the fat goes on in layers. Pigs raised for 4-H and FFA shows are genetically bred for excessive lean muscle with no fat. I think the USDA has changed the amount of measurable back fat now -for a while the pigs we bought from the 4-H and FFA auctions were so lean that they were dry and tough. We stopped buying from the auction but finally bought a Berkshire pig for our freezer raised on goat milk an forage. Berkshires are supposed to marble a bit though so that might help. Also, since you are raising them yourselves you can put a little fat on them for flavor!
You must be near Austin or Dallas - our friend in Austin said that they got 13" in 5 hours south of Austin! We had just left Austin 3 days before the storm hit - we drove through part of it in New Mexico on our way home. Luckily pigs don't mind rain as much as other livestock but if it floods, they will crowd into their Hawg Hut is it is off the ground to stay dry.

 

[Latestarter]

The pig in the middle, good looking hog! I'm liking that straight back. Being as their show bred somewhere in there beware of the stress gene.

Stress gene? Could you explain please? Never heard about that...

 

[Devonviolet]

The biggest thing mine has taken over for me is when something needs 'offed' he has learned to do that. And, I'm picky about it - he knows if it takes more than one shot I'll be upset. I used to do it myself but he knows it hurts my heart - so he's taken that on. Love him for that!

And while he's willing to help build things, mow things, move things, haul things, lift things and plan things there are a few things he hasn't hopped on board with. Like - the garden.... I till it, I row it, I plant it, I weed it, I pick it, I cook it ... but he does help EAT it! He's a good guy, lol!

I need to think about a couple more piggies - I love that fresh home grown pork.

I love that your DH has been so willing to jump in and help you with one of the hardest parts of raising livestock. As nurses, we were trainers to preserve life. So, I would think "offing" a living being would be hard for any nurse. I know the first time I had to do it was very hard for me! However, I realize that this is part of God's plan, for us to have animal protein to nourish our bodies. We always make sure it is done as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Back when we were still living in PA, I wanted to make sure we could manage the work involved with raising a garden. We lived in a townhouse, with HOA restrictions against food gardening. so, we rented 2 spaces at a farm based community garden. We had one of the best maintained gardens (out of 65) and managed the work load (in spite age related aches & pains. ). DH carried his share of the workload, and we proved, to ourselves, that we could raise more than we could eat. This year we have been too busy with building and animals. But, have also been working on laying the foundation for a garden, by making multiple piles of compost, that we let the chickens help us with.

It took a while (after we started free ranging) for the chooks to find the compost piles. But once I called them, while I was tossing chicken scratch on the piles, they figured out how much fun it is. Now, every time I let them out to free range, they are all over the piles, which are a BUG HAVEN!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Sorry, but I had to chuckle... working a garden is tedious at best (for me anyway) Some say they find it relaxing... sorry, I don't. I DO however love fresh food from said garden. Any of those other things mentioned, no problem! I HAVE come to the conclusion that doing all these self sufficiency things is MUCH easier when you have a companion to help and give you a reason to continue... I find it easier to tackle all these jobs when I'm doing it for the benefit of another rather than myself. I just don't have "another" to be doing it for, so sometimes have to fight to get motivated.

I also have a problem with procrastinating... I'll do a separate post on that later

Oh I hear ya on the garden thing! I cant stand it

Give me livestock any day! You know, the kind that break down fencing, mobs you at feeding time, chew my hair off, kicks like heck when it come to hoof trimming.....IOW- difficult.......Wait, maybe gardening is a good idea

 

[Devonviolet]

Oh I hear ya on the garden thing! I cant stand it

Give me livestock any day! You know, the kind that break down fencing, mobs you at feeding time, chew my hair off, kicks like heck when it come to hoof trimming.....IOW- difficult.......Wait, maybe gardening is a good idea

I'm with a ya there, Goat Whisperer! Our goaties are due for hoof trimming!