Pig Escape Artist

We built Carnitas a new home in the back of the property, across the pond. She has more space and can see the neighbors' goats now. We thought she would like the extra space, but turns out she does not like change and she does not like to be alone.

We built the new pen on Saturday, knowing that a storm was coming in that night and she was getting to big for her trash can bed/shelter. The new pen has a large covered area and a larger space overall. We needed the panels from her old pen, so as we were building her new pen she got to be out and free. She was following Maya everywhere. The pig really enjoys playing in the pond.

The new pen was made using plywood sheets for three sides of a covered area and metal panels for an open space. We set four wood posts to attach the plywood.We used staple nails to attach the metal panels to the plywood at the posts. We used metal posts at the junctions between the metal panels and attached those using metal wire. We use these junctions as our door by undoing the wire and making an opening. We will put in a real door at some point.  Once we got her new pen set up, she would not go in. Our usual trick of having Maya go in first did not work. We tried to chase her in, but she would just go around the pen and manage to get by us. The neighbors were at the fence having a good laugh at the show we were putting on for them.

We were all getting very tired form all the running around, including the pig, and I decided that we really needed to try a different approach. The pig was laying down, completely exhausted. I got as close as I could get without her running away and called Maya to me. We stood there for a little while and then Maya and I walked very slowly towards the pen. The pig started following. I kept the pace very slow and the pig kept coming. I had the kids open the pen fairly wide and strolled in. She actually followed us and I had the kids close the pen slowly. Maya and I managed to squeeze our way out without her escaping. She was not happy. She was squealing and pushing at the panels as we were reattaching them with the wire. Have I mentioned how strong the pig is? We figured she would settle down and get comfy once she realized she had her water and food. She did eat as soon as we fed her.

At some point, after it was dark, the kids went out to check on her and discovered that she has escaped her pen and was out pacing along the fence where her old pen was. We realized that we had forgotten to attach one of the metal panels to the post with extra nails at the bottom, so we got her back in the pen and put in the extra nails.  Later in the evening, Ron and I went out in the hot tub and we heard her snorting along the fence again. At this point, we were all pretty tired, so we filled her trashcan with hay and put it by the fence so she could at least stay dry over night. We knew that she was not going to stay in the new pen until we figured out what to do, but we were confident that she wasn't going to try and leave the property as we tried to come up with a plan.

The next day, the kids went out to feed her and found her in the trashcan nice and cozy and dry. They took the trashcan to the new pen thinking that maybe that would make her feel more at home there.  We decided to put some wood strips over the wire panel after we nailed in back with the staple nails. As long as the wood strip did not break, it would stop the nails from popping off when she pushed on the panel. Ron and I went out in the rain with Maya to make this fix. We found Carnitas laying by the chicken coop getting drenched in that rain. When she saw us, she followed us happily to the new pen. We made the fix, and got the pig to follow Maya in the pen easily this time. We closed up the pen and reattached the wire to keep it closed and crossed our fingers that she would not be strong enough to break the wood strips we had used.

As we left, we could hear her screaming all the way across the property. I was hoping that the neighbors weren't going to get mad at all the racket. Before we made it all the way to the house, I turned and saw her running towards us. I should point out that it was raining fairly hard and was getting pretty windy at this point. I had to go back in the house to take care of the cheesecake I was making, and Ron went out to see how she had managed to get out this time. As I got in the house, I saw that the neighbor had sent a text letting us know that she had escaped but was OK. It was nice to know that the neighbors were helping us keep an eye on her.

After I took care of the cheesecake, I got a better, warmer jacket and I went to help Ron figure out what had happened this time and come up with a new plan. I found Carnitas next to the chicken coop again, getting soaked in the rain. It turns out that our fix with the wood strips had worked, but that we did not put the metal wire low enough on the panel. She pushed her way out at the bottom of the metal panel junction. Since when I headed out, we did not know what had happened and how long it would take to fix it, we had not brought Maya with us this time. She was warm and cozy in the house with the kids. Since all we had to do was reattach the wire, just using better placement, I turned to go back to the house and get Maya, so we could get Carnitas to follow her into the pen again. As I turned, I saw Carnitas walking to us. Apparently, part of her realized that shelter was better than sitting in the cold rain. We stood by the pen with the panels open for her to get in. She walked around the pen, but did not go inside. We thought that perhaps we were too close to the pen and making her nervous, so we stepped away to give her space. Turns out that she really wanted to be near us because she followed us away from the pen. So, I walked into the pen and she followed me in. Even after the stress of chasing her around the day before, her instincts to be with other creatures was too strong.

By the time we were done, Ron and I were soaked! I had a big jacket on, so my top half was dry, but my jeans were so wet, I could wring water out of them. My hands were frozen from dealing with the metal (note to self - use gloves next time). But, I was really happy. It was actually a lot of fun for me to be out in the rain fixing a pig pen. I probably wouldn't think it was fun if I had to do it on a regular basis, but for one day, during a rare rain storm in San Diego, it felt more like a fun adventure than hard work.

I am happy to report that she has not escaped again. She seems to like it when we come to visit and bring her food, but she still gets upset when we leave her. It seems that she just wants to be with us. Who knew that pigs were so social.