Booger Adopts a Baby

Princess Booger was born on our farm last fall as a premature baby. The veterinarian did not give her much chance of survival but Dotty, the farm owner, wanted to give her every chance for survival. Every few hours Dotty would feed her with a dropper.

After a few days she moved up to a small kitten bottle. Withing a few weeks Booger was getting stronger and stronger. Her eyesight never developed due to her being premature, but she has adapted well as most animals do. She is especially sensitive to the voice of her surrogate mom, Dotty. She gets excited each and every time she hears her.

The long sleepless nights and heartfelt care that Dotty gave to her little pig is rewarded everyday with love and loyalty.

This summer Booger accidentally got pregnant when one of our male pigs escaped his enclosure. Unfortunately, Booger needed a c-section delivery and although it saved her life, all of her babies were lost. Boogers mother had just given birth again and there was a little runt in the litter that the mother rejected. Once again Dotty stepped in to give the little piglet every chance of survival, but this time her older sister Booger, sad from the loss of her own litter, took in the little runt and cared for her as if she were her own.

The little piglet is now 13 weeks old and doing well. Dotty has decided to keep the little pig and call her Pixel. For Booger, being totally blind, having a friend always close by helps her to navigate everyday life. Pixel and Booger will now live together and have each other to share their life.

Pixel is still in our pig cuddling program as it helps the piglets to become more accustomed to human interaction. You can visit Pixel and cuddle her at the farm Wednesday through Sunday from 10-3.

We have been asked many times why we do pig cuddling with our baby piglets. Piglets are born knowing they are a prey animal. It is their natural reaction to scream when picked up and to not like to be held by humans.

Our pigs are Juliana pigs and our only bred as house pets. Getting them accustomed to human interaction is essential to their future as loving house pets. These piglets need hours of handling every day in order to make them used to humans. Having our patrons come in and cuddle and hold our baby pigs helps us out because we cannot hold every pig for hours at a time and complete all of our daily tasks and responsibilities of running the farm.

We charge $40 for 30 minutes of pig cuddle time. The money helps us to keep the farm running throughout the wintertime when business is very slow, and the patrons holding and loving on the piglets helps set them up for a comfortable life with their new owner as a house pet. Pig cuddling is by walk in appointment only and is available anytime we are open. Our wait time usually does not exceed 30 minutes and patrons can enjoy our petting zoo and free coffee and hot chocolate while they wait. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to experience the joy of piglets and meet our very own Pixel in person. Also available for pig cuddling is Pixel's sister Willa. Stay tuned for nex weeks blog to hear Willa's special story.