Pignic Fun and Games

Pignics tend to be a day of eating grass and socializing.  The 9th Annual Boston Spring Pignic had all of that, but also had a few added surprises as well.

My first surprise was early in the day when checking over sows to go in the communal pen:  I was handed a pig that had a face very similar to Willow.  I was thrilled to have a happy, healthy and young Willow-look-a-like in my lap.  She was enchanting.

The last couple of Spring pignics have not had the contests we've had in the past.  However, this year, the weigh-ins for heaviest and lightest pig were back on, along with contests for wildest hair and largest herd.  The heaviest pig was over 1400g and didn't look nearly as hefty as he was.  The lightweight was a diminutive elderly boar, who beat out a few growing six-month olds. 

Willow look-alike; boars hanging out; playing games; getting weighed; in the doghouse; grass coma

Sippy and Figaro also brought in their Teach N Treat toys to share with the other pigs, which caught the interest of some pigs and owners alike.  I saw several pigs attempting to solve the trick of getting the tomato or pig treat.

There may be the frenzy of meeting and greeting at the beginning of the pignic, but as the afternoon waned, I saw more evidence of grass-coma.  The boars settled down and chilled out with each other.  One sow was very blissed out, yet determined to get in one or two more mouthfuls of grass.  Too lazy and comfortable to move from her sprawled out spot, she stretched out her neck to nibble a few blades of grass that were nearly out of reach.  Oh, yeah, that's the life.

Does not play well with other pigs.  Bummer.

And it's all fun and games until someone tries to be a little too domineering.  One poor boar spent the late afternoon in solitary.  He wanted to be big pig on campus, and was unhappy when several other boars didn't agree.  One upset pig can agitate the rest, so he needed to be removed from the communal pen.  I suspect he later regretted his actions, or perhaps was still yearning for fight, because I found him running along the edge of the time-out pen and testing the bars, looking for a way out to get back to the communal pen.

So much to do at a pignic!  No wonder the pigs are wiped out when they get home after an eventful day.