A pig in a bullpen: Family adopts orphan potbellied pig

They named him Wilbur although the Sherrod family isn't sure if the potbellied pig someone dropped off near their home is a boy or girl.

Whatever the sex, Wilbur likes apples and he really likes bread. And he isn't afraid of bulls.

Wilbur was one of two potbellied pigs the Sherrod family found wandering their property a little over a week ago. Apparently they were castoffs from someone who didn't like the pigs' rooting - Wilbur wears a nose ring.

Eventually the two hogs made it over to a pen of Holstein bulls belonging to the Kalmey dairy farm. There they made their home, wandering among the bulls who mostly just eye them curiously.

"A couple of the bulls have tried to kick it or butt them with their heads, but mostly they leave it alone," said Bruce Sherrod. "And the pig doesn't like to be separated from them for very long. I think it finds the other animals comforting."

One of the pigs disappeared shortly after the Sherrod family found them. Bruce Sherrod shook his head ominously and noted that he has seen coyotes around the property and on the neighbor's land.

Sherrod's daughter, Mary Hamlin, fed the pig bread and apples Monday afternoon when she came home from school. The pig apparently does not have good eyesight, Bruce said, but its nose works perfectly as it sniffs out every morsel thrown across the fence.

Bruce said he is not surprised someone dropped off the animals nearby. Apparently the former owner of the house, Roberta Butler, frequently took in dogs dropped off on the road and at one time had as many as 28 on the place.

"We even found places where she fed the mice," Mary Hamlin said.

As for the pig, the Sherrods are not sure what will happen to him, but he appears safe as long as he stays among the bulls and can depend on an occasional handout of apples and bread.