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Pet pig advice!
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19-11-2010 11:54am#1
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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!!0 -
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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
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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.html0 -
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could be that you clicked it after it was fixed. Works for me now too. And please accept my complimentsworks for me... 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! 0 -
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 0 -
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