Rooting and relaxing in the gorgeous weather at our Baskerville farm our Virginia hogs are really enjoying their mud hole.

We have sprinklers set up on times to help with making their mud holes when the weather is dry and hot! 

They absolutely love the mud! And, it’s not because they are dirty animals. During high temperature days, the temperature of a pig’s body increases. Body temperature is controlled through sweating, however, pigs have less sweat pores, so rolling around in the mud helps to keep pigs from overheating when it gets too hot outside. 

The mud also helps protect the pigs skin from sunburn; that’s right, pigs use mud as a form of sunscreen. When mud dries on their skin, it forms a barrier against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.