I have fallen in love with a pig~~

[Akoni]

I went to an animal sanctuary the next city over last weekend and they had about five full-grown pot-pellied pigs. All were former house pets that had been abandoned. Their natural behaviors, such as rooting, don't go over well in carpeted houses. I think they are a lot like parrots, in that people don't do their research and expectations differ from reality. The local exotic pet store here sold off six mini pigs within hours after getting them into the store. I'm interested to see how many end up on craigslist.

Here's some more info on how big these little babies get. I've also heard of unscrupulous breeders denying them food or inbreeding extensively to get them as small as possible.
SCAMPP_Southern_California_Association_Miniature_Potbellied_Pigs-Teacup_Pigs

 

[MyAussieFriends]

I went to an animal sanctuary the next city over last weekend and they had about five full-grown pot-pellied pigs. All were former house pets that had been abandoned. Their natural behaviors, such as rooting, don't go over well in carpeted houses. I think they are a lot like parrots, in that people don't do their research and expectations differ from reality. The local exotic pet store here sold off six mini pigs within hours after getting them into the store. I'm interested to see how many end up on craigslist.

Here's some more info on how big these little babies get. I've also heard of unscrupulous breeders denying them food or inbreeding extensively to get them as small as possible.
SCAMPP_Southern_California_Association_Miniature_Potbellied_Pigs-Teacup_Pigs

I don't trust any breeder who sells teacup or micro anything.

 

[Birdiemarie]

cute !!

 

[Sadieladie1994]

There are a few breeders that do sell micro minnies that do not get bigger than 15 to 20lbs. Although small they do retain piggie behavior such as rooting

 

[MyAussieFriends]

There are a few breeders that do sell micro minnies that do not get bigger than 15 to 20lbs. Although small they do retain piggie behavior such as rooting

How do they make them that small? Is it from intense selective breeding? Or do they starve them? I'd also be concerned over their health, as they were not built to be that small.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

i will look up the site for you
'

• petite porkers - petiteporkers

 

[Tinta]

45-50 pounds is pretty small when you consider what a large pig really is.

I too adore mini pigs. I love smart animals.

Baby pigs are cute. So are puppies and kittens and baby parrots. You just have to remember that everything grows up.
Try searching more for adult mini pigs. Pictures, videos, etc of them and see if it still interests you.

 

[DWRVT]

I had a micro mini pig for about 1 year. I did 2 years of research on them before I picked a breeder and I talked to several owners and veterinarians.
Don't let anyone ever tell you that any pig will stay 15-20 lbs!!! Sorry but this is just not true!! Unless of course they have dwarfism or some other genetic abnormality that prevents them from being healthy.
The smallest pig that exists can get from 60-100 lbs fully grown. They sure are teacup when you bring them home at 6 weeks; Wilbur weighed 9 lbs at the age of 3 months.
When he was just over a year old; he weighed a healthy 55 lbs. He still had 2 years of growing to do.
Unfortunately people are breeding very young pigs and I am sure some of them have no idea that their pigs will continue to grow to 3 years of age so what you see are parents who are under 60 lbs and you assume they are full grown - they are not!!
Since breeders can charge up to $2500 per piglet - sometimes their visions of what is right for pig and owner are skewed.
I was fully prepared that I may have a 100 lb pig when Wilbur was fully grown - I also have the property for such a pet.
I must honestly say though that pigs gain a lot of weight in fat and width - Wilbur was no taller than my jack russell when he left for his new home.
Unfortunately it was Wilbur's fierce prey animal instincts that forced me to find him a new home as my pack of dogs were being very aggressive with him, I re-homed him to a pig only family for his safety.
In general, he was smart but he was not eager to please like a dog. He never peed where he slept but that didn't stop him from peeing in my house - no way. I was unable to let him have run of the house unless I was home to let him out frequently.
He drank a ton of water and returned it to my floors often. He was shy with strangers and god forbid you tried to make him to do anything he didn't want to do You have never heard a scream until you have heard a pig screaming.
Wilbur walked with us on dog hikes and walked on a harness if we were in town. He loved to lay on my lap on the couch and would accept belly rubs for hours. He was good in the house - never destroyed anything but I also gave him as many natural rooting outlets as I could - esp if we were not home. He loved to be in a pile of blankets and slept on our bed between my feet. Sometimes if we had the bed to ourselves, he even laid his head on the pillow next to mine.
My nieces could not eat anything at my house unless they sat at the kitchen table, he would knock them over for their food.
Pigs are not for everyone for sure but if you don't mind a large, stubborn pet who will find food ANYWHERE and have a yard for grazing, sun bathing and making a mud pit - you would probably love one!!

