Meet Pumpkin And Spice



 

At Harmon PFarms, we normally raise a meat hog for the girls to show at the county fair in September, and then have it butchered for the freezer. When Kate was younger, we'd raise two. Since she's out of 4H now, we often have only one, but have gotten two on occation when the breeder has a cheaper runt to sell. This October, when our fall farm parties were pending, (two annual parties we host for our homeschool group and our church) I suggested to Ted that it was too bad the kids who visited wouldn't get to see a pig. As I knew he would, he told me to go out and buy one! So, we found an ad on craigslist and headed to Ozark, AR, to pick up a pig for the petting zoo. When we got there, the farmer explained to us that he had one smaller pig that had some neurological damage from being stepped on by her mother at birth and that he would sell us that one for a reduced price. Well, of course, she came home with us too! So, we ended up with two adorable piglets that were a big hit at the fall parties and are now growing nicely for our freezer.  This is the first time we have had hogs during the winter.  Meet Pumpkin and Spice. (See Pumpkin's "problem" in the video below.)

 

 



This is the mother.  She was huge!!



On the way to our new home.



We spent our first few weeks in a cozy pen inside the barn.

 

 

We are very proud of the fact that all of the animals we raise for meat here at the farm are treated with respect and kindness. They recieve shelter, food and water and lots of attention. We do name our butcher animals. We interact with them daily and try to make sure they are happy. When it is time for them to go, we feel statisfied that they have lived a healthy and enjoyable life and we are grateful to have had them in ours.