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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
   
Location: MD | what's their temperament like? are there any usual problems with them? Do they make a good "family" pet if raised correctly and with two respectful kids? Also, life-span and size? is there a way to get a mini pig? is that even a thing? LOL I hope someone here has experience with them!
My SO his son has allergies, we already have a dog and we maintain the house quite well to keep his coughing and sniffling at bay. But my SO has made comments about getting a pig because of the allergy situation. I know there are hypo allergenic dog breeds but, we would probably go another route for the kids. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1094
Location: Idahome | I don't, but some good family friends have a mini. They say it is better than having a dog. She travels everywhere with them, sleeps in their bed, goes outside like a dog. She is house broke and super sweet. I also knew a family when I was younger that had a full size pot belly and she was the same way,just not as outgoing. She could be mean to men that she didn't know. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Pot belly pigs do make good pets. They are very smart and can be housebroken. They are considered "miniature" when compared to farm hogs. When looking for a pig, be very selective when choosing a breeder because a lot of people will market "micro minis", "mini pigs", "teacup minis", etc when in reality they have plain ol' pot belly pigs. People come up with some crazy names to make you think their pigs are dainty and tiny.
Pot belly pigs themselves range in size quite a bit. The adults we have range from approximately 30 pounds all the way up to over 100 pounds. The 30 pounder is a runt that is abnormally small--he's not the norm. If someone tells you their size will be based on how much you feed it, that is incredibly irresponsible. Of course you can keep your pig small from underfeeding it, but that's not fair to the pig. Keep in mind that pot belly pigs are very dense--meaning that even though they're short, they are heavy for their size. So when someone says the pig will only be as big as a Cocker Spaniel, that may be true, but it will weigh five times what a Cocker Spaniel does.
Some breeders are crossing pot belly pigs with other "miniature" breeds to keep them smaller. If buying a baby, ALWAYS ask to see the parents. ALL "mini" pigs are tiny when they're born, but can quickly grow to over 50 pounds. Seeing the parents will give you a good idea of what to expect when that precious baby grows up.
Also, avoid breeders that encourage you to take the pig when it's two weeks old and bottle feed it. They do this because by the time a pig is six weeks old and ready to wean, they're not as cute and tiny, so are less desirable. We only bottle feed babies if absolutely necessary, but strongly discourage it.
When they are young, pigs are very fast and hard to catch if you haven't spent the time with them to gentle them down. As they get older and start to get their big belly, they spend more time laying around and get very slow-moving. They also get grumpy because they just want to spend their day laying around and don't like you making them get up and move around.
When it's hot outside, they need a cool place to lay...either a muddy spot or a shallow tub of water or plastic pool they can get in. Pigs can't sweat, so rely on other ways to keep cool. That's why they love mud, to stay cool.
Pot belly pigs can live up to about 20 years. If you get a male, it MUST be neutered. Boars do not make good pets because they are constantly finding things to hump--empty feed barrels, rolls of fencing, pretty much anything they can mount. They also STINK.
Pigs have strong snouts and they love to root, so keep them away from gardens or other ground you don't want torn up. They also like to rub on stuff, so if inside, keep them away from furniture that can be easily knocked over. They also love belly rubs!
Here's one of ours, from 1 day old to now (he's 3 now).
First two pics are 1 day old, third and fourth pics are about 2 months old, and last two are current.
Edited by Gunner11 2014-08-12 11:37 AM
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Here are a couple more pics, including the runt I mentioned in my above post. Told you they're lazy!
As far as temperament, overall I'd say they're easy to get along with and easy to gentle. However, you can come across some that are mean (we have one that had to be bottle fed and he's an ankle biter). Some always stay wild and don't like to be handled.
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  Roan Wonder
Location: SW MO | I don't care what you say it's still a PIG |
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I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | How cute!
We aren't looking to bring a pig home for another year or so since we are going to be buying a house and I want to get my dog and horses settled before we bring in another mouth to feed. But I would like to get educated before we make any permanent decision. I kept seeing all of the advertisements about Micro pigs and mini pigs and teacup pigs and then you see the photos of them with the mom and I wasn't sure what I was misunderstanding because most of the moms were listed as pretty close to 100lbs! We were even talking about going down the tortoise route but I think pigs might be more suited to our lifestyle as it seems they can be pretty interactive! |
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 Veteran
Posts: 226
Location: Middle Tennessee | I breed and sell them when I have time and enjoy it as a hobby. I have a micro mini and he is an amazing pet. Lives in the house and is litterbox trained. They are very smart animals and learn quickly. Mine knows sit, down, spin, and give kisses!! They travel well also. The key though is to train them well from a very young age and they will attach to you. If you are looking for a hypoallergenic pet, mini pigs are a great choice!
ETA:mypigs are roughly 30-50lbs. They HAVE to be fed correctlyor you can run into serious health issues.
Edited by RodeoGirlJodi 2014-08-12 12:25 PM
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 Thread Killer
Posts: 7545
| crossspur - 2014-08-12 12:33 PM
I don't care what you say it's still a PIG
I don't care what you say, they're still AWESOME.  |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | crossspur - 2014-08-12 11:33 AM I don't care what you say it's still a PIG And they carry scabies -- a form of mite that lives on pigs.. can also live on humans and it is MISERABLE when you get it! No way in hell one of those would ever live in my house!
Edited by ACEINTHEHOLE 2014-08-12 12:56 PM
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | RodeoGirlJodi - 2014-08-12 12:23 PM
I breed and sell them when I have time and enjoy it as a hobby. I have a micro mini and he is an amazing pet. Lives in the house and is litterbox trained. They are very smart animals and learn quickly. Mine knows sit, down, spin, and give kisses!! They travel well also. The key though is to train them well from a very young age and they will attach to you. If you are looking for a hypoallergenic pet, mini pigs are a great choice!
ETA:mypigs are roughly 30-50lbs. They HAVE to be fed correctlyor you can run into serious health issues.
What breed of pigs do you have? We only have pot bellies, so I'm always curious to see what other people have that stay so small  |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 412
Location: In Husker Land | Not a pig, but a cute goat..I would have rather have a goat..hubby used to raise some hogs and he has made a rule never again..I love our goat :) and they are smart..she is kennel trained and potty trained. Not to steal your thread...just thought I would give you another option!
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1119
| hckbarrelracer - 2014-08-12 1:30 PM Not a pig, but a cute goat..I would have rather have a goat..hubby used to raise some hogs and he has made a rule never again..I love our goat :) and they are smart..she is kennel trained and potty trained. Not to steal your thread...just thought I would give you another option!
I was going to recommend a goat too! I have a Nubian named Petunia. She runs "free" at our house (outside) and if she had her way she would come inside with the dogs at night too. On more than one occassion she has slipped past us and into the house when we weren't paying attention! She's a great buddy though, she tags along with me everywhere outside and she'll hang out with the horses or the dogs depending on where I am. When she was about a month old, we were going to visit my parents (about a 7 hour drive). She was still being bottle fed, so she went with us! She now thinks that it is okay for her to try to get in the car when we are leaving. I love her! |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | We have 2 and would never have a pig in my house....they are clean, smart and fun animals but can be very destructive. Mine arent tame enough to be handled but are a smaller size and probably weigh around 60-70 pounds. They definitely give up for hours of entertainment that's for sure :) |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| OMG - that goat is TERRIBLY CUTE!!! |
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