We brought home a piglet (and weren't ready)

On the floor next to my desk where I am sitting here writing is an eight week old Kune Kune Boar named Boaris. We picked him up yesterday from a local farm that I reached out to seven weeks ago inquiring about Kune Kune boars for sale. He was barely a week old when I messaged them through Facebook and received a response. The way the timing worked out so perfectly gave me whatever the good version of the heeby-geebies is. Like we were destined to have Boaris join our farm family.

Boaris is much smaller that I expected him to be, when we got our three older pigs at four months old they were significantly larger that he is now, so we had to make some adjustments to our integration plan. We learned the hard way about safe and careful introductions when we brought the first three pigs home. My wife wanted to take a more cautious approach but I convinced her everything would be fine. I was wrong. Our older dog bit our barrow, Ralph, on the ear and latched on good. With all my might, I couldn't pull his jaws apart. Then suddenly he let go and Ralph stopped squealing. At first I didn't understand how I had gotten him to stop, I soon found out it had nothing to do with me. My wife had saved the day, and the pig, with a well timed finger in a certain sensitive spot on the back side of the dog. At least one knuckle in if I remember correctly.

So needless to say, all introductions since have been more cautious, planned out and thought about. Some situations don't turn out well shooting from the hip.

Until we figure out a more permanent and well thought out pen situation for Boaris and Ralph, we decided that they could live in the chicken run right next door to the pigs. That way the gilts (unbred, intact females) Wendy and Gretchen, and Boaris could get used to each other through the fence. So we brought Boaris into the chicken run alone (the chickens are currently under protective custody since we lost one the day before and are locked in the coop). We let him sniff around and get oriented but it wasn't long before he noticed the three big, squealing pigs at the fence and went over to investigate.

Kune Kunes, like all pigs are highly social herd animals and thrive together creating strong bonds. No surprise that they were all drawn to each other. This is also the reason that we want Ralph to live with him, if kept alone, pigs can suffer from depression and as a companion to a boar, Ralph has a legitimate purpose to keep him out of the freezer.

After several minutes of sniffing and squealing we decided to let Ralph in to meeting Boaris in they're new temporary home together. Am I ever glad we did this slow. At first Ralph seemed almost disinterested in the piglet, we've been told from other Kune Kune farmers that adults generally understand that piglets are babies and give them more grace and patience than other adults. Wendy however was headbutting the fence and trying to bite him. All seemed well, not idea that Wendy was showing aggression towards him but she is the biggest and was most likely trying to immediately assert her dominance in the social hierarchy against this new pig encroaching on her territory. But the fences are strong and in between them so, not the end of the world. Then Ralph decided he didn't want to be separated from his buddies and lifted the gate between the two pens up off the hinge pins, crashing to the ground attached now only by the gate chain. I put it back. He lifted it off a second time and ran back into the big pen. Another lesson learned - always put the top gate pin in upside down so the gates can't be lifted off.

First things first, we fixed the gate and flipped the hinge pins so Ralph would be stuck where we wanted him. It took quite a bit of coaxing (and food) to get him back over to the chicken run, but finally Daniela got him back in there and we decided to feed the pigs to get hunger (hanger) out of the equation. So while she went to get enough food to feed them all their dinner, me and my dad set to work on reinforcing the fencing which lacked some skirting (it could keep chickens in but not pigs).

Guess what happens next. Almost like he heard us talking, Boaris runs over to the one part of the fence he can get under and takes off. Let me tell you, that little pig is fast. He's running up hill, over boulders, up near-verticle rock faces and I'm slipping and falling trying to chase him. He gets up to a sort of ridge like spot that runs flatish and turns. He running full tilt towards the highway. All I can think is that he's going to run out onto the road, I have to get him to change direction. I haven't run that fast in YEARS. I put the pedal to the fucking metal, sprinting through the bush, branches whipping my face, hurdling over fallen down trees. It felt like I chased him for a long time, but it was maybe two minutes. I let the lateral space between us grow so I wouldn't be chasing him from directly behind, which worked cause he slowed down enough for me to get ahead of him and cut back in. He saw me and pulled a 180 back the way he came. I started yelling to the others where he's going and as we all start to converge, he runs back under the fence into the run,

Out of breath and panting, I go back in with Daniela, she feeds them while me and my dad finish securing the fence. Finally, we're done. We can let the boys get to know each other. As they finish up their dinner, Boaris runs over to Ralph to check out the other pig and Ralph grunts this heavy squealing thing, charges Boaris, who rolls onto his side and before anything else can happen we all start yelling. Ralph backs off, Daniela opens the gate and we get him back in with the girls.

With little time to consider next steps, it starts pouring rain. The older pigs take off to their shelter on the other side of the pen. Boaris, who up until this point has been fairly calm and cool, loses his mind when the other pigs are gone, he starts trying to burrow under the fence, climb over the fence, he doesn't want to be alone and now he's soaking wet with no one to cuddle for warmth through the night. Now we have to make a quick decision, at eight weeks old we're not 100% sure he can fully regulate his own body temperature, he shouldn't be alone and we don't know what predator got one of our chickens in their. So he can't stay in there.

Now he's sleeping in a dog crate in the basement, I slept on the sofa next to him last night so he wouldn't be alone and we're slowly introducing him to the other pigs through the fence. Exposure therapy worked on the dogs with the chickens so I have faith it will work with pigs that are the same breed.

To be honest he's so cute I don't mind having him as a desk buddy anyways.