Wednesday, October 19, 2022

A Bit About Us

This location of this B.C Sanctuary was purchased in 2009 at a cost of $526,000 for just under three acres. Land is so expensive in Western Canada it would cost almost double to buy this now I started in a rental and worked a deal with the owner . This is where I found my First pig Willy as a stray in 1993 and started bringing more pigs home in the year 2000 . In the move after the owner/partner wanted out and after being flooded i found this acreage on higher ground. $20,000 was spent on perimeter fencing here , housing and paddocks . Three days after arriving the pump on the well went which was $3000.00 and don’t get me started on the trucks transmission , then motor then a total used truck replacement it all adds up . None of this was done by donation and I am still paying down the mortgage at what I can afford on disability now. The pigs live in separate housing spread out over 20 paddocks. Most of you know I started this 21 years ago in Maple Ridge and many of the pigs came in as adults , of various sizes and ages. It could be dangerous to house them all together due to age and needs of these individuals . The paddocks are huge and housing is determined by breed and sizes of the bonded families here. The paddocks take up approx 1/3 of the acreage leaving a very large pasture and forested , wild grass and bushy areas for pigs to graze , explore and stretch their legs if they choose too. All the pigs get out of there paddocks for enrichment and stimulation just not all at the same time . Many of the pigs are seniors and no match for the young big strong farm pigs they challenge for hierarchy here. It seems all that are small are mighty and feisty such are the pot bellied pigs. They start the fights with the bigger ones as size doesn’t seem to matter to these guys . However a fight with a big pig could cause serious injuries to these little pigs. When meals are being fed the pigs are returned to their own paddocks so they are able to eat without worry or stress from the others . I wanted to share that with you as from time to time you will see pictures of pigs behind gates but they all get to be out and about and I keep a calendar so no one gets cheated of that . This may also help you understand why we manage the Sanctuary and its residents the way we do as we are not on 50 plus acres here and the reason why ;o))