Week 4 Update

Seth Low, David Low, Jonathan Croft, and I visited Gerard today and there is a lot to report.

First of all, Gerard is getting bigger. His official estimated weight is 70 pounds; this number was arrived at by nationally-respected pig-weight-visual-estimator Seth Low. David Low fed Gerard a bunch of bread and cookies left over from the holidays. Last time we did this, he was a little hesitant but this time he dove right in.

Gerard's neighbors are also worth mentioning. On one side are 10-12 chickens, we're guessing that they're eatin' chickens, not egg-laying chickens. On the other side are Gerard's adoptive parents, Rusty, a 600-pound sire, and Pongo, a 250-pound matriarch. They are in the pen together because she is in heat and the pig-farmers want them to make piglets. As far as we can tell, Pongo is an extremely unwilling participant in the breeding process and Rusty isn't hearing it. We witnessed an attempted mounting that ending with Pongo skittering away suffering from a bloody ear due to a bite from Rusty's. She has marks from many such battles with open wounds and blood on her shoulder, ear, forehead, and elsewhere. She is supposed to move in with Gerard once she is preggers and I'm guessing that she's looking forward to it; it can't hurt that Gerard is much smaller and has been "fixed." The picture to the left shows Pongo's damaged ear.

We'll have more updates next time.

The Great Near Escape

On Christmas Day, only hours after arriving in Ellington, Gerard the Pig made a break for it. These videos show the hunt and eventual catch of Gerard. If you look closely, you can see George Croft make a valiant dive for the elusive porker, landing hard on the frozen tundra. Ultimately, the hero was Tom Gilmore, my brother-in-law, who grabbed the cornered beast by the hind legs. I should also mention that the catch was made possible by the dog fence constructed by my very handy father; it is likely that he never imagined that it would become a pig fence.

Gerard Arrives!

As many of our readers know, Gerard the Pig arrived as a generous Christmas gift from my brother, Matt. This blog with be your home for all your Gerard news and information. We will be tracking his development from the 40 lb 8-week old he is today to the 250 lb butcher-ready big boy he is expected to be by the summer.

He showed up with much fanfare, considerable odor, and many questions about his future. The fanfare and odor remain but the questions have largely been answered. Gerard is staying in the pen of one of my students. Has has an adoptive father (600 lb!) and mother (250 lb) in the pen next door. Jonathan and I plan to visit him weekly to say hello, track his progress, and drop off some food scraps.

Check in next week to see video of the family's effort to catch Gerard after he escaped in the backyard on Christmas Day!