Tuesday the time had come to take one of our pigs to the butcher. I must admit that I had no idea how hard it would be to get one pig in a trailer. Maybe she knew more about her fate then I gave her credit for. How convenient that my husband was at work and left the job of loading the pig to our older kids and me.
When we first entered the pig's arena they looked harmless, even friendly. They thought they were going to be fed and left to fight over who would get the best bits, as usual. We started by moving the feeder by the make-shift loading chute. This chute was the outer fence and an old gate my bother-in-law had given us. Parked at the end of the gate was our cattle trailer. It looked like they would eat as we opened the gate and then we could gently encourage them toward the trailer. If only that plan had worked!
We had three pigs; Becky Bacon, Penelope and Hammer the Ham. Penelope, was by far, the largest of the three. We zoned in on her as we moved closer to the unsuspecting pigs. Unfortunately, instead of moving them toward the trailer they got spooked and ran to the other end of their rather sizable pen. Now the fun began. We spent the next 45 minutes getting the pigs close to the chute and then watching them run as we tried to get them in the trailer. The pigs suddenly looked different to me. They were no longer the cute little piggies that followed us around and snorted for food. When I looked at them now all I saw was dumb, obstinante swine.
Finally, in desperation, I called for our seceret weapon...dog food. Dog food is like "piggy crack", they will do anything for it. I stared throwing some by Penelope, hoping to make a trail of dog food she would follow right into the trailer. We made a path to the trailer and then when she felt the least little bit confined, she would bolt. We went through three cups of dog food before we started feeling like maybe we could do this.
I must admit that I did picture myself having to call my husband and tell him we just couldn't do it. Would he be mad, diappointed, not care? I thought, "One more try, then if we fail I will call him."
Finally, we got Penelope in the chute. She was facing backwards but I was hopeful that she would back inthe trailer on her own. No, that was not to be. We had to give her a little space to turn around but not so much she would push her way out. Our youngest daughter had a broom to "encourage" her to move. When she finally turned and saw I had dog food left, she hopped right in. We closed the doors and collased in a pile of smelly, dirty pride.
I am voting that my husband gets in on the fun next time a pig has to be loaded.
Such fun reading your blog. I had forgotten you were writing one. It is very good. Keep up the good work. You are all learning a great deal!! Proud of you. You have a much better attitude toward farming than I ever did! Love ya!
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