Folks, You're long overdue for a piggy story... Sorry, this job is stealing my byc time... I try to catch up in the morning, I'm so tired at the end of the day that it's difficult and still try to greet folks. So so sorry for my absence and skipping...
Now for ham and bacon... I fixed the fence and added a gate on the outside of the compost area. Since the birds discovered it, it's no longer a 5' tall pile but pretty well spread over the entire area and a few inches deep. Cut the fence out between the pigs pen and the compost area. First day didn't go so well... Ham and Bacon knocked the gate off it's hinges and took to wandering free... coaxed them back in and secured the gate. What's interesting is the pigs are interested in the roots that the chickens don't like, but I want gone... So Ham and Bacon don't mind the chickens... It's ok for them to drink from their water bowl and even to eat their feed... So at any given time I've got a half to a dozen chickens hanging out with the pigs.
A couple days ago.. Ham is digging for roots with his plow (aka nose) and every time he brought up a fresh pile of dirt this hen would go through it for bugs and worms. All is fine in pig and chicken land until ham comes up from one of his digs with a worm on his nose. The hen promptly removed it and apparently ham didn't appreciate the gesture as he swung around and knocked the hen over with his backside and proceeded to dig again. The hen dusted herself off and proceeded to go back to where he was digging and was no longer interested in eating off his nose... Today, bacon and one of my roosters spied the same whatever... Score one for bacon and zero for the rooster.. bacon ran him off and got the prey. Still have no idea what it was, but the rooster was not happy and made that clear to bacon, who intern chased him some more. So there you have it... the pig update... BTW, when I move the pigs, I'll be able to plant the area they are in as they've plowed everything and they are better than any herbicide and killing invasive weeds.
Now for ham and bacon... I fixed the fence and added a gate on the outside of the compost area. Since the birds discovered it, it's no longer a 5' tall pile but pretty well spread over the entire area and a few inches deep. Cut the fence out between the pigs pen and the compost area. First day didn't go so well... Ham and Bacon knocked the gate off it's hinges and took to wandering free... coaxed them back in and secured the gate. What's interesting is the pigs are interested in the roots that the chickens don't like, but I want gone... So Ham and Bacon don't mind the chickens... It's ok for them to drink from their water bowl and even to eat their feed... So at any given time I've got a half to a dozen chickens hanging out with the pigs.
A couple days ago.. Ham is digging for roots with his plow (aka nose) and every time he brought up a fresh pile of dirt this hen would go through it for bugs and worms. All is fine in pig and chicken land until ham comes up from one of his digs with a worm on his nose. The hen promptly removed it and apparently ham didn't appreciate the gesture as he swung around and knocked the hen over with his backside and proceeded to dig again. The hen dusted herself off and proceeded to go back to where he was digging and was no longer interested in eating off his nose... Today, bacon and one of my roosters spied the same whatever... Score one for bacon and zero for the rooster.. bacon ran him off and got the prey. Still have no idea what it was, but the rooster was not happy and made that clear to bacon, who intern chased him some more. So there you have it... the pig update... BTW, when I move the pigs, I'll be able to plant the area they are in as they've plowed everything and they are better than any herbicide and killing invasive weeds.