 

[JLcribber]

My wife fell in love with a pig too. She married him.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Definitely no such thing as a "micro mini" or "teacup" pig beyond rare genetic anomalies with poor health. What many of these breeders do, beyond outright lying of course, is instruct you to feed your growing pig in a way that ensures his growth will be stunted. This compromises his health and puts him at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Even then, the thought of a full grown four year old pig of a healthy weight weighing less than 50lbs is laughable. A friend of mine rescued a piglet who was being touted as a "micro mini" and fed accordingly; if you look at the photos on his facebook, you can see what it does to the health of a pig; he was on death's door and has required thousands in vet bills. Today he is a health 8 month old and already 11.5lbs despite being horribly malnourished the first months of his life. He will continue to grow until four years of age.

I myself found a young pot bellied pig abandoned on the side of the road late last year. It's been... an experience so far.

I really wouldn't suggest them in a rental home, as they are extremely destructive animals, especially if (heaven forbid) you let them get bored. Our pig was being kept in a large pen about half the size of a room while we were out during the day; despite having plenty of toys, enrichment puzzles to get treats from, etc., he eventually came to tear up our linoleum, learned how to escape his pen despite multiple revisions trying to keep him contained, and crushed a rabbit playpen trying to get at the rabbit's hay (were it not for his litterbox, I'd have had a very smushed bunny to come home to!). He is being moved outside, now, but even in a yard, pigs can wreak havoc on your grass and soil, and are also notoriously good about busting through fences.

Ours is easily 30-35lbs now and still growing. He is about the height of our beagle mix but obviously heavy for his size - and we've kept him on the lean side so that his joints wouldn't be affected by our hard floor while he was indoors. I usually have to special order his food, which is pricey, and he also enjoys plenty of fresh foods. Don't listen to breeders telling you a growing pig needs only 1/4c of feed a day or some of the other outrageous claims I've seen on their websites; they are asking you to starve your piglet. I've found it is best to offer his food in various food-dispensing enrichment toys and puzzles; these guys are SMART, easily parrot smart, cognitively similar to a three year old. He figures out treat puzzles in a matter of minutes. He IS very treat motivated and that is useful for training, but unlike dogs, pigs really have no reservations about giving you a good chomp in the leg if they're not getting what they want, when they want it. It's also a war to get a pig to do anything it doesn't want to; expect ear-splitting screams that will probably have your neighbors thinking someone is being murdered.

Here's a pic of my guy one of the first few days we had him, before he wrecked his pen, obviously. We've only had him since Nov. 2013 and he's grown considerably larger. And oh, that Dogloo he's in? Yeah, completely capable of flipping it upside down using just his nose, to give you an idea of how strong they are.

 

[kathykeltsy]

My only experience with pigs is working on my uncles pig farm. These guys were monsters and scared me to death. And as tiny babies nothing is cuter but only then. There is a good reason they call them pigs!

 

[InTheAir]

I read a book called something like "my life with mini pigs" or something similar a few years ago. I think it would be a good eye opener for anyone considering a little house pig.
Kunekune pigs are pretty common paddock pets where I grew up, a couple of my friends breed them too. They are charming, intelligent and snugly. They love digging up their paddocks as much as my parrots love flying!

