I would certainly be willing to make a donation towards moving the horses. Can you let us know if this is a viaable option.

Count me in on the donation as well.

I will contact a couple of horse rescues around here and see if they have any thoughts.

--Kel

Have not contacted anyone in Ut- while it's a much shorter haul (we're in NW Washington) it's still a long ways. On the cheap side, shippers will charge $.50/mile and $400 for the 2d horse. AND, that is only if they are already making a trip that will take them close to your start and end destinations.

Yes, I've contacted several shippers that may be taking trips out that direction to get specific quotes. (Our boys are not small. Rick is 15.3, 1200 lbs, Roscoe is a mere 15.2 hh, but likely 1500-1600 lbs!)$1200 is the low, and so far $1750 is the high. The trouble is that in many cases, you get what you pay for! The cheaper guys will drive straight through- not taking breaks to let the horses rest. (They can't really rest in a trailer flying down the interstate at 70 mph!) The higher prices get you stops every 4-6 hours, offer water, constant hay source, and overnight stops with box stalls for the horses. Seeing as we are wanting to ship 2 25 yr old horses (ok, one is a draft mule. ) the stops would be REALLY nice for these boys to have. Old grumpy knees and stifles will only get worse over 1700 miles on the road.

http://www.furrytalefarm.org has a donation spot on the 'how to help' tab.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!

We were on the local news station last night.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/104463059.html

Also on another tonight, but it's not on the web site yet. I'll update when it's on! The owner was interviewed on the radio today as well. We're trying our hardest.

http://www.kirotv.com/video/25330158/index.html

Here is the latest news story.

Wow Kelly… how tough is that. I sure feel for you guys. And geez, I’ve always wanted a pot belly pig too, but I just don’t think we’re ready for one yet. I wouldn’t even entertain the idea if it weren’t for your heartbreaking situation.

In BC, just above you guys so there would be border stuff too and entertaining the idea with hubby. He’s pretty easy though.

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

Unless you can buy us a property to relocate to.... well, that'd be ideal.

You know, what we do have is a piece of property. No, you can’t have it, but…. it is 70 acres and it’s all fenced. The farmer next door opens the gate in the fall and we let his cows run on it. It just keeps the grass to a manageable level and helps us with the taxes. Other than that, we’re not really using it for anything right now.

I don’t know how portable you guys are or what the legalities may be but if it’s at all feasible, you’d be more than welcome to it, until you found a new home of course. We do plan on moving up there one day. The lawn ornaments could probably stay if anything worked out and they happened to be around when that time came.

It is vacant though, and I mean vacant. No power, no water, no shelter (other than a camper and an outhouse) - just 70 fenced acres. It is beautiful though, forested with paths and a chunk of about 15 cleared flat acres in one spot and other little acreages all over it. We just don’t have the time and money to develop it right now, but it’s paid for and I figured it was better than an RRSP. So, it’s here if you can use it.

Wow, CJ... what an offer... I'm cutting and pasting this STRAIGHT to the owner of the farm. THANK YOU. I'm not sure if it's truly feasible or not, with no water (horses drink lots)

THANK YOU. You are a wonderful person, with a great heart. Even if your offer is of no use at all, the thought means to world to me.

Well for what it's worth, you're quite welcome.

There is a very large river, not 1/4 of a mile from the front entrance and we actually have a couple of old bath tubs that were used by the previous owner, who did have horses on it at one time. But I'm sure it involved a daily hauling of water.

The property has since been subdivided (from an original 160 acres or something) which I believe he lived on as well.

The farmer next door keeps the gate open so when his cows get thirsty, they just go home

In any case, it is what it is and open for your consideration.

 Quote: CJ Barrett

Wow Kelly… how tough is that. I sure feel for you guys. And geez, I’ve always wanted a pot belly pig too, but I just don’t think we’re ready for one yet. I wouldn’t even entertain the idea if it weren’t for your heartbreaking situation.

In BC, just above you guys so there would be border stuff too and entertaining the idea with hubby. He’s pretty easy though.

Ok, so now that I'm over the initial shock (and awe) of your post....

If you are really considering a piggy, let us know. We can try to figure something out- meeting at the border?
The pigs are very low maintenance. They need a good fence, preferably buried a foot. (ours is not, but we walk the fence daily to make sure no one is trying to dig out!) They are very social animals, and would like to go in pairs. Our pigs eat a mix of Mazuri exotic pig food, and dry COB, mixed with water. (Pigs are notorious for not drinking enough and getting dehydrated) Lunch consists of whatever donated veggies we can get, excluding tomatoes, avocados, and a few other 'no-no' veggies. They LOVE grapes! As most animal people know, they are very clean animals. All 13 of the farms pigs have agreed on one place to go potty, and stick to it! (we do muck daily, to ensure they only go in the one corner. Too bad the picked a spot by the gate!) The have a large shed/giant dog house, that they all snuggle in at night, when it's raining, or when nothing exciting is happening. It's floored with rubber stall mats (like what leerburg sells), wood shavings in the summer, and straw in the winter. They can quickly turn a grassy lot into dirt, but so long as you're not concerned about your lawn, let em' go at it! It may not be such a problem with just a couple pigs as we've had with the bakers dozen. Mud is not as bad as you'd think in NW Wa, but for anyone considering potbellys, I'd recommend pouring a concrete pad where you're going to feed. It will cut down on mud, as they like to root for spilled crumbs, it will cut down on the need for 2x yearly hoof trimming, AND it will cut down on the ingestion of pea gravel! (One of our pigs is having surgery tomorrow to remove gravel that is impacting in her bowels. We are very thankful another rescue took her in.)

Thats all I can think of on pot-belly care. They are fun, silly creatures! Super smart, and most of our pigs are pretty tame. (the shy guys would only take some time, we don't have many spare moments at the farm to spend pig-taming, poop scooping comes first!)

Kelly
Check out the farms facebook page for pics of our pigs.

You know, I totally fell in love with little Grape Eater's picture. Kind of reminds me of a Sharpei face, with a much bigger nose of course.

But with the reality of our situation being that we both work full time and currently have 3 high maintenance pups under our wings, we're just not in the best position to add another member to our pack right now.

If one of us were able to quit work and we were living on the acreage, in a heartbeat. But we only have one acre here that's taken up with sheds and toys and a house. I just can't see it working right now.

I will definately spread the word though and see if anyone is in a position to take on one of these guys. And thanks for the run down on the care, rescuing one of these is definately in our future (somewhat distant unfortunately) and that's great information.

Nothing lost, Grape Eater was the first of our piggys to find a home. He's also the LARGEST! Cracks me up you called him little. He's also a bit overweight (even for a pig) which just adds to the smushy faced look.

Thank you for even considering a rescue pig! People like you are few and far between. We got these pigs because of a farm that didn't spay and neuter. They were breeding potbelly for the current fad. When the fad faded, that place had over 400 pigs on a couple acres, to my knowledge. Rescues stepped up from all over Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho. We took 12, because the 4 or 5 pigs we'd had in the past were easily placed in a quality forever homes. These guys- not so much. We've had them for about 4 years now (they are 5ish years old) and not placed a single pig! There went our 90% placement rate. lol. 8 of the pigs have homes. 2 went to a local gal who rescues pigs in her spare time, 6 went to another rescue, We're down to 5 still looking. Better then I thought initially.