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June 06 - The Trotters Arrive ! Although it was originally never our intention to keep pigs, it has to be one of the best decisions we've ever made.
Once we had decided to keep a couple of oinkers we quickly got ourselves into action and it has to be said..."Dan was as happy as a pig in shit!"
Dans' parents donated an old child's swing from their garden which made up the frame for the pig bungalow. Dale & Andrew came to the rescue again and donated some corrugated roofing from their barn which was used to clad the framework and very soon everything was in place for "Piggie Hilton" to be assembled.
Dan and his dad made the palace and weatherproofed the roof with an old swimming pool.
Their eating trough was actually an old butler sink from our French neighbour Francoise, and for their rest & relaxation another neighbour gave us on old cast-iron bath.
With birthday money from Traceys' parents Dan couldn't wait to buy his first piglets and the present from his parents was the electric fencing - we were now ready to keep pigs!
How times have changed though - a few years ago would have seen Dan celebrating his birthday with the latest gadgets and lavish celebrations - now he was getting excited about 8 week old piglets!
We cannot begin to describe to you the excitement we felt on the day we went to collect our boys.
However, at the pig farm, with one whiff of the inhabitants and more flies than on a Cambodian's arpit Tracey quickly lost her enthusiasm.
Only Dan was brave enough (or stupid enough) to venture inside to collect our little ones.
It wasn't until this point that we realised that we'd never seen a pig outside here in France. They are all kept inside with no daylight or fresh air (hence the swarm of flies and the stench) and not enough room to swing a cat - let alone a pig!
Dan soon re-appeared with the farmer who was carrying 2 piglets, one under each arm and then literally threw them into the boot of our car.
Now it has to be said that when we purchased our Citroen Picasso it was because we thought it would make a good family car with plenty of room for a dog in the boot - never did we imagine we'd have 2 pigs in it!
We had foolishly thought that a few sheets of newspaper in the boot would suffice but their little snouts just ripped straight through it all.
There can only be one thing worse than a babies dirty nappy and that is pig shit in the boot of your car!!! It stinks!!!
We had no choice but to open the window before we threw up and it was at this precise moment that our "little cherubs" started sneezing - having literally never seen the light of day, they were destined to catch a cold at the first breeze of fresh air!!
We decided to call our new additions Delboy & Rodney (Trotter).
Once home, getting them out of the car and into their enclosure was easier said than done and once installed, they were a little shell shocked to say the least.
Having never experienced anything other than their mother & siblings in an area smaller than your downstairs cloakroom, they had then been man handled into the back of our car, read the "Mail on Sunday", been on a car journey, man handled again and then put in this huge area of greenery!
On day 2, we nearly had a crispy back rasher before it's time!
Delboy & Rodney slept under the shade of a tree in the midday sun. What they didn't realise though was that the sun would move round and they didn't stay in the shade for long. Consequently, Delboy had a sunburnt ear - as they say, only mad dogs, Englishmen and sunburnt pigs stay out in the midday sun!
It took 3 or 4 days before they felt at home and by this time Dan had Delboy & Rodney eating out of his hand - literally!
Despite the 5-star rating of Piggy Hilton (it does have a sunken bath as well as a seperate dining area!), Delboy & Rodney were eating alfresco and sleeping under the stars.
As new piggy parents we were quite worried about this at first. In fact Dan even climbed into the shelter in a bid to show them where to go (wish we had a photo of that!) - but like all kids, they figured it out for themselves eventually.
Watching pigs play is on a par with watching a new litter of kittens or puppies play - it's both entertaining and theraputic to watch.
We love to watch them scratch their backs on the corrugated iron, play 'tag' with each other and then curl up like "spoons" when they've worn themselves out.
Whenever we want "time out" from what we are doing, we often take a walk round the garden and watch the pigs. It's funny how something so dirty & smelly can give you a real feel-good factor.
Whilst we had named Delboy & Rodney we were under no illusions - they were not pets, they were livestock and whilst we loved feeding them, watering them, watching them, sstroking them and talking about them (we can be quite anal on the subject!!), we were especially looking forward to eating them!!! :-)
As with all new, proud, parents when you have "offspring" to show off you suddenly get a lot more visitors.
The world and his wife were turning up to see our new pigs, ask questions and share stories.
And, as with all visitors, they brought a present - not for us, but for Delboy & Rodney - a bag of scraps, leftovers and vegetable peelings.
In fact, nearby neighbours have even brought trailers full of peaches, apples, pears and quinces!
After watching the boys devour these vast quantities of food, we now know exactly where the phrase "eat like a pig" comes from!
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