It’s hog heaven at Round the Bend Farm, as the Allen Neck Road property recently welcomed nine new piglets into the fold.

“They are absolutely adorable,” said Desa VanLaarhoven, the farm’s executive director. 

The little piggies were born just a little more than four weeks ago to a sweet, yet very protective mother.

“If she feels like anyone or thing is threatening her, she will protect her babies,” VanLaarhoven said. “Mama is so fierce, she will not let a baby die.”

Already, VanLaarhoven said, the piglets are enjoying playing around the barn and splashing in the mud — something the animals do to cool off since they don’t have many sweat glands.

“Some actually use it as a form of sunscreen,” she said.

The young swine are able to eat the same food their older counterparts enjoy such as mugwort, leaves, and other grains since they are born with teeth. 

Although, they are still opting to nurse from their mother in order to boost their digestive systems.

“They need colostrum, they need milk,” VanLaarhoven said.

Next month, the piglets should be done nursing — something VanLaarhoven said their mother will surely be thankful for.

“By the time eight weeks rolls around, she is done,” she said. 

Once the pigs get a little older, they will then begin their roles as the farm “soil makers.” According to VanLaarhoven, most pigs on the farm naturally till the land due to their instinctive ability to root the ground.

“Putting them on fresh grass is amazing,” she said. “You just have to make sure you don’t want grass there anymore — they’re going to get rid of it all.”

Any waste they produce will also be turned into compost used to help the numerous crops grow on the 115-acre property.

“They’re definitely good workers here,” VanLaarhoven said with a smile.