The Story of “Bad Pig”

If you’ve ever romanticized ranch life, let us assure you of something:

There are days when ranch life is not romantic at all.

Case in point:

Bad Pig.

When we first brought pigs onto the property, we honestly thought there was a good chance we would never raise pigs again.

At first, things seemed manageable.

We had five pigs total—an American Guinea Hog and several commercial breed pigs. We were excited. We had visions of happy pigs rooting around peacefully in the pasture while we enjoyed some idyllic small-farm lifestyle.

Reality arrived quickly.

Some pigs are naturally more ‘adventurous’ than others.

One particular pig became the undeniable ringleader of the group.

He figured out fences.

He found weak spots.

And wherever he went, the others followed.

We named him “Bad Pig.”

There were days when the pigs escaped and wandered farther than we wanted. There were moments when they chased after delivery vehicles because they associated trucks with food arriving.

At one point, we literally had pigs chasing a UPS truck down the driveway.

There were many moments where we stood outside, frustrated and exhausted, saying:

“These pigs are driving us crazy.”

But ranch life has a funny way of teaching patience.

It also teaches observation.

Over time, we realized that one pig in particular was creating most of the chaos.

Bad Pig was larger than the others, bolder than the others, and always seemed to lead the herd into trouble.

Eventually, we processed him earlier than the rest.

And almost overnight… the entire dynamic changed.

The remaining pigs became calmer and easier to manage.

Suddenly we could actually enjoy them.

And here’s the other funny part of the story:

Bad Pig turned out to be incredibly delicious.

Venison and bad pig meatloaf ready to go in the oven

That experience became one more “proof of concept” moment for us.

The pork was rich, flavorful, and deeply satisfying.

As frustrating as those moments had been, they were also teaching us something important:

We were capable of doing this.

Not perfectly.

Not without mistakes.

But sustainably.

That’s part of the real story of Riverview Ranch.

There are beautiful moments.

There are frustrating moments.

And there are moments where you laugh afterward because all you can do is shake your head and say:

“Well… that’s ranch life.”