have snout, will root

Some trips to the feed store end with us hauling home several hundred pounds of various feeds. But sometimes, through no fault of mine, they end differently.

It seems that through a series of miscommunication, we are now pig owners. Of course, we knew they were coming. Eventually. But not today. In fact, we thought we had an entire week to prepare for their arrival.

I mentioned that this was not my fault, right?

Oops.

So today, we did what every non-communicating farm family does.

We improvised.

The area we designated for pigs.

See, pigs don't care if you got a deal on corral panels. And they don't care if all the panels match. A pigs only purpose in life is to find a way to escape from the confines of their pen. Kind of like teenagers. But cuter.

I told you.

Our future mama, Beans, and Porky, our future platter of bacon.

Because 4 week old piglets don't know that the world is a big, scary place, we had to create a safe haven for them. And since there was that whole miscommunication issue, we had to do it with supplies we already had on hand. Because contrary to popular belief, piglets do not like road trips. Or riding on the inside of a just-vacuumed Expedition. It gives them tummy problems. Smelly ones.

Free pallets (we were hoarding for some Pinterest project) and some zip-ties (a farmer's best friend), and the panel is now piggie proof. 

An old gate and a few boards between the lower rails finishes the end.

Since this area has a dirt floor, we covered the pen with pine shavings, then straw for a nice thick bedding. (Also known as urine absorbers.)

Releasing the piglets

Trust does NOT come easy to a pig!

Pigs have some mad skills when it comes to basketball.

Meet Porky, Frank & Beans, the newest additions of Jabez Farm.

Frank needed a kiss goodnight.

I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.