The Great Escape Part 2…3…4…

Sunday morning dawned with pouring rain. There were lots of things we had planned to get done, but it was looking like outdoor activities would be put on hold. Our little piggies had a different plan.

So it turns out, the darling piggies are even smarter than we thought! I always knew they were an intelligent animal, but my goodness!

The girls figured out (rather quickly) that we used food to lure them back into their pen. So they have started getting out of the pen every time they are in the mood for a little snack! We finally figured out that they were running UNDER the fence!

We have a Patriot solar energizer on our fence, and it was NOT strong enough or working through the night. Every morning when they get up, out they go! Saturday morning they were getting out of the pen every 20 minutes or so! It was time for an intervention!

I had purchased some single strand (electric) wire when I went to the store, and we had about 30 extra plastic fence posts that have notches on them (to hold wire), so we determined that with a new energizer, the single wire would work better.

As an added bonus, we don’t have to turn the fence on and off to go in the pen, since we can just step over it. Win / Win!

New single wire fence works perfectly!

We ran the wire inside the net fencing and hooked up the new energizer. Wow! What a difference! They each got zapped once, and no more escapes! Additionally, when we go in to feed them, they would rush us at the fence opening. Now they stay respectfully back behind the wire, which allows us to get in the pen more easily!

Now I don’t have to worry that they will get out and lost or hurt. Much better for everyone. Their snack breaks have been reduced too, which is good. These pigs can very easily get overweight, which is not good for them!

Has anyone else had any escapees?

All in all, the day was wonderful! When we were dreaming of starting the homestead, these were the kinds of days and activities I thought we’d do together. We had a great time fixing the pigs up and when all was said and done, we came into the house, got cleaned up, and I made chili and cornbread for dinner. We relaxed for the rest of the day and enjoyed it thouroughly!

Have a wonderful day!