What Pigs Do All Day

If ever I’m in need of solace, I take the path across our bush paddock and visit our pigs. If I’ve overcommitted myself and life has become too complicated. I know that keeping things simple is the key, and there are no better role models than Bella and Rosie, our breeding sows.

When I arrive, they’re usually snoozing away the afternoon. Pigs spoon together in their sleep, and they prefer company over solitude. The week after Pilot our boar arrived, we put him in with Bella so they could get acquainted. There was a bit of argy bargy and chasing each other round the paddock, but a few hours later they were spotted slumbering under the old tin lean-to. Her trotters curled around his rump and his splendid testicles resting softly against her shanks. It was a picture of nuptial harmony.

If it’s mid-afternoon when I visit, they know it’s not feeding time so they take their time in getting up. Bella and Rosie prefer forty winks in the cool, shady comfort of their shed where they huff and puff into the dusty dirt floor. Once they realise there’s an audience outside, they come out to be sociable. Obviously they don’t talk, so they just stare at you for a while and then find something to do.

In the current warm weather, that’s taking a bath.




Bella arranges mud for coolness, comfort and perfect fit.



Bella goes first and arranges the mud for coolness, comfort and the perfect fit. 

Then she heads in for a wallow, to relax and unwind. Bella is a magnificent pig now,

and heavily pregnant. It must feel lovely to lower her immense bulk into the cooling mud.



Then it's in for a wallow, to relax and unwind



Out for a good scratch...



...And a bit of a lie down in the sun

 Then it's Rosie's turn.

But Bella hasn't had enough,and she comes too for a double dip.

Although it looks as if Rosie is turning to Bella in a lovingly affectionate gesture,

she's actually giving Bella a good biffing for invading her personal space.

Pigs get hot in warm weather and wallowing in mud and water comes naturally to them as a means of cooling down. Ours are housed in the bush block too which gives them natural dappled shade, and their huts face away from the prevailing breezes and are cool, shady retreats.


Although I wouldn't go so far as getting into a bath with them, I do love visiting Rosie and Bella. They're so immensely warm and solid, there's a reliability about them. Patting them, stroking and scratching them, rubbing behind their ears and giving them a rub along the belly brings enjoyment to both me and them. They're not like dogs, they don't look at you affectionately as you fondle them; they generally just carry on with whatever they're doing - digging up a tasty root or trying the toe of your wellington boot for flavour. But as you rub their bristly flanks, they occasionally lean into you or flap their ears contentedly. There's solace to be found in simple pleasures, both in giving and receiving them.