The Pigs Have Arrived

As many of you who keep an eye on our facebook page know, the piglets have arrived at Groundworks Farm.  We had a fun adventure getting them here from the place where they were born in Vergennes, Vermont.  First step was to fill our trailer with hay so that the pigs would not make too big of a mess, then after taking a twice over look at their home-to-be we started the truck and headed north.

Kevin makes a happy travel home for the pigs.

When we got to their home it was all hands on board and everything went way more smoothly than I ever expected, simply a process of passing the pigs from person to person and putting them in the trailer and they seemed to love it in there with all the hay.  It went so quickly and smoothly I forgot to take any pictures of this step.

Then the pigs went for a road trip with us, compete with stops where I would get out and make sure they were all still in there!  We drove them the hour home and got the trailer backed up to the barn.  The next step was for Kevin and I to grab the pigs one by one and walk them down the stairs, across the barn and set them down in their area we had prepared for them.  Things had been so smooth at the first farm, with 5 adults helping out, I was nervous if we could replicate that.

The first couple trips went really well, but on the third try things got a little more exciting.  Kevin grabbed one and headed downstairs.  I got in the trailer, grabbed a pig, and another one went darting toward freedom.  I set the pig in my arms back in the trailer, closed the doors and went searching for the escapee.

Escapee #2

Under the trailer, where nobody could reach him seemed to be his prefered location, until I went to grab him.  That was when he went toward the road!  Kevin had made it back to get another pig and we were able to lure the pig into the barn and catch him, a crisis averted!  When we got him downstairs though, we discovered that another one we had already brought down was also out, happily eating reminents of grain off the floor of the barn.  This was less dramatic as he seemed to have merely escaped an easily patchable gap in the sleeping quarters and her wanted back in with his friends.

Unearthing Grass for Snack

Since then we have not had much drama with the pigs and they seem to be very much enjoying their new home and we are pumped that we have them here!

Groundwork Farm Pasture-raised Pork will be available for purchase starting in June 2011.  For more information on purchasing our pork and other meat products click here!