Pet pig advice!

quincebolis

My brother wants a pet pig for christmas, I need some advice from pig owners how this is a terrible idea.

We live in Dublin and have a pretty big backyard for Dublin standards but defo not pig-raising big. We also have a cat that would possible kill the pig. (she's pretty territorial)

How big do they get? How much do they cost? What are the difficulties involved in feeding etc


Thanks

LisaO

Before you can keep any pig - even just a single pig as a pet - you must register with the Dept of Agriculture & be issued with a herd number. All movements of pigs within Ireland are very carefully monitored & controlled. They may well arrange for an inspection by the County Vet before you are given the go ahead - to check housing, land, fencing etc.

A pig will need a large area, ideally around 1/4 of an acre which it will very quickly turn into mud - and after heavy rain, liquid mud! Think of those pictures on TV of the Ploughing or Oxygen after torrential rain, that will be your garden if you keep a pig in it!

It would not be recommended to keep a single pig, they are very intelligent & social creatures and a pig kept alone will be miserable & as a result can become difficult to handle.

Size - all pigs are big, strong & difficult to stop! Even small or "pet" breeds such as Vietnamese Pot Bellies will grow much bigger, heavier & stronger than any dog - up to a couple of hundred pounds. You will need strong fencing, eg, sheepwire on posts plus electric to keep them where you want them. Bear in mind the potential damage they can do if they were to escape.

You will also want to consider the smell if you have near neighbours, a pig run can get pretty whiffy at times!

Also consider male/female. Females are generally easier to handle but can still be very stubborn.

Feeding is easy enough - you can buy pig meal/nuts from farm supply outlets. The laws re: feeding food waste are quite stringent - basically nothing can be fed to a pig that has passed through a kitchen, domestic or commercial.

I think pigs are wonderful (& have raised a good few for the freezer) but they are not (like any animal) something to be taken on on a whim or by the ill-prepared.

Don't worry about the cat - pigs are pretty well able to take care of themselves - have you ever seen a pig's teeth!!

boomerang

We have three pigs now at our sanctuary.

Wayne and Colleen were rescued as little banabhs two years ago. At that stage you could put them under your arm. So cute! Here they are then:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/limerickdogs/2381233482/in/set-72157604343854600/


And here is Wayne now, at two years old:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=496066936958&set=o.76053998700

(That's little Kai beside him, he's just come to us, he was bought as an unwanted 21st birthday present for a student. Wayne's partner Colleen is just as big as Wayne!)

There's no way these guys could live in a semi-detached back garden. For one thing, they'd be bored out of their minds. They need a much bigger space to forage. And the garden would definitely be a mud bath. Plus it'd be so unkind to keep a pig singly - they are social as Lisa has said and bond very deeply with other pigs in their group. Wayne and Colleen are inseparable!

Your brother might be thinking of a micro-pig which would be somewhat different but bear in mind he could well get ripped off by unscrupulous sellers maintaining the pig is a micro when in fact it's just an ordinary banabh that's going to get as big as Wayne and Colleen!

dvet

boomerang wrote: »

There's no way these guys could live in a semi-detached back garden. For one thing, they'd be bored out of their minds. They need a much bigger space to forage. And the garden would definitely be a mud bath. Plus it'd be so unkind to keep a pig singly - they are social as Lisa has said and bond very deeply with other pigs in their group.

+1

You can get some 'pet' pig breeds that are smaller, but if you're talking about getting a standard, common breed of 'farm pig' like a large white or landrace, you should know that these pigs get HUGE very quickly - they're usually around 100kg by the time they're 6 months old... So they don't stay 'cute' for long unfortunately. And when fully grown they are truly massive (guessing 200 - 250 kg for the average sow, boars are bigger) - a lot bigger than you would think!

The other big problem though is that they are VERY destructive - a wooden fence wouldn't keep them in for 2 minutes! And when bored they'll chew everything in sight literally to bits. I'm not jsut talking like a chewy dog here. They would probably have your garden bench in pieces by the afternoon. Their teeth are like blades.

They're also very loud - not just cute little oinks - they 'bark' a lot and can literally scream as well!

So although they're very smart, (and i have a real fondness for pigs), I wouldn't recommend them as a pet! You'd be very quickly regretting it!!


