James
aka "The Stud Muffin"
I have a quick update on that adorable spotted shoat I wrote about back in December. You may recall, when I first discovered that new pigs/hogs had moved into Teddy-the-Farmer’s field, I did a deep dive, so to speak, into the proper names of pigs and hogs according to weight.
That’s when I learned that piglets become shoats when they are weaned. Inasmuch as I wasn’t sure about the milk status of the new, cute little spotted pig, I temporarily named it ‘Weaner.”
Well, that was back at the end of December. Some of you may recall that we soon began experiencing extremely cold temperatures and a boatload of snow. So much, in fact, that I’ve rarely seen the pigs and hogs since then.
And so it was early last week, when we were still enjoying the pre-spring heat wave, that I noticed our spotted little porker for the first time in weeks. And oh, my goodness - how he’s grown!
I will get better photos of him soon; ones that will give context to just how much he’s matured. Although I have to say: he’s still a little boy. You can just tell by the way he scampers about the field, kicking up his heels. He’s hilarious.
And yes, I did get a chance to have a chat with Teddy-the-Farmer, so I know the little guy, formerly known as Weaner, is a male. He’s also not related to any of the other spotted, red, or black more mature hogs he lives with, even though he sure looks like he could be their love child. I also got his back story – which makes me love him even more.
It turns out that Teddy-the-Farmer has a friend who lives in Philadelphia. (I’m sure he has many friends in Philadelphia, actually.) This particular friend, though, called Teddy-the-Farmer up one day and said he needed to talk. He wondered if Teddy-the-Farmer still worked the land up in Bucks County, raising sheep and pigs along with his vegetables.
He went on to explain that he’d been given a piglet (as payment for a debt?) and he’d grown quite fond of him. He’d taken him into his home and, very quickly, grown quite fond of his porcine buddy, whom he’d named – you guessed it - James.
Indeed, James slept in his owner’s bed and lived in his home as if he were a two-legged member of the family. They went everywhere together and were quite close. But even though he was still a little guy, James was growing quickly and the friend had a feeling he’d soon outgrow his Center City digs. He wanted to know if Teddy-the-Farmer could give James a better life.
Teddy-the-Farmer agreed that he definitely could give James a more ‘organic’ hog experience, but demurred on the option to have him sleeping in his or his kids’ beds. (I’m sure Teddy-the-Farmer’s wife was glad to hear that option was off the table too.)
When I sort of involuntarily recoiled at the thought of people eventually eating James, I asked Teddy-the-Farmer what the future looks like for James. That’s when I learned he believes James will eventually top out at about 600 lbs. He’s hoping to breed James, which of course earned him the nickname, Stud Muffin. (It also proves how much his owner loved him. How many little pigs are lucky enough to be sent ‘to a farm upstate’ where they not only aren’t referring to a place where he’ll be euthanized (or plumped up to be eaten), but they’re actually going to keep him around to just happily, regularly contribute his best efforts to perpetuating the porcine gene pool.
Rough life there, James.
One thing I’ve noticed: now that I’m address him as James, I definitely get a sense that he knows I’m speaking to him. He remembers his name. He identifies as James.
So cute! 🐽
Love those piggy’s !