ABSTRACT
Pigs, contrary to common belief, are clean, active and intelligent animals. In my view, there are no other farm animals which so visibly enjoy themselves. Piglets do not skip and gambol with that charm which has so endeared Easter lambs to poet and painter alike, but they do have charm and are more purposeful than lambs, especially where food is concerned. Pigs positively enjoy digging up pasture and woodland with their strong hoe-shaped snouts and if they are on good grass it will satisfy a fair amount of their need for bulk food. Indeed, they can enjoy fresh grass clippings if fed direct from the mower, but they are not ruminants. Like us, they possess only a single stomach and cannot live on grass. What they seek with such vigour when they run loose on a pasture are succulent morsels, the minerals they need in their diet. Their active snouts and sharp hooves will soon destroy the pasture and, unless it is free draining land, turn it into mud, although this can be avoided by putting copper rings through their noses so that they cannot be used for digging.
