So, I recently closed on a piece of land, thinking it would be perfect for someone’s dream cabin. Everything seemed fine through closing, but fast forward to my first visit, and what do I find? An old pig farm. And not just an abandoned one—there are lots of them. At least 20 from what I counted. They enclosed in a huge fenced area that surrounds most of the property.
I know. I should have done this visit before I bought it. BIG lesson learned.
That said, now what do I do?
I don’t know the first thing about farming, let alone pig farming. These guys seem friendly enough, but I have NO IDEA what to do with them. Do I call a farmer? A pig whisperer? An exorcist?
Some quick questions for the experts here:
Is there such a thing as a pig relocation service?
Can I sell them? Or is there some kind of pig black market I need to avoid?
How do I stop them from multiplying before this turns into a pork apocalypse?
Has anyone else discovered random animals on land they bought? If so, what did you do?
Wow, that sounds like quite the predicament. It sounds like a sizeable property. I am surprised you didn’t have someone, anyone go look at this before buying… sounds like a valuable lesson learned here.
Are there other livestock farmers in the area? You could trying contacting those people, or maybe even post an ad on Craigslist to see if there’s any local interest in taking them.
They’re all enclosed inside a big fence that surround most of the property. I’m not sure if that makes it a farm or not, but it looks like whoever put them there did it on purpose. I wonder if someone is still tending to them? Maybe I should put up a trail cam to see what happens over the course of a week.
Whatever is present on the land we purchase is part of the deal. I’m sure you will videotape and document your next steps. This will be interesting. There is a profit here somewhere. Good luck, Sean.
To answer your question, yes, I have bought properties and discovered cows on them. Usually they are lost, and someone is looking for them, and there were just one or two. I asked around and eventually found the owner who was happy to have their cows back. Or they belonged to the farmer previously leasing the land, and I just called him.
But this is a whole bunch of pigs that sound like they were truly abandoned, which I would say is cruel! if the pigs are in good shape, I am sure you could probably sell them. But I’m unclear from your post– are you saying there are roughly 20 abandoned pigs? Do you live close to this property? I hope so. How are these pigs being fed? Are they just foraging for food? Is there a risk that they could freeze to death in the winter? Or be attacked by wild animals? If they are fenced in, I would worry they might starve. I would try to get a handle on their health and how they are surviving, perhaps taking pictures so you can estimate age, size and sex, in order to sell them. I’m assuming these were raised to eventually sell, and that they aren’t just abandoned pets or something. I would try to find a large animal veterinarian who could help you stabilize them and perhaps recommend a shelter or rescue service who could take care them if you aren’t able to sell them. Good luck! Let us know what happens.
@aprokos All good questions. I counted 24 pigs when I was there. It is a big parcel though. It’s possible some where in places I couldn’t see.
I live a couple of hours from the property. Your point about winter coming is a good one. This state doesn’t get terribly cold, but it’s possible it could dip below freezing once or twice per year.
I did find another local pig farmer who expressed interest in them. He said that he would send his own vet out to check on them as long as he can get them for free if everything checks out well.
I hope that neighbor will take them off your hands. I would be thinking along the same lines as @aprokos, with them being attacked by wild animals or freezing to death. I might be concerned about diseases too. I don’t know how long farm animals can live unattended like this, but it sounds like a precarious situation.
There is such a thing as farm animal sanctuaries, where the animals can live a good life for their remaining years. That would be the kindest option and they are worth exploring. If you find that the sanctuaries are filled to capacity–well, at least you tried.