Back around Easter, I got the brilliant idea to post on Craigslist that we would accept farm animals, no questions asked. I was hoping to take in some chicks and rabbits which parents may have purchased for their children during the Easter holiday. It's not uncommon for kids and their parents to fall in love with a cute and cuddly little chick or bunny, but they forget their little pets will grow and come with responsibilities and needs. So, we posted and forgot about it...
Three months later, on a Monday at 9:30 p.m., we receive a call asking if we will take in a pig that was found wandering and came up to a Good Samaritan on the side of the road.
They suspected she was someone's pet because she came right up to them and let them pet her.
Hubby began to tell them we didn't have a place to put her, but I interrupted, "Oh, just put her in the Goat Pen, until morning and we will figure it out then." He nodded in agreement and gave them directions.
THEN IT HIT US!
Some stranger is coming to our house at O'Dark-As-Hell and bringing us a pig to put in our goat pen!
OH BOY! WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WE WERE IN FOR!
A little while later came a knock on our door and hubby went to great them. A few minutes later I hear a blood curdling squeal coming from the yard. Hubby later told me, Piggy got loose and they were chasing her down like... well... a greased pig! After a while of squealing and muffled pig searching, He came in and told me "We've got a pig!"
We went to bed and didn't hear much, if any, noise coming from the pen so we didn't worry and fell right to sleep.
The next morning we awoke to find, four terrified goats and half the goat pen turned over from the piggy rooting and digging.
We proceeded to set the Piggie loose on our 3 acre field until he could make more permanent arrangements.
We now had a free-range piggie.
That day, some company arrived on the farm and our piggie, now named "Charlotte" welcomed everyone including a visiting Great Dane.
She played nice and convinced us all she had been someone's pet in the past and was in need of taking care of.
But a few days later, another friend was visiting and Charlotte started to growl.
We asked around and some people suggested, since she had been out wandering, there may be a possibility that she is pregnant by one of the area's wild Boars.
For now, she roams our three-acre field, foraging and only Hubby is allowed to get close to her.
We'll keep you posted if any signs of Piggy babies begin to show.
Now off to read up more on the subject!
Originally published on www.tattooedhomestead.com