by Casey Craig
What started as a mission to know where our food came from, has turned in to a farm dedicated to responsibly grown food. Heirloom veggies, pastured pork and poultry. Our pigs have been quite the adventure. Having had a poor experience with a pair of Houdini butcher hogs my parents raised in my teen years, I wasn’t a big fan of pigs. Chasing them through a neighbors field while they squealed the porcine equivalent of “ viva la resistance!!†a couple of times a week, still makes my eye twitch. So when we decided to raise a couple of pigs for our own freezer I was pretty nervous.
Pigs are smart and can get out of all kinds of places. Driving 5 hours and spending an hour and a half trying to catch our piglets didn’t help my eye twitch or view on pigs, but I do enjoy a good creole root beer ham and was able to push through. Getting 5 little hairy piglets home in our old hound Stella’s crate did make them less frightening and pretty darn adorable.
We got them safely home and named them Momma Cass, Janis Joplin, Mrs. Emily PIgglesworth, Earl and Randy. Momma Cass and Mrs. Pigglesworth are by far the most personable and also the first to escape. It had been a couple of uneventful months of pig ownership before the great escape, fortunately we happened to have half a bag of Kettle Brand BBQ potato chips. Our pigs love a good gmo free potato chip. An important rule to remember if you ever find yourself the owner of a pig, NEVER and I mean NEVER chase a pig. Luring them in with food is by far the easiest way to catch a pig. We have since used organic granola bars, applesauce and homemade fruit roll ups to lure them back in. Having six children the gate occasionally gets left open.
My slight distaste for pigs has grown into an absolute love and passion for pigs. Our kids love them just as much. There is nothing more fun for a child than playing in a pig pen, scratching behind the ears of a pig. Scratching the rump of a pig has made many a person smile. Our love of pigs has turned in to a new venture on the farm. We have decided to expand and create a breeding program and raise our pork for others. My husband constantly reminded me “don’t get attached these pigs are spoken for†has now grown rather fond of Momma Cass and pardoned her. She will help our breeding program, and live a long and fruitful life as our pet and occasional mother.
Being a farmer is hard work, sometimes flat out heart breaking, especially when you have a deep love and adoration for your animals. It’s also the most fun and the most rewarding job, the smiles happen far more than the curse words. It makes it worthwhile to know where our food comes from, to know that our pigs have had the best life possible, knowing they got all the ear scratches they could get, fresh air sunshine and wholesome food makes my soul sing.
Casey Craig, is the founder of Three Hounds Farm in Fallon, Nevada. You can follow her adventures on instagram at #3HoundsFarm. She’s a mom of 6 free range kids, 2 stinky hounds and a bunch of heritage breed pigs.