You have an excellent idea. I've raised a lot of pigs. Pigs get large - very large. I would not, personally, consider raising a pig that I intended to keep for the long term, especially a potbellied. Believe me, a 400 (or much more) pound pig eats a lot, the vet bills could be astronomical as they age and they need care and attention at least twice a day, every day. Plus they tell me the potbellied is not a good meat animal. That said, the idea is wonderful. You got good advice about fencing if you can sort out a solution that'll work for you. Pigs are a blast to raise. Get yourself two feeder pigs, raise them together and have them slaughtered when they hit about 225 to 250. Unless you have a large family, I'd suggest finding someone to buy the extra pig and maybe pay the feed bills for both in return for your work raising them. Myself, I like at least a 10'x20' area for the pigs with 1/2 that in shade. Remember to give them water at ALL times and a place to wallow in the heat - pigs don't sweat and so must be kept cool. You'll be surprised at how clean and smart pigs are. And tasty, too. If you do it, have fun and feel free to email me for help - we really enjoyed our pigs and we're always happy to help other pig farmers get started.

I haven't noticed an increase in flies, but now that the nights get cooler, there are a lot more "water bugs", which still look like huge cockroaches to me. ICK. I'll trade any of you 10 flies for one of those bugs! Fly papers still make my skin crawl. When I was growing up, I had an Aunt who swore by them. She wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, trust me. Kept all the teaspoons in a milk glass flower pot in the middle of the massive kitchen table (it was bigger than a king size bed!). Hanging right above that pot of teaspoons, suspended from the big old kitchen light, was the fly paper. I can still remember sitting there during one Sunday dinner watching the stuck flies buzz and wondering what would happen if one fell in the mashed potatoes. I must have been about 10, and it was the last time I ever ate dinner there. Maryanne

LOL Kendra.....with a name like that I wondered if you were pulling my chains. But, I trusted you and looked it up. I wish! I think I am out of its territory and although it sure looked a lot like the picture I got such a brief sighting, it was certainly not careful enough to substantiate a bird who is not typically found this far north. Another reason I felt like such a ding-bat is my husband has built at least ten duck nest boxes for a friend...... and what on earth did I even think nested in those? I just know they were searching for a cavity because we keep our scraggly cavity laden trees for the cavity dwelling birds since we have enough acreage we also have room for the 'pretty' ones.

LOL electric blankets, huh? heck, i don't even have that luxury! it gets plenty cold here, we've had nights down in the single digits but during the winter, i build shelters inside the barn out of straw bales for them. they lay in a 4-pig pile so they stay plenty warm. :) mm, i actually started giving them warm prune juice (yuck!) during the winter months just to make sure they didn't get constipated. they LOVE it. i figured if they loved prune juice, they'd probably love other flavors so i alternate. it's funny to watch them, they slurp it up until every drop is gone. i know they are getting enough liquid that way even though they also have water that is heated. on sunny days, even in the coldest temps, they will lay in a pile in the sun just inside the barn entrance.