Legit

This past weekend was completely frustrating on many levels. From outside projects to kitchen projects. Yep...I was not in a good headspace for most of the weekend.

But....all I needed was...an envelope from the American Guinea Hog Association!This one was extra special and not at all expected so soon. 

Registration Certificates for Rex & Fiona!!

These two are bonafide!

This process was started several weeks ago and we have been waiting patiently for the transfer to happen. Well, as with so many things, things come up and Farmer Jason of Cascade Meadows Farm must have been super busy. Tom and I had made our most recent visit to the farm on June 16th to pick-up 6 White Holland Turkey poults. 

Four of the Six

At that time Jason mentioned that they would be sitting down to go through a bunch of transfer paperwork in the next day or two. Last week on June 22nd, I got a text saying that the registration/transfer had been completed and to look for the papers in 4-6 weeks. YAY! 

Back to my awful weekend - on Saturday I went to run an errand and then I spied a big white envelope on the passenger seat of Tom's truck - I grabbed it and took a look and the return address was from AGHA....

AAAAAHHHHH....the day JUST got better!

This just made my day. Our original babies are now officially, Cascade's Rex and Cascade's Fiona. Any offspring of theirs that we choose to register will be with our not-yet-decided farm name. We probably should tag Bridgette now while she is still young.

So what does this mean? Any of our pigs that we decide to register will become part of the permanent record of this very special breed. There are not many American Guinea Hog breeders in our area, so the demand will not be high, but at least our babies will be counted toward the recovery of the AGH. 

Fortunately, this breed is gaining more numbers over time which is very encouraging. However, they are not as popular as the KuneKune or a Mangalitsa. What I love about AGH is how friendly they are, even as piglets.

Once Fiona had her litter earlier this year we made it a point to handle them as much as we could. They took to us fairly easy and they were quick to plop down for belly rubs and would come to us when there were snacks to be had. Since this is the only breed that I have had experience with we don't have anything to compare them to. From all of my early research, I was convinced before we brought Rex & Fiona home that they would be as docile as I have read and they certainly live up to that reputation. Definitely as beginner's pig!

For anyone who is interested in moving on from poultry to an actual furry farm critter I highly recommend this wonderful breed. They do not disappoint!

Farm life is the best life. Just ask the American Guinea Hogs!