Pigs

Fred

Fred is our largest pig at Blackbird Ranch weighing in at over 600 lbs. He is a Berkshire farm pig that we rescued in December of 2017 from the Boise Humane Society. Despite Fred’s large size, he is such a gentle, friendly pig. His best friend is Stanley, a little pot-belly pig, that he grew up with. Fred’s idea of a good time is flopping over for belly rubs or a good raking and he absolutely loves watermelon. Fred is very talkative and always has a lot of pig things to chat about.

Mile (pronounced Mee-Lay)

Mile is our sweet little girl from Puerto Rico! In late 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and Mile found herself in need of a new home. Her wonderful human guardian was able to get her on a plane and she made her way over to us in Eastern Washington. Mile fit right in with our piggy family and now spends her days relaxing by the mud wallow, working on her beauty sleep and enjoying watermelon in this hot weather. All the piggies have very unique voices and vocalizations, but Mile’s is one of the most recognizable. She has a very high pitched, adorable, squeak when she is excited. Her cute little tail is almost always wagging, as she struts her stuff around the pig yard.

Stanley

Stanley arrived at Blackbird Ranch in November 2017. He was our very first pig resident! Stanley is a pot belly pig and needed to be rehomed because his previous person fell ill and was no longer able to care for him. Stan is an absolute delight to be around, his gentle personality just makes you fall in love instantly. Stanley loves to play in his swimming pool and he’s a big fan of belly rubs. His favorite treats are blueberries and bananas, which he takes from your hand so gingerly, it’s adorable.

Hank

Hank is a pot belly pig who came to live at Blackbird Ranch in March of 2020. Hank suffers from a condition called “fat-blind” where in obese pigs, their forehead fat roll falls over their eyes, rendering them essentially blind. In some cases, once they lose weight, their condition can be corrected, but not always. We have Hank on a restricted diet in attempt to get him more comfortable. Since March, Hank as lost a considerable amount of weight and is now much more active than he was when he first arrived. Hank absolutely adores belly rubs and will often fall asleep while getting a belly rub. He snores really loud too… Hank is such a loveable little fellow, but he is definitely the introvert of the sonder.

Izzy

Izzy is a kune kune pig, who came to live at Blackbird Ranch with his brother, Oggy, January of 2020. The brothers were “research pigs” at a University and would have been euthanized after the project was over. We couldn’t say no to these little cuties and they have become such big personalities at the ranch. As babies they really took to our large farm pig, Meadow, and she instantly became a surrogate mother to the boys. Izzy and Oggy look similar but Izzy has larger, floppier ears and white spots on his back. Izzy loves being brushed and will flop over easily for a good belly rub. His favorite treat is pumpkin and watermelon.

Oggy

Oggy is a kune kune pig, who came to live at Blackbird Ranch with his brother, Izzy, January of 2020. The brothers were “research pigs” at a University and would have been euthanized after the project was over. We couldn’t say no to these little cuties and they have become such big personalities on the ranch. As babies, they really took to our large farm pig, Meadow, and she instantly became a surrogate mother to the boys. Izzy and Oggy look similar but Oggy has smaller ears and more orange on his face. Oggy is super inquisitive and loves being “helpful” with the farm chores. His favorite snack is apples and bananas.

Mama Pig

Mama Pig was rescued from a terrible neglect situation, where she was severely malnourished and living in a small, dark horse trailer. She had been impregnated by a wild boar and was VERY pregnant upon rescue. In addition to being pregnant, she had a basketball-sized hernia in her abdomen that needed immediate attention as well. Shortly after she arrived at the veterinary hospital, she was taken in for an emergency cesarean, but unfortunately all but 2 babies were already deceased. The two boys who survived were extremely underweight and malnourished as well. One of those babies passed away a few days later, leaving her with only one surviving baby, Simon, who lives at Blackbird with his mother. Simon received an emergency blood transfusion, and made a fast turn around. The doctors wanted Mama Pig to have a few days of recovery before taking her back into surgery to address the hernia. She is a strong pig, and handled both surgeries very well, despite being so malnourished and underweight herself. She quickly recovered and was back with baby Simon soon after. Mama Pig is a wonderful mother to Simon. She was gentle and concerned about him as a little baby. She would sing to him when he nursed, for comfort. It is so very special that she gets to continue living her life, with her son at her side. It’s very uncommon in animal agriculture to keep babies with their mothers. Mama Pig still mothers Simon and isn’t afraid to scold him if he gets too rowdy. Mama Pig loves to nap in front of her fan and watermelon is definitely her favorite snack!

Simon

Simon is the son of Mama Pig. He was delivered via emergency cesarean, and was only 1 of 2 who were alive when they were delivered. The other piglets, sadly, were stillborn. His one brother who survived the delivery passed away a few days later. Both he and Simon were underweight, and severely anemic when they were born. This doesn’t come as a surprise knowing his mother was severely neglected and malnourished in the home she came from. Simon received an emergency blood transfusion to save his life, due to his anemia. His blood donor was none other than our very own pig, Fred! Fred saved Simon’s life! Simon made an amazing turn around after the transfusion and just kept getting stronger and stronger after that. Simon looks a bit different from our other pigs: he is half wild boar. He has the thick curly hair, long legs, and long snout of a wild boar. The farm that his mother lived on was not secure, and a wild boar got thru and impregnated her. Simon is our youngest and most energetic pig. He loves his belly rubs, and mud wallows. He will spend all day in his mud wallow sometimes. Even though Simon is now bigger than his mother, she is not afraid to put him in his place, when needed.