I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Mine was pretty busy and full of interesting weather. Saturday was chilly, cloudy, and rainy. Yesterday was sunny, hot, and beautiful.
This morning I didn’t have a cigar, as I had some trouble sleeping last night and was quite tired. So instead of working in the garage, I relaxed on the recliner.
So as I mentioned before, my wife and I’s goal for the farm is to really get ourselves towards more self-sufficient, homestead living. I had remarked, not too long ago, about being unsure about where we stand on raising animals for meat. It has certainly crossed our minds and has been intriguing.
Well, we are finally making the jump.
We have two Kune Kune pigs that we got when we moved here in 2018. We are unfortunately at a point where we can no longer keep them here on the farm for a few reasons. First and foremost, they have become aggressive towards the other livestock. We have had some close calls recently and it has made for unneeded stress and chaos. Secondly, with where we are headed, they no longer contribute to our purpose. Lastly, our daughter is terrified of them.. The aggression of late has not helped that.
We considered rehoming them, however, that is really not a viable option. When it comes to pigs, the only real option is a rescue - where they would not be given as good a life as they are accustomed to. The other thing we considered was to potentially breed Loretta, however, she likely would only be an option for artificial insemination, as she is likely not going to be receptive, at this age, for traditional methods. We are also not really in a position time wise and resource wise, to manage piglets.
What we have decided on is to have them butchered. We thought and talked a lot about it, and it is what we decided as the most appropriate course of action. They would provide for us in this manner, and would not be subject to inadequate living - as they have had the best possible life here on the farm.
We are excited for the experience and believe it will be rewarding and help accelerate us in the direction we are headed.
Take care,
-Trevor