“ It ’s so nerveless to empathise the nuances ofpigsand to be able to give them a truly good life base on what I know about them , ” say Claudia Gutierrez , who runs the womanhood and Latina - ownedHigh Desert Hogspastured porkventure in the city of Redmond , Oregon .
Gutierrez say that the initial instinct to start High Desert Hogs came as a response to the commencement of theCOVID-19 pandemic . Having moved from Seattle to Portland in late-2019 , Gutierrez was Book of Job hunting when the pandemic struck . A compounding of businesses shutting down , rent freezes and food insecurity prompted Gutierrez to look for volunteer opportunity on local farms . This eventually inspired her to begin High Desert Hogs in 2021 .
Taking a moment away from hog duties , Gutierrez talk with us about learn to communicate with the creature and the ethical footing of High Desert Hogs . We also mystify the liquid ecstasy on how a pig named Dirty Dan helped Gutierrez fall in love with hogs .
The Roots of High Desert Hogs
A Charles William Post share by High Desert Hogs ( @high_desert_hogs )
“ I found an internship political program call Rogue Farm Corps that works with farm all over Oregon , ” call back Gutierrez , recapitulate her steps to start High Desert Hogs .
“ While participating in this internship , my horde farm acquired a unexampled boar for that season named Dirty Dan , ” she keep . “ At first I was terrify of go near him for feeding and cleaning out his pen . But as the weeks and then months pass by , we get a cracking friendly relationship . ”
“ [ Dirty Dan ] came to recognize the sound of my voice when I anticipate him . And I come to understand his moods and pauperization , ” recalls Gutierrez . “ finally he would come out to recognise me and forthwith roll over for belly rubs . I really fell in love with pig then . ”
Keeping Things Ethical
After becoming stricken with slovenly person , Gutierrez began carry out research into how commercially - raise slob are handle . “ It ’s truly horrible . pig bed are the fifth smartest creature in the world — harmonize to what I ’ve read — and it ’s distressing to read about how badly we human beings treat them .
“ So I decide I wanted to raise slob as ethically as possible so they could have good life and just ‘ one bad moment . ' ”
Learning to Speak Pig
When it amount to pig behavior , Gutierrez enounce the style they convey is fascinating .
“ At first , all of their grunts and boo kind of audio the same . But as you get to know them better you start to differentiate the noises they make , ” explains Gutierrez .
“ When I scratch them on their backrest , they make this gamey squealing dissonance that indicate pleasance or intense expiation , ” she say . “ When the mommas are ready to feed their babies , they make these short low grunting sounds and the piglet know the Milk River barroom is open . When they are thirsty , they basically go like the velociraptor in Jurassic Park . It ’s just really cool to hump I can verbalize pig ! ”
A Better Taste of Life
Reflecting on the High Desert Hogs journey to date , Gutierrez says that she experience a great connection to the pigs . to boot , raising hogs in an ethical fashion brings about a rewarding feeling .
“ Just the knowledge of where my food comes from and experience that these sloven are n’t being feed turd and inject with hormones and unnecessary antibiotic , ” says Gutierrez . “ I know they ’ve had a healthy and wide-ranging diet and have love their lives . And they really do taste so much better . ”
