Now is the perfect time to visit Carriage Hill’s new piglets

Carriage Hill MetroPark recently had two mamma Spot Pigs give birth to two litters of eight piglets. The public can visit the piglets for about another month before the piglets are moved to other locations.

Credit: Staff

Credit: Staff

Carriage Hill MetroPark recently had two mamma Spot Pigs give birth to two litters of eight piglets. The public can visit the piglets for about another month before the piglets are moved to other locations.
What to Do
By Sarah Franks
Oct 21, 2020
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Five River’s Carriage Hill MetroPark is currently home to two very proud mamma pigs.

A little over a month ago, two female Spot Pigs that reside on Carriage Hill’s Historic Farm gave birth to two separate litters of eight piglets just one week apart.

In total, 16 piglets were born. However, only eight of the piglets will be visible for the public, as the other eight will reside inside the farm’s barn that’s currently closed to visitors due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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Carriage Hill MetroPark recently had two mamma Spot Pigs give birth to two litters of eight piglets. The public can visit the piglets for about another month before the piglets are moved to other locations.

Credit: Staff

icon to expand image

Credit: Staff

Although all educational programming at both the Riding Center and Daniel Arnold Historical Farm is currently canceled because of the pandemic, visitors can still get up close to the animals in their pastures.

Both mammas reside permanently on Carriage Hill’s farm and are well worth a visit on their own. All 16 piglets, however, will only be together on the farm for about a month before some move on to other farms. Spot Pigs quickly grow to be up to 400 lbs. or 500 lbs. and require a lot of room, according to the staff at MetroParks.

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“It kind of shocks people when they come out here and they see these really huge, huge pigs," said Carriage Hill’s Historic Farm specialist Chris Gordy. “But I like that. It always starts off the question of, you know, ‘Why are these things so big?’ And then I get to explain. ... It’s great to be able to talk about the history of agriculture and they’re (visitors) looking right at the history of agriculture when they look at the hogs.”

The park’s visitor center is located at 7800 E. Shull Road in Dayton, however, visitors can park at any one of Carriage Hill’s parking areas depending on what section of the park they are exploring that day.

“The Historical Farm at Carriage Hill MetroPark tells important stories that celebrate our agricultural heritage in the Miami Valley,” according to Five Rivers on its website. “This heritage includes a significant portion of our local landscape shaped by generations of farmers who groomed and cared for the land. Visitors to Carriage Hill Historical Farm will be immersed in 19th-century farm life, a time when the sustainable farm, home and craft practices we see today were simply practical.”

How to go

What: Carriage Hill MetroPark

Where: 7850 E. Shull Road, Huber Heights

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More info: www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/carriage-hill/

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About the Author

Follow Sarah Franks on twitter

Sarah joined the Dayton Daily News team in fall of 2019 covering general assignment. Since then, Sarah has covered the higher education beat, authored a daily COVID-19 column and currently covers Greene County.