Thursday, May 10, 2007

New Pigs!

We filled one barn with new feeder pigs last night. Each barn is 200 ft. x 50 ft. and holds 1100 pigs (we have 3 barns). The pigs we get in are about 10 weeks old and weigh about 50lbs. Our job is to finish them out to market weight, usually around 240-250 lbs.
Here is Courtney with one pen of pigs (each barn has 40 pens). She doesn't always smile this big when working there!

Here is one pen of pigs eating out of their new feeder. Each barn has 20 feeders. We have 20 in place and 40 more to put together and in place at the site.



An inside view of the barn.




An outside view of the north barn.



Jeremy pressure washing the north barn (he won't get many dates looking like this but he is a really hard worker). It looks blurry but is actually the steam in the barn from washing. Each barn has to be squeegeed, pressure washed, disinfected and inspected before new pigs arrive.

Just another look into my glamorous life. As you can tell it is a family affair but we actually have a lot of fun and good laughs and "talk time" while getting the work done. My kids are very hard workers and very responsible. That has been one of our goals as parents and so we are very proud of them. I will not be afraid to send them out into the world when the time comes!




14 comments:

Teresa said...

Three cheers for you and Chad for making the farm a family affair! Kids just don't have "chores" or responsibilities anymore. Good for you for developing work ethic in Jeremy and Courtney. It will definitely help them in the "real world"!

Dawn said...

How often do you get new pigs? And does your family take care of all those pigs yourself or do you hire some help? It is nice that the kids work too, and you can have some fun and quality time while doing the work.

Frazzled Farm Wife said...

Dawn- We get new pigs every 4 months or so. We do not hire help, it is just the 4 of us although we do hire a few kids to help with the pressure washing.

Unknown said...

Love the piggies but lOVE even more that you have trained you children to be hard workers! What a blessing to hear this! What a different life we lead, but yet have th esame goals! Making sure our kids ar eready for the big world!

Amber said...

Ah...pressure washing the hog barns. That was my husbands FAVORITE job growing up. Or maybe I should say his LEAST favorite job! HA!

Momma Roar said...

Thanks for sharing the pictures! It is great that you have instilled that strong work ethic in your children - not many people have that strong desire or willingness to work and get a job done; and get it done well! I applaud you!

~ Amy ~ said...

I can only imagine the number of water fights that have broke out in those barns while cleaning them. FUN!! (the water fights, not the cleaning part). He might not be dressed for a date, but the girls will appreciate that he knows how to work hard for a living.

Lori said...

Thanks for sharing photos with us of your farm life.
It was fun to see them.
I'm glad you all enjoy what you do.

Susan said...

ou guys sure do work hard. It's such a treat, and a rarity these days, to see a family all work together toward one goal like you do.

Just Mom said...

I'm tired just reading about all the work you farm families do. I am most impressed by the fact that you don't hire help. Wow. You're teaching your kids well.

Christie Belle said...

Oh, what a job! I commend you and your family, all of y'all look like really hard workers, it's great that your kids help out, too.

Tina said...

I just found your blog. I agree that it is wonderful that your children have a strong work ethic.
I think it would be so neat to havea a farm that we ran as a family. We just watched Charlotte's Web the other night too. :)

Anonymous said...

I love seeing these pictures!! The baby pigs were always my favorite animals to see when I went to the fair, but I have never actually been on a real farm in my life!! I am so impressed that your kids are such hard workers. Working together like that must really build up a strong family!!

Jamie said...

I love how your whole family is involved with the farm!

Thanks for sharing the pictures! Being a city girl, I love farm life stories and pics. ;)