Skip to main content

He is here!!

Everyone, please say hello to the newest addition to our farm family: Festus.


He was the kids' Christmas present from us. We picked him up about a week before Christmas, and so far he is settling in nicely. He enjoys cuddling with the kids and definitely enjoys his meal time! Right now, he is inside when we are home, and in the garage in a pen when we are not home. We are also working on harness and leash training to get him outside more. I cannot believe how smart he is already. He picked up on litter box training after just a day, and he already spins for a treat!

On the ride home
Snuggled with Boo

Getting treats from Bubs

Napping on Bah

If you don't know much about mini pigs, there is a huge misconception about them. Everybody thinks that a mini, micro, or teacup pig will stay tiny its whole life. However, a pig is considered "mini" if it is under 300 pounds! So many people out there starve or stunt their pigs to keep them small due to this misconception.

When we first started thinking about getting a pet pig, we did a lot of research, so I felt prepared for what is to come. When he gets older (and bigger), Festus will spend his days outside while we are at work and then can come inside to play when we are home. He will still sleep in his pen, though.

Through our research, we also discovered that pigs are ridiculously smart! You can teach them so many tricks. Some of the tricks we want to work on with Festus are
  • sit
  • stay
  • bow
  • spin
  • shake
  • kiss
  • wave
  • play a kid piano

Since they are so smart, they need to be occupied, or they become bored and destructive. They are essentially like eternal toddlers (we are crazy, I know!!) which means they need careful supervision and baby proofing. It also means that they bond closer than typical pets and can be super affectionate.


We are so excited to begin this journey, so stay tuned for more Piggy Updates!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing a Garden

Fresh fruits and vegetables are my favorite aspect of gardening. I am NOT a green thumb by any means, but with the help of Boots and the kids, we make it work. We have a rather large plot in the back of our yard and fertilized it with pig manure all winter. To prepare the area, Boots tilled the ground (like five times due to rain) to mix in the the fertilizer and break up the weeds that grew over the end of last season. After that, he raked out the big chunks, and leveled the ground. The girls get a hand in picking out what we plant, and love going with us to the local greenhouse, Marty’s Yarden. This year, we planted extra fruits and vegetables because the pig and chickens will be able to eat any excess that we cannot keep up on. We bought the following seedlings at Marty’s: Cantaloupe Watermelon Cucumbers Strawberries Bell peppers Sweet peppers Hot peppers Zucchini Tomatoes Brussels sprouts After some trial and error and performing some research, we we
Post a Comment
Read more

Backyard Fun Part 2

I can't believe summer is quickly winding down. Here are some of the fun things we did in July. Kool-aid Dyed Hair This was a “girls only” activity because Bubs’ hair is too short. So he was a helper and liked playing with the gloves. After looking at a few recipes and strategies online, I came up with this technique. Supplies (per person/color): 3 packets of Kool-aid (the kind without the added sugar) 1 cup boiling water 2 tablespoons conditioner Old towel(s) Saran wrap Hair clips Gloves Hair dryer Steps: Isolate the hair that you plan to color. The girls wanted to just dye the bottom tips of their hair, so no isolation was needed. Put on gloves Mix the Kool-aid packets into the water Add the conditioner Make a garbage bag dress (which the girls thought was funny). If dipping, sit back in a chair allowing the ends of your hair to rest in the mixture for 5 minutes. If saturating, begin applying the mixture to the entire strand of hair
Post a Comment
Read more

Backyard Fun

We spend a lot of time on the farm over the summer since neither the kids or I have school. However, June is packed with swimming lessons, baseball games, and the summer reading program, which means we spend more time at home than at the farm. Even though we keep a fairly busy schedule in June, we still have downtime that I like to fill with fun backyard activities. Hopefully, you will be able to try some of them too. Fairy Garden This is our third year planting a fairy garden. The first year PICTURE it was a small, container garden, but last year we expanded so that there would be more room for plants and accessories. The girls enjoy taking care of it and playing in it, but last year Bubs especially enjoyed sitting in it and destroying it. I don’t think he will be as concerned with it this year, so we should be able to expand. Our area is just blocked off with leftover pavers from the patio. We have built up our accessories from my mom, grandma, and great aunt. Last year, w
Post a Comment
Read more