Goggles the boar

One thing that happens when you are operating a farm is that a particular animal stands out.  It's funny, but  when I look back at my farm, the animals that really stood out are those that were a challenge, like the mean black pig. 

Something about the animal makes it noticeable, and in the case of the mean black pig, she's even taken a life of her own, being a symbol for all sorts of things. 

The wheels are turning in this little boars head

This little boar is the standout this year.  He's a good looking little boar, with 16 nipples showing, and he's showing his berkshire heritage in his black-and-white coloration. 

He has a regular route that he travels every day, checking everything

What makes this little boar standout though is that he has specialized in defeating my farm fences.  I've probably looked up from whatever I've been doing 50 times in the last 2 weeks and found this little boar out on his piglet business.  He's mapped out every crack and crevice in every fence. 

He has found out where the dog food is, and eaten his share.  And the dogs share, too.    He  discovered where we unload and sort the produce, and I've seen him gleefully carrying off his favorite food:  Avocados.  He's done this often enough that I know that avocados are his favorite food!

He's sure that he's a good pig, so i can approach. 

That's close enough, says goggles. 

 

 

 He has found a way into the farrowing area, and I've found him snuggled up to receptive sows, snoozing with the piglet.  I've seen him run into a group of bigger pigs -- much bigger pigs! -- and steal food from their mouths, and then run like the devil, accompanied by their squeals of outrage. 

With some animals you can see the gleam in their eye and you know that there is an active mind there; that glint of intelligence, and the ability to quickly learn and adapt, and to resist all of my attempts to outwit him, or contain him.  He's a little force of nature, this boar. 

He enjoys sleeping wedged between 500lb sows.

He absolutely recognizes me, and when he's eating his purloined avocado I'll see the recognition and he'll immediately start to run.  he runs back into the pig pen, and, 6" inside the fence, stops and eats his avocado because he knows I won't chase him any further.  He knows the rules and chooses to ignore them.   

Despite my aggravation at this little guy, I'm actually grudgingly admiring his drive.  He is bound and determined, in a very pig way, to have the first, and best, of everything that he can.

He's everything a pig should be. 

Say hello to Goggles.  You'll be seeing more of him.