Flat Aggie visits a Hog Ranch

Flat Aggie got the chance to visit a small hog operation in Rio Linda, CA:

Dear friends,
Hello from Rio Linda!  I am less than 10 miles from our school yet it is very different here.  I miss you all but I am having so much fun learning about agriculture!  Today I got to visit a small hog operation.  I learned that pigs weigh less than 120 pounds and hogs weigh more than that. 

When I got to the small ranch I was greeted by 4 very curious pigs.  They were friendly but I think they wanted to have me for a snack!  Luckily, that didn't happen! 

 I watched them run around a pasture and thought it looked like fun so I hoped on the back of one of the pigs and ...

 They didn't move at all!  What was going on?  They must be distracted!  They had their noses in the ground ...

 I had no idea what they were doing so I went in for a closer look ...

 Yes, their noses were in the ground and they were moving the soil around.  It was like they were looking for something.

Michael told me that pigs like to use their snouts to root around.  They eat what they find while rooting.  I tried to root around like the pigs but my nose got really dirty and I didn't move any soil.  Pigs must have really strong snouts!

We added some more straw to their bed to make sure they have a clean dry place to sleep in case it rains. 

The pigs were very curious!  I don't think they have ever seen a flat person - I was just as curious since I have never seen a pig before!  They started rooting in the straw as soon a we spread it out - they sure do like to root!

It was time to say goodbye to the pigs and move on to my next ag adventure!  I sure hope you are learning as much about agriculture as I am!

Love,
Flat Aggie