Last year a friend of mine gave me two young pot-belly pigs. Sisters, from the same litter. My friend had too many and couldn’t sell them all. I bet you’re thinking “Awww, how cute!,” right?
Wrong my friends. Both were disagreeable, horrid little things… And about as friendly as a pissed-off snapping turtle. They bit, barked, screamed like sirens and were a general pain in the ass. And they ate, and ate, and ate. And were never satisfied. They’d just kept screaming… I cringed when heading into the barn each day.
Now I have a rule (that I don’t always follow) that any animal on the farm who doesn’t bring me joy, serve a genuine purpose or make good money, has to go. Especially mean or dangerous animals.
I absolutely loathed these two pigs. My first thought was to butcher them for a backyard barbecue when they grew little bigger. That was until I heard numerous stories of how greasy the meat is, and just really not a pleasant dining experience. Probably not even taco-worthy…
Anyway, rather than wasting bullets and time, I decided to trade in both the demon spawn for two cute dairy goats. Their breed or age I have no clue of. But I could tell by observation that both were under a year old and never bred. It sounded like a pretty good trade to me. And that’s how I ended up with these two goats.
Neither have names yet. And both have about as much personality as a cardboard box. I have to chase them down and catch them to handle them. Somehow, I need to figure out how to get them comfortable with me and quieted down. Sooner, rather than later. Any thoughts?
My plan for now, is to get them both to a point where I can more easily handle them, breed the older one in the fall, and the younger doe next fall, with the hope that maybe I can milk year round, alternating the breeding cycle between the two. Any offspring would be butchered or sold. The grand “plan” always sounds so good on paper doesn’t it? Regardless, I’m very thankful I rid myself of the two screaming siren pigs…~A
