Gibby, Giselle and Turbo have been living in the center field now for just over a month. Its been a big change for them going from their indoor barn to outdoor pasture, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.
They are eating about 10lbs of food combined daily in 2 meals, and are supplemented with whatever offcuts from the kitchen we generate. Its been exciting watching them display their taste buds with food. They certainly know they like bread and fruit. The part of the meal that is not in pellet form is competed for and eaten first!
Here is a before and after shot to see how much they have chained in size. In the second shot Giselle is on the left, named after Bunchen for being so tall and good looking, Turbo is on the right, named for being the athlete of the group, and Gibby is at the back. He is much smaller, which could be related to him suffering a nasty foot injury on the way home in the truck. Im not sure what happened exactly, but he got his foot caught somehow and gashed his foot open in the dog crate. It took a few weeks to heal completely, and he has been left with a bit of a wonky hoof, but overall it healed pretty nicely. I guess Gibby will be offered at a discount :(
What they say about pig cleanliness is at least partially true. Excluding one time when we first got them and they were learning their surroundings, they havent taken a poop at all in their house. The chickens, on the other hand, have no problem sleeping right on top of their poop. At first the pigs designated a 'poo corner' but have taken to just dumping anywhere outside a 5m or so radius from the shelter. I plan to paint and trim the pig house like the chicken coop, just havent got around to it yet.
In their pen they have really gone to work rooting. From what I have read they do not sweat or have any pigment in their skin, so they need to mud themselves both to cool down and to avoid sunburn. When its a really sunny day I make sure to go spray some water in the holes for them, as well as keep the kiddie pool full. Turbo especially loves taking a dip and then rolling around in the dirt. It seems like not a bad life!
I havent done so well with the plants in the back. Above is a picture of the cauliflower and broccoli plants. Where the pigs and chickens have a noticeable will to live and are resilient, plants seem to be a reflection of what kind of care you offer them. I do water them, but clearly the slugs and maybe some bugs have been attacking them. I try to pick up all the slugs I see and give them to the chickens or pigs, but its just not enough. I think I also over estimated the quality of our soil, and how much amendment I should have added. Hopefully we get at least some yield out of the plants. The raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb and tomatoes in the greenhouse have all done well, however.
When I sold my grandmas car, the very nice Greek man who bought it gave me 7 Greek tomato seedlings. I have made sure to water them, give them half strength fertilizer regularly, and keep them inside on rainy days, and what do you know... they are doing amazing! They look like they just might be starting to flower, so I will have to harden them off one the weather gets a bit nicer, and plant them outside. Unfortunately they have started to use the window as support, and will require a lot of help to stay upright, but Im hoping I can figure something out.
As a last note 3 of 7 chickens currently are laying eggs. They are a frustrating group!
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