 

[Sheri]

Thank you to the "pig people" on here for telling it like it is with potbellies. Breeders lie. Pigs grow just like babies grow. The "micro" whatever they want to call it now really isn't possible to have achieved since the pig craze that hit the US and Canada with the first yuppie pets in the 1980s.

We had a Minipig from a breeder here in Florida. We followed her instructions and he lived four short months. I was devastated and after massive research went to rescue a pig three months after the baby died. That was in 2012.

Sheldon is smart, smarter than our four dogs. He sits (which is unnatural for pigs), shakes hands/hooves, goes to bed, jumps on a stool with his front legs, walks on a leash somewhat, and "rears" like jumping up that a horse does. He lives in the laundry room, listening to jazz or classical music while resting in his dog kennel.

We leave at 7 am and return from work at 4:30. He does not pee in the house all day about 98 percent of the time. He has accidents on the weekends when his schedule is disrupted. After dinner he must be let out within an hour and a half of eating or he will pee on the floor and pigs pee huge amounts, like industrial gloves and two beach towels needed. He has never pooped inside ever.

Yesterday morning he got out and visited the neighbor about seven houses down the street. I only caught him because they gave him an apple and I was able to put his special pig harness on. If not for the food he would have escaped. He seemed so happy running though that I mentioned to my husband that at times maybe this wasn't the ideal scene for him.

Today I made the heart wrenching decision to rehome Sheldon after a text from my daughter that she was afraid to get her clothes from the dryer because he was trying to bite her. It's not the first time this has happened and he isn't malicious, he is just a pig trying to establish his rank in the herd. I stand up to him, but he is my pet. The other people in my family should not have to tolerate attacks as I am willing to do. Luckily I know some pig people and am reaching out for help through tears but knowing that it's all for everyone's best interest. We can visit.

Lupe, please visit a sanctuary before you bring a pig home. Your location says SW Florida-- there is one there called Swine Society. If not in New Port Richey there is Noah's Ark. I cannot stress enough the importance of a visit or better, two visits to really get a glimpse of the care needed.

I thought I wanted a bird-- read my other gazillion posts-- then went to volunteer at a bird sanctuary. Wow. I could only handle noise at the lovebird level. Just wow. A cockatoo is like an angry pig.

Having animals really sucks when you want to be the forever home and realize that it's not the best scenario for them. I need to get rid of 3 dogs or one pig so someone can have the yard all day. Or move to a farm.

Thanks for putting up with the rant.

 

[roxynoodle]

I had 2 potbelly pigs. The smaller one was about 150lbs and the larger was more than 200. They can be very destructive, especially if they are bored or angry because you didn't let them eat the whole box of donuts they know you brought home from the grocery store. Don't underestimate a PO'ed pig!

I recommend keeping them outside.

 

[Cara]

If parrot people are saying pigs are hard to live with, I'm definitely going to take it seriously!

 

[lexalayne]

Another subject but along the same lines is thinking I wanted a lemur, 1 you tube video later of one throwing a screaming temper tantrum and poop convinced me otherwise.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

How do they make them that small? Is it from intense selective breeding? Or do they starve them? I'd also be concerned over their health, as they were not built to be that small.

They have bred them down over 20 to 30 years.

 

[Monica]

Lara Joseph has been training 3 mini pigs.... pre-training, they sounded pretty nasty!

The Animal Behavior Center, LLC's Photos - The Animal Behavior Center, LLC | Facebook

The Animal Behavior Center, LLC's Photos - The Animal Behavior Center, LLC | Facebook
The Animal Behavior Center, LLC's Photos - The Animal Behavior Center, LLC | Facebook


Few different videos of her training the pigs on her ABC FB page.
The Animal Behavior Center, LLC's Videos | Facebook

 

[ArowanaLover]

My aunt got one, it turned out it was a fake (she payed serious money for it too) it died of major medical problems at the weight of 200 something pounds. This thing was still loved and lived in her house. WOW