When animals escape their pens, it makes my heart rate shoot up.

Fear. Anxiety. Running. Yelling. Arms flapping.

That’s what it looks like when animals get out on Oehlschlager Farm.

And 99.99999% of the time, they escape when I’m home alone with all four kids.

My worst fears were realized this summer when Kadence came in from feeding the chickens in a panic.

“Uhhhh, Mom?! The pigs are out!”

The two escapees. Ham Bone (left) and Pork-n-Beans. Pictured in black and white because pigs in color is just too real-world dirty for most city people to handle.

Now let me tell you something about my “style” of farming. I do and I learn as I go. That means that when I begged Matt for years for a pig, I started to learn lots about them AFTER they were tucked safely away in the barn. Stupid? Maybe. But that’s just how I roll.

One thing I had learned in my few months of pig ownership is that the little buggers can be a little aggressive and they are not the easiest to herd.

So upon hearing the news that they were out. I panicked. And, of course, Matt was at work.

Upon further investigation, I discovered the tractor was blocking the only human-sized entrance into the pig pen, which meant I had no place to corral them.

And now I know something else about pigs. Unlike cattle who typically just graze when they escape, pigs explore. Quickly.

This will give you an idea how LARGE Pork-n-Beans is getting!

Urgency thankfully overrode the deep fears of being eaten by the creatures and I grabbed some dog food (I know, I know, I still shake my head thinking back on it). I shook the container and beckoned the pigs: “Here piggy piggy” and was finally able to catch their attention and lure them into an enclosed dog pen.

Matt, in the mean time, was leaving the yards and an impending sale to move the tractor (I still can’t safely drive one alone) and help me return our future freezer meat to their pen.

A bucket of fresh eggs was all it took to get Pork-n-Beans and Ham Bone to follow us back to their barn home.

And now their pen door is double wired.

You gotta love that sweet, little face!

Categories: Life on the farm

Ginia

My name is Ginia Oehlschlager and I'm a small-town gal from Missouri. Join me as I document my crazy life on the farm with my husband and four kids. I'm always looking for frugal, simple ways to live the life God set before me. Where faith, family and fun come together on the farm.