January in the Sunshine

The laying hens are in the garden at this time of year. They keep it clean, eat the left over grubs, and fertilize daily! As we clean the stalls out in the barn and deliver it by wheelbarrow full, the hens work it out and spread it around.

Pigs! Now three weeks on the farm and the star attraction for the neighborhood especially on a sunny Saturday. The pigs are enjoying rooting, running, playing, and eating walnuts.

Young hens and Ruby Rooster keep to themselves. There are six hens in the big pasture that should be great egg layers as the days are getting longer. We have 25 laying hens and 4 roosters on the farm right now.

Here is Big Boy! Our tom turkey is about 35 pounds and roams the pasture with the chickens and sheep.

Pigs and their farm friend, Dutchess! The dogs love to play chase along the fence line with the pigs.

We call these turkeys The Brute Squad. These Bronze turkeys are very docile. They roam the property and beg for walnuts at feeding time!

At the end of a sunny day, the pigs are enjoying some squash from the larder! What a treat to have the fog lift and the blue skies and sunshine on a January day!

Pigs on the Farm

The homegrown pigs have had a great time reaching maturity. We really enjoyed this group of porkers each with its own personality. Pigs are very smart animals and develop games to keep themselves from becoming bored and to entertain one another.


Here one of the pigs is a comedian and the chickens are the audience!


Now this pig insisted on carrying a stick around. Sometimes he would drop the stick and grab it before another pig could pick it up. It was a modified version of Keep Away!


Then there was the tireless and timeless game of tag. The pigs would choose one to be "it", and the other pigs would chase the one that was it. When caught all the pigs would roll around together.


There was plenty of time in the pasture for grazing, wandering off to the spa for a mud bath, a roll in the dust to cool off, and moving freely from pasture to pasture. The ten pigs have been butchered now and they will be filling the freezers for many happy families.

Spring Time in the Pasture

The new batch of pigs have ventured out and they are ruling the world in their minds! The big old barn offers warmth, security, food, and fresh water, but what the pigs really love is the open pasture. They are eating fresh grass, rooting for grubs and worms, and settling down into the freshly rooted soil for a cool ground bath!

The little pigs also wait in anticipation for a chicken or a lamb to unsuspectingly wander into the pasture. The chase is one of the pigs favorite games. The prize is an up close and personal sniff and then a quick turn and run away. The little pigs are always disappointed when the sheep and the chickens don't take their turn chasing! However, the dogs are good sports and actively watch from outside the fence line! Never a dull moment on the farm!