Hog Heaven

Well, after a long couple of weeks, the mobile slaughter truck arrived this morning to take care of our problem pig.  It was truly the only solution to her problem.  And while we were saddened to see a pig in this condition, I was relieved that her suffering would finally be over.

When this pig arrived, we surmised that there had been some type of injury...a broken bone, a neurological injury due to the use of the cattle prod, something that had happened within the few days of transport to our home by the new owners.  This was not the case.

As the butchers skinned the hide off of this pig, we found abcess after abcess along her front and rear legs.  She had scabs on her front elbows - an indicator that she had been using her elbows for support for a long time.  She had bruising along her front legs and rump.  It was sad to realize that these injuries were not only a week and a half old, they were months old.  This pig had been suffering for months.

I spoke with the new owner and she believes that the gal that sold her the pig really didn't know that there was anything wrong with her.  I would like to believe that, but for as much as an optimist that I am, I have a really hard time believing that anyone with any sense at all would think a pig that rarely gets up and shakes when she stands is healthy.  Regardless of whether or not the previous owner knew of her condition, the new owner is now facing almost 300 pounds of sausage.

She asked us if we would like to trade the meat for one of our younger gilts.  She would really like to have two bred sows to take home.  Unfortunately, we are not interested in trading anything for this pig.

We take pride in how we raise our animals.  They are well-fed, well cared for, and happy.  We believe that happy, healthy animals create excellent meat.  This pig was not happy, nor healthy.  She was miserable.  We don't know what she was fed - other than what the owner told us, which was hog racks (large amounts of day-old bread) and grain.  And we don't know if she was given any type of medications within the last month.  And if we wouldn't eat it ourselves, we wouldn't sell it with our names on it.

So now, when we look back on the pig's behavior in transport and for the first day, she was showing signs of pain, not stress.  When the gal walked into the pen at the owner's home, the pig was standing and shaking.  She wasn't nervous, she was in pain.  She was being forced to stand.  And then she was forced to ride in the trailer for an hour, balancing herself while in pain.  So when she arrived here, she was reeling from the pain.  She was panting and shaking in pain.  She was barely able to get herself back down and that was it.  Such a sad affair.  I am glad that it's over.