A Tour of the Pig Farm

It is that time of year again to pick out our 4H pigs.  The kids couldn't wait to go and see the new pigs and pick some out.  Some have asked where we get our pigs so I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of the place and share them. 
Last year when we were looking to buy pigs we found a couple of places to try.  The first place we stopped was EXACTLY how I pictured a pig farm...stinky, muddy, kind of gross...not sure where you could and couldn't step.  I was still at the leery stage of becoming "pig farmers".  The sight, the smell, the mess just didn't appeal to me and I thought, "How can I be supportive of this adventure that my kids and husband want to take on?"  I remember getting back in the pickup thinking to myself, "YUCK!"  I don't know if I can do this.  How are we supposed to know what kind of pigs to pick out.  I hung in there as we drove to the 2nd place we had written down...and I am glad I did!  Totally changed my perspective of what "pig farming" could be like.  It was like night and day driving down this lane.
Long story short...we bought our pigs from the 2nd place, loved them, and we went back this last weekend to do another year of "raising pigs"!  So here is a little tour I would like to share of where we bought our pigs last year and where we returned this year!  Enjoy!
Before you drive down the lane, this is your greeting at the entrance to the lane:

It made us all laugh and smile!  We thought, "they must really love their pigs"!  That was only the beginning.  Here is the lane as you drive into their "farm".

Pictures of their home. 

They are very nice people.  I should have taken a close up of some of the windows.  They had stuffed pigs peeking out of some of the upstairs windows. (OH, another side note-they have 5 TV monitors inside their home that are hooked to cameras in the barn so they can watch their pigs!)

So yes, the "farmers" have a nice home.  Now, check out the pigs home...pretty cute!  The sign says, "Lazy Hog Inn".  She has it all painted cute with flowers in the windowsills.

The kids couldn't wait to see the pigs they got to choose from.  Bryce and Kallie were just excited because they got to choose the one we would raise to butcher for us.  They couldn't wait for Mary, the "pig lady", to open those doors!  (I remember as we drove down this lane last year saying, "I know where I want to get the pigs from!")

Now on to the piggies.  Malorie chose hers first.  As soon as she saw it she knew it was the one she wanted.  It is a girl and a cute little lady piglet!  She has one black ear and one pink ear and a black spot on her back.  (The green on her back is to mark her so Mary knew which ones we were buying.  It is like a marker that washes off.  Malorie had to chase her pig around so she could mark it.  That was fun to watch!)

The funny thing was when she picked it out, Mary laughed and said, "I thought Malorie would choose her!"  (She kind of resembles Daisy from last year.)  I bet you can't tell who Malorie's pig's mom is!  See any resemblance?  Looks like they were posing for me!

Conner was at a camp out so he asked Brett to pick his out.  His only specifications were that it was a boy.  Brett chose this handsome devil out for Conner.  We liked his red head.

It is funny how the boy pigs already look like boy pigs.  They are built more like a boy even through their shoulders.  It will be fun to have a little variation this year with a red-headed pig.  Hopefully that doesn't mean he will be a "spit-fire"!

Bryce and Kallie got to choose last...well, actually Kallie chose the pig and Bryce chose the name.  Kallie saw this one and said that was the one she wanted.  The one with the black head and black bum and pink in the middle. 

The funny thing was that after Bryce saw the pig and we were talking about what to name them, Bryce spouted out, "We have to name our pig OREO!"  We all laughed and I think that will be the name!
We didn't know if this pig was a boy or girl so Brett took a peek!  It's a girl!  She was a mellow thing too!  She didn't even squeal when Brett lifted her up! 

So it looks like we will be back to having pigs!  I think I need to "fancy" up our barn a little!  haha!  We get to bring them home in a couple of weeks.  So between now and then we have a little tidying up to do in the barn to get it ready and we need to come up with two more pig names...any good ideas for pig names?  We would love to hear your suggestions!  You are welcome to come and visit our pigs anytime!  We love having visitors!