EDIT: just saw the thing about your cat there. A grown pig would probably eat a cat without chewing

dvet

Just to prove I have absolutely too much time on my hands today, here's a pic of the comparative size of a person, a piglet, and a fully grown pig that I made for your viewing pleasure (pigs are approx size of landrace/large white breed)

hope the link works!

http://www.2shared.com/photo/E1TM6qzo/pig_size.html

Whispered

It doesn't work and I really wanted to see it!!

dvet

Ok just fixed it i think?

p.s. i can't take any artistic credit - the silhouettes are straight from google, i just put them beside each other in the right sizes! Although all compliments accepted of course, hehe!!

Oink

works for me...

Whispered

Oink wrote: »

works for me...

could be that you clicked it after it was fixed. Works for me now too. And please accept my compliments Isn't the size difference between a piglet and a full grown amazing!

I think if I was to get a "farmyard" pet I'd get a goat and a donkey. Something sweet about them. (I'm sure there is also a lot of work etc but no need to tell me - have to acquire the detached house, acres of land with a stream running through, veggie patch and wooded area first! :pac:)

OP you've gotten some great advice here and I'm loathe to say it (Im sure someone will jump in to tell me off) but it's rarely a good idea to get a pet for christmas - unless you have a quiet house and plenty of time to help the pet settle in over the festive period. Usually early in the new year would be better because all of the excitement has died down. This of course depends on your house, but might be something to consider.

How long do pigs live? And as a matter of interest; how would they do as largely indoor pets (assuming you had the space)? Pigs and dogs - can they generally get along? What are a pigs exercise requirements like? would it be legal to stick it on a lead and bring it for a walk would that sort of stimulation be necessary for a pig? (do herds travel in the wild?). Could you teach a pig obedience? I've heard they are as smart if not smarter than dogs with a similar social structure, so how similar would the care be? Sorry for the questions but we seem to have a few piggy experts here and it's very interesting!

dvet

Whispered wrote: »

How long do pigs live? And as a matter of interest; how would they do as largely indoor pets (assuming you had the space)? Pigs and dogs - can they generally get along? What are a pigs exercise requirements like? would it be legal to stick it on a lead and bring it for a walk would that sort of stimulation be necessary for a pig? (do herds travel in the wild?). Could you teach a pig obedience? I've heard they are as smart if not smarter than dogs with a similar social structure, so how similar would the care be? Sorry for the questions but we seem to have a few piggy experts here and it's very interesting!

Hehe, it is interesting. I love pigs actually... if they stayed bonham (piglet) sized forever I would keep one in a heartbeat!! I can only tell you about commercial/farm pigs and not pet pigs but here's my experience:

When they're very young (first 4 - 5) weeks they remind me a lot of dogs - very curious, very friendly, really intelligent Unfortunately they seem to lose their personality a bit after that and become biting/chewing/eating machines - although that might just be because they don't really get a lot of petting etc. Most grown boars are pretty dangerous but I have heard of one or two boars who became really close to their handlers and would follow them around and come to call if let roam
And I've heard that pigs are house trainable - although you'd have to pretty much be crazy to let one in your house, as they would have your sofa/beds/carpet etc torn apart in minutes!!

Pigs do need loads of stimulation to keep them happy - they love 'toys' that they can chew on and stuff like that to keep them busy, but I'm not sure about walking them - you'd probably have to tie them to a 4x4 to get them to go where you wanted!!

As regards age, most breeding sows really only live until they're 4 or 5 - but as far as I know some of the pet pig breeds can live years longer than that.
Would be interesting to know about the pet pig breeds if anyone has any experience with them, to compare!

Long post I know, but i could go on and on about 'em

quincebolis

Thanks so much! Great advice

quincebolis

Haha, just told my brother all this and he refuses to believe me! He's convinced there's such thing as tiny smaller than cat sized pigs..... those of course are just piglets


but all of it doesn't matter..... my mom would never approve of having a barn animal in the house.... but i can see him driving down to the country and buying one himself! Hopefully no one would every be stupid enough to actually give him one

Whispered

Thats like a sinister "sponsor a dog" website. :eek:

No, I'm only joking, fair play, what a great way to ensure free range well treated animals end up on your table. I'd love to see things like this gain popularity.

irelandspurs

This is what your looking for http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218472/The-700-teacup-sized-pigs-latest-celebrity-pet.html

deman

Can I just ask how old your brother is?