Boar Swap

We now have 8 red wattle hogs. 2 boars, 2 sows and 4 gilts. The 2 boars are father and son, so we could only use the service of one of them on our small herd without risking some serious inbreeding problems. One of them had to go. We thought we had the young boar sold last summer, but after several months and a dozen or so phone calls, it became obvious that the buyer was never going to show up to get him. So, we said thank you very much for the deposit and on to plan B. I saw an ad on the ALBC website offering a couple young, virile red wattle boars for sale or trade. A trade sounded like a good idea to me.A chance to get some new blood into our growing herd. I typed up an email and waited not so patiently for a response. Lucky for me, it wasn't long until I got a reply from Donna OShaughnessy. The hogs in the ad belonged to Donna and her husband Keith. Together, they operate South Pork Ranch. I already knew of  Donna. She writes one of my favorite blogs --  Midlife Farmwife. After exchanging pictures and pedigrees, we both agreed to a make a hog swap.

Friday morning, Jane and I got up before the sun to load Danny for the road trip east. The plan was for Danny to go to South Pork Ranch, and do what boars do...you know, makin' bacon . Problem is Danny hadn't been filled in on the plan. In fact, he had other plans. We backed the trailer up to the pen, opened the gate, and tried to entice Danny onto the trailer with a piece of bread, his favorite treat. But Danny said nothing doing. He saw a gap in the gate and made a run for it. Soon he was trotting around the yard, enjoying an early morning romp in the dewy grass. We tried to herd (or should I say chase) him back to the pen, but if you have ever tried to herd a 300+ pound boar, you know that they go where they want, not necessarily where you want. No surprise there, huh? One hour and a loaf of bread or two and a couple of bruises (us, not the boar) later, he was finally on trailer and we were finally on the road.

On our arrival at South Pork Ranch (I love that name, btw), Donna and Keith came out to meet us and gave us a quick tour of the place. They have a nice small farm where they raise hogs, cows, chickens, ducks and grand kids. They sell organic raw milk, beef, Donna's hand-made soaps, and of course red wattle pork. We picked out our new boar and met his parents, Deb and Max. They were fine looking specimens. Our boar Danny was happy to get out of the trailer after the long trip and settle into his new home. I think he liked the place! Our new boar, who is yet to be named (maybe Keith?) was uneventfully loaded on the trailer for the long ride home. When we got home, he was turned loose into a pen with a large puddle, where he quickly settled in for a relaxing mud bath. He needs his rest. Tomorrow he meets the twins, Wanda and Wilma!

Nothing like a good bath to relax after a long trip!