Clever Things, Pigs

Buck, the Villain

Buck is very clever and very wicked. I went out to feed Buck and Oscar this morning. They live in the woods, so it's usually a pleasant way to begin the day. However, this morning, I met Buck trotting down the trail to meet me! He had slipped under the wire without a sound. The wire has a pretty stiff charge on it, and the pigs emit a peculiar squeal of displeasure when they touch it. Buck had slipped the wire between pulses and was outracing his companion Oscar to the morning's feed. I calmly did the sensible thing (a rare occurrence my wife & children would say; I often do the sensible thing, but I don't usually do it calmly!). I stepped to the charger (calling Buck and holding the bucket up high to be sure he saw it), turned it off, lifted the wire so Buck could go under, and watched Oscar quickly step over the wire around the corner of the fence! Had they planned that?? What to do? 

Oscar, His Accomplice

Oscar took off through the woods, while Buck buried his head in the feed bowl. I took off through the woods hoping to turn Oscar back. He was happy to turn in any direction other than the one I wanted. At some point he realized, though I am not sure how, that his buddy was eating up their morning's feed. He turned, trotted back to the wire, stopped, waited for me to lift it, smiled (I think), and stepped back in. I went back to the house for another cup of coffee and thought about how much I enjoy growing salad.