Ironwood Pig Sanctuary

The Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is dedicated to eliminating the suffering of pot-bellied pigs by promoting spaying and neutering, assisting owners and other sanctuaries, and providing a permanent home in a safe, nurturing environment for those that are abandoned, abused, neglected or unwanted.

When Ben and I founded the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary in 2000 we didn't know that it would become the focus of our lives. We took our first two pigs in June of 2001 and never stopped. We quickly grew from these two pigs to over 670 we have today. In the process we took in over 320 pigs from three failed pot bellied pig sanctuaries in Arizona to become the only viable pot bellied pig sanctuary in the state. All in all we have rescued and given lifetime homes to over 1,750 pot bellied pigs.

We could not have rescued all these pigs without the generous support from people like you.
---Mary

A Desert Sanctuary

Over the years many people have asked and some have even criticized us for having a pig sanctuary in such an inhospitable location. Well let me say that I could not agree more, especially when I am struggling to get through the hot summers that are becoming hotter and longer with each new year.

Let me just say that we, the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary that is, played no part in bringing these pigs to these desert conditions. Blame the breeders and those who buy from the breeders for creating this huge number of unwanted and homeless pigs in Arizona.

Many pot belly pigs originally came from hot. humid. tropical locations with a lot of foliage to eat and here we are with no foliage and for the most part just plain HOT and sometimes very cold weather. These are well known conditions about the desert climate.

So how does this make life different for our pigs and for the caregivers here at Ironwood? Because of our unique situation we are a very high maintenance facility. Since grazing can provide none of our food we provide grain and hay that has to be distributed by staff in each of our 29 fields. The hay and grain has to first be delivered to our many feeding stations and the hay has to be stacked in the barn when it arrives. The majority of our shade is artificial, so shade ramadas have to be built throughout the sanctuary and over all of the permanent pens. The shades have to be rolled up in the winter months and back out in the summer months and often must be put back up and repaired after severe weather conditions.

In addition, because of the hot dry conditions the pig poops do not disintegrate back into the ground over time so all 15 plus acres of the sanctuary must be raked and the waste then hauled to the dump. Since we have hundreds of shelters instead of larger barns, scrap carpet must be procured and cut and hung on the shelters each winter and taken down and stored for the summer months. The same is true of the hundreds or thousands of blankets that we put out for the pigs in the fall and take up and store during the summer months.

Due to the severe heat in the summer we have to hire additional staff whose only job is to put cold ice towels on our many old and disabled pigs who now occupy special areas throughout the sanctuary. We purchased a large commercial ice machine to meet the needs of the pigs in the summer.

Also in order to keep many of our old pigs or pigs with medical issues hydrated we give nearly 40 gallons of diluted juice or diluted vanilla syrup to our pigs each day. It is mostly water but 1 ½ ounces of vanilla syrup or a cup of cranberry/grape juice in a half gallon of water makes the pigs more eager to drink and thus helps to avoid more medical issues. Juices have to be made, they have to be taken to the fields and pens and given to the pigs and the many bottles have to be washed.

But most importantly is meeting the water needs of our almost 600 pigs. Because our wells are not sufficient to meet our needs we have to haul most of our water in three 4,000 gallon water trucks which is a two hour round trip for each load. We store the water in our 105,000 gallons of storage. We have a crew of over four whose only job is to water 4 to 6 hours a day. They have to bail then fill the many wallows we provide for the pigs, dump and scrub pools and water bowls and the hundreds of automatic waterers throughout the sanctuary.

This all adds up to many daunting tasks, but with your support we have been able to provide all of these many needs through proper staffing. Our many hundreds, now thousands, of pigs who have come to our desert sanctuary over the years have lived long happy, content lives even in these harsh desert conditions. You make it all possible with your generous donations. Thank you so much.

After all we don't have winter snow, wet soggy muddy fields most of the time, or hurricanes, fires, tornadoes or other life threatening situations...

Testimonials

To Whom It May Concern:

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Mary Schanz and Ben Watkins for many years...