Recently we experienced a break-in, down on the farm.  It was unexpected and it was an inside job.  We came home late one day, changed and headed for the barn.   Opening the door, we were greeted by our new kitten “Mystery” who seemed to be telling us that she had nothing to do with the mess. 

The wire door into the poultry room hung askew, the wire torn, the bases partially ripped off the hanging feeders, further along water pails, and tools were upturned.  What the heck, had happened?  My mind was racing, had I not secured the door; but how could chickens have made such a mess? Had raccoons invaded during the day? What were we going to find? As we moved further into the barn, we did indeed find the culprits.  They were sleeping it off in the loose hay and straw strewn across the center barn floor.  Our hogs had broken into the barn.  Yes, broken into the barn.  The hogs had run amok partying and trashing the place.  Not a pretty sight!

Knowing that we had some mild weather for a few days, we locked the pigs out of the barn.  The plan - patch the large craters they had made in the old concrete floor.  Pigs are well designed to root, and it is no wonder they have been called living plows. Finding a crack in the floor and given a bit of time was all the opportunity they needed.  Soon largish craters were excavated.  Covering the small holes with the heavy rubber mats had barely slowed the destruction down. The rubber mats are 4x6’ and ¾ inch thick and close to 100 pounds.  Pigs are amazingly strong and even the smaller ones could easily fold a mat back to get to the yummy hole or perhaps our pigs were tunneling to the great outside much like Hogan’s Heroes.   Not wanting to see the newly patched areas torn up, we decided they could live outside for a few days – we gave them extra straw to bed down in and all seemed well for the first day and half. Then who knows what happened: did they rush the door in a concentrated manner, had something spooked them and they forgot the door was shut… we will never know.  But who can argue with 17 hogs hell-bent to get inside.  Not a door frame, the barrel bolt ripped the catch right out of the frame. 

Clearly the hoodlums were tired after their adventure filled day. They slowly got to their feet stretching, grunting and wagging their tails happy to see us and share their day’s adventures.  Needless to say, evening chores took over three hours to do, that night.  Along with the regular chores, we had to fix the doorframe, repair the catch and install a second barrel bolt on the door and set the barn right. 

Our 17 babies were not given their supper.  Although they felt it was cruel punishment, we were quite certain they had feasted on their supper and the chicken’s grain earlier. They were herded back outside given fresh water and more hay and told to stay put!!  The barn cat and kitten found us quite entertaining, watching us work.  They generally do not see us for that many hours in a row at least not on a weeknight.  As you may be aware, felines seem to believe that humans are here for their entertainment.  And, we did certainly our best to entertain the kitten and barn cat, as we muttered and cursed at the damn pigs, the mess; the time of day and fact we still had not had supper.

Raising livestock is satisfying, sometimes frustrating, is full of hard work, and definitely full of moments of enjoyment for us.  It is a full-time commitment much like parenting.  We would not do it if we did not love the animals and the lifestyle.  And, yes we do know exactly what fate is in store for many of our hogs and beef cattle.  We consider it a reasonable trade – we invest in their well-being and care, keeping them happy and healthy and in return they help to feed us.  We know exactly what they have eaten and what medicine if any, went into our animals.  We know how they live and know that their lives come to a quick end after a short drive.  There are no crowded trucks or pens and long distances to be travelled. Most importantly we respect their contribution in the food chain.  

P.S. Cedarstone has remained peaceful with no further break-ins or break-outs.