PREVENTING @BLUERTHANGREEN FROM GOING "HOG-WILD!"

This was a much bigger job than I originally anticipated.

Obviously, homesteading can be tough work and animal husbandry can only add to it. I knew that my neighbor Hive account@bluerthangreen planned to move his hogs today, but I had no idea what I signed up for when I offered to help.

IT BEGAN SO SIMPLY

When I arrived on the scene this morning, Hive account@bluerthangreen was hard at work attaching some cattle panels to an old barbed wire fence. By doing so, he wouldn't have to drive any t-posts into the earth for this portion of the border plus he'd have the added effect of the barbed wire as well. He plans to move some hogs and goats through this area of thick growth in an attempt to "tame" some of this wild land.

He had six Ossabaw Island pigs in a pen for quite some time now. They were ready for a new home and he was ready to get them a little further from their "home base." The trick would just be to finish the new pen and then get them moved.

With a good supply of cattle panels and t-posts on hand, he was happy to have the help too. I had some fencing of my own to accomplish too, but things like this always go quicker with additional help, so I wanted to get my neighbor off to a good start.

This was the opening that Hive account@bluerthangreen had left for the hogs to enter. Before we moved them we needed to make a gate. While the original idea had been to slide a wooden pallet over some freestanding t-posts, we brainstormed a bit and came up with another option.

A SIMPLE, BUT BRILLIANT, GATE

Once we came up with our idea, we just needed to know how wide the gap was. This is one of the parts of life that I really enjoy; creative problem solving. There's really nothing like using your brain, and maybe the brain of your neighbor too, to come up with practical solutions. This is what people had to do prior to google, and we still like to leave the smart phones in our pockets sometimes and just think for ourselves.

Once we had our measurement, Hive account@bluerthangreen cut one of the cattle panels to length, and left some it overhanging. So far we just had an idea, but we were about to test the effectiveness of our brainstorm.

We fit the newly created gate into place and matched up the factory end to the existing fencing. We then bent the overhanging portions that we left on the other side around the end we wanted it to hinge on. Sure enough, our solution was going to work!

Here you can see our fancy hinge-work. While it may not be extravagant, it is effective and simple. Just to get something that works built to last is enough to call it a success, so we did! This newfound "technology" will now be in the back of our minds for years to come, so we can apply it to situations in the future if need be!

RALLY THE TEAM, WE'VE GOT HOGS TO MOVE!

The next step was to make a make-shift chute to be used when moving the hogs. We used vehicles, cattle panels, and a healthy supply of children to make ours. Each and every part had to be in a specific position if we were going to stand a chance, but we didn't want to leave any room of error.

This is a view from inside the new pen. If we calculated each part of this process accurately, we'd be moving these pigs in no time with the least amount of effort possible. Unfortunately, such was not the case....

Pinkie-Pepper, Red-Pepper and one of the little offspring of Hive account@bluerthangreen and Hive account@allforthegood were in position with two cattle panels.

Monster Truck the Pepper was down near the entrance holding a cattle panel tight against the truck and the fence.

Sweet Pepper was safely tucked inside the fence, but also hard at work holding a panel in position. Even the littlest of them get in on the action, and we certainly needed the help!

Hive account@alittlebluer and one of her brothers were near the beginning of the chute, eagerly awaiting the next step in the process.

I got in position to help Hive account@bluerthangreen release the hogs, and soon were all ready for what was about to happen... or so we thought...

HOG ON THE LOOSE! HE'S GONE HOG-WILD!

We opened the cage and slowly, and ever so cautiously, the hogs began to creep out. In slow motion, the littlest ones came out, and then the big ones. Once all the hogs were out of their old pen and into the chute we let the door close behind them. There was no turning back...

To get them moving a little more, I "encouraged" a few with a hearty smack on the backside. It kicked them into gear and soon they were nearing the end of the chute and beginning to enter the next pen. This is when I made my mistake. The hogs bottle-necked and I gave one smack too many!

The last little piggy I smacked turned around and busted loose. The next five minutes may have just as well been choreographed to the worst circus music ever. The pig ran free, this way and that. @Allforthegood grabbed a trash can lid like a super hero and tried to hep steer it. Monster Truck the Pepper and his cattle panel were no match for the force of a piggy at full throttle. @Bluerthangreen and Hive account@papa-pepper ran, juked, cut him off, and started all over again. Attempts to steer, grab, and even tackle were made, and eventually I just had to jump on that thing and bear hug him, raising him up into the air.

Finally, we were successful. The hogs were moved, the children were safe, and I was tired. "What's the moral of the story?" you ask... Don't get carried away when you are spanking a hog. Mind you, I wasn't out to hurt the pigs, just to give them a few slaps of encouragement, but we can see how that worked out... Thankfully, Hive account@bluerthangreen said that valiant effort made up for my error! Thanks man!