These Girls Make Me Smile!

Say hello to Diana, Jelly, and Blondie.  Diana and Blondie are Berkshire pigs, while Jelly is a Duroc.  These ladies are fairly large - probably between 450 to 500 pounds.  That's a lot of pig.

Berks came from England, where they were said to be discovered by an army during the English Civil War.  The Army then spread the word of these beautiful pigs.  They came to the U.S in 1823.  

The Duroc has a little confusing history and no one really knows how these piggies were bred to become the pig today, but they originated in the U.S.  

Both of these breeds are heritage.  You probably have heard that word thrown around but not really understood what it meant.  Heritage breeds are the more traditional breeds that farmers had way before animals became machines.  They are hardy, able to handle the environment, and just be their natural, animal selves.  Because a lot of "commercial breeds" (and I'll say it, the Holstein cow for example) are bred to produce tons of milk or meat or eggs, their bodies have a difficult time keeping up with itself.  Don't get me wrong, I have worked with and loved some of those "commercial breed" animals.  But there's a beauty in seeing an animal out on grass and not stressed.  Seeing these three girls every morning when do the rounds, getting up to see me when I walk by, makes me remember that I have a pretty cool job.