About Us
Who is Hogs & Horns Homestead?
Hogs and Horns Homestead is a family run, women-powered Canadian homestead in Central Alberta. Jen is a flight medic by day, farmer by night and Monica’s a farmer 24-7. Us ladies run every aspect of the farm and in addition strive to preserve heritage breeds that are critically endangered. In doing so, we love the fact we can offer a window into our everyday passion of preservation. Our journey of conservation on our Canadian homestead can be found on our HERE.
Our farming adventure started with a love for animals and passion to raise our own meat. During this process we came to learn how close to extinction many of the heritage farming breeds are. We are working hard to increase numbers through ethical breeding and bloodline tracking while promoting awareness. Taking one step at a time to help save these amazing breeds.
How our animals are raised is very important to us. We believe that though they may be destined to feed us, all animals should be respected regardless of how short their lives may be. These animals should be given the best life possible, regardless of how short their lives may be.
Our passion is pigs! We regularly get asked why pigs? We believe swine are one of the most misunderstood animals in the food industry. Typical pork is from confinement farms. There is virtually no pasture pork available in Alberta grocery stores. The pork industry and regulations have been made for indoor confinement farming and because of this we would like to see this change. Pigs are incredibly smart and social creatures. We feel they deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and quality of life regardless of their purpose. Whether these animals are kept as pets, breeders or destined to sustain us, their humane treatment should be a top priority. We provide all of our pigs with interactive toys and attention daily. In turn this provides a less stressful environment with lots of enrichment activities. However, we don’t just raise pigs. We also raise a variety of sheep, goats, mini cattle, geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, guineas and rabbits.
Monica
She runs every aspect of the farm 24-7. From aiding with shots to hand mixing grains, she does it all. She is on call 24-7 and is passionate about the livelihood of every single animal on the property whether big or small. You’ll be sure to find her in the barn hanging out with Koko (The 900 lb sow), giving her belly rubs. On Hogs & Horns Homestead there is no tractor – this means physical labour all day, everyday.
Jen
When she’s not devoting every other waking moment to the farm, Jen is a flight medic. When she’s not on call 24-7 at work, she’s on call 24-7 at home. Between her efforts alongside with Monica, every animal receives second chances even if they aren’t seen as the “perfect” standard for meat/pets. However, don’t let her small stature fool you though, she throws hay bales all day and will wag her finger and say no to 600 lb + pigs. You can find her in the barn enjoying the company of her pigs and giving them all the back scratches they could ever dream of.