To Mini Pig, or not to Mini pig? That is the Question.

It has been forever since I’ve had time to write a post! The holidays have come and gone and we are still trying to deal with the aftermath house bomb brought on by it. Of course we had a great last couple of weeks getting together with family, filling our bellies with yummy food, and ringing in the New Year in the Snow Mountains of Utah. Now we’ve made our way home and picked up the sweetest, apricot colored addition to our always-growing farm family, Penelope Rose (Minipig). Queen P is our second Minipig baby. Owning a pig is so very different than owning a dog or a cat. YUP, this post will be about owning a pig. I feel just as crazy for writing it as you may feel reading it. ​

(Penelope)

We found our first mini piglet last December when we were on the hunt to find Madi a Hedgehog for Christmas. You know? Hedgehog, mini pig, it is kind of the same thing right? We saw Henry and I fell in love! He was a teeny tiny little piggy with a chubby belly and HUGE Mohawk. I had to have him and to my delight Danny actually agreed to get him. So not only did we end up with a Hedgehog for Christmas but also a real snorting pig, I guess it was the year of the Hog for us. I knew absolutely NOTHING about pigs before Henry. I had never even held a piglet in a petting zoo. So I did my research for the next few weeks leading up to our pickup day and hoped for the best. There are so many things I was not aware of that I wish I had known before getting him. With so many individuals reaching out to me over the last year, and most definitely after getting Penelope this last week, I feel like it’s my weird duty as a pig owner to share my gathered information so that others may be knowledgeable before pursuing a pig pet of their own. From my first hand experience and after much reading this is what I’ve found to be most important. I feel that YouTube videos filming small baby piglets swimming in a bathtub or wearing a cute outfit can cause a deceiving notion about what it means to REALLY own and care for a pig. Call me the crazy pig lady but this may just save many of you a lot of trouble. 

• Location, Location, LOCATION!!!: This should always be numero uno before owning a pig. Please do your homework before owning a pig of any size, mini or not. Regardless of the size, pigs are still considered livestock animals and are not allowed to be legally owned in many areas of residence. You will need to check with the zoning laws around your area before bringing home your new friend. They need a lot of room, make a lot of noise, and ruin a lot of property. We have acres of land for Henry here, but when he’s left alone for too long to play we’ve often found torn up beds, destroyed plants, and he will eat through things he’s not supposed to. They are rooters by nature with their snouts and they have the ability to make a massive disaster. Last year Henry was in his personal play garden eating his breakfast, when we came back to let him out we found he had uncovered one of the homes major gas lines to the point of replacement. So please, please do your homework so you don’t have to fight to keep your pig later on down the road or make unwanted repairs to your property. Ways I’ve helped with the rooting inside is to keep them active. I’ve purchased ballpits, set up rock bins to dig around in, and have corrected them with a firm “No.” when they’re being mischievous. They are smart and they will listen if rules are enforced. Along with location you will need to make sure that you give your pig enough personal space. They will need their own bed and blanket area. If the area their litter box is kept at isn’t far enough away from their food or bed they will get frustrated and make accidents all over the house. Right now Penelope’s enclosed piggy nursery is 4x4 feet she has a corner dedicated to a bed, one for food/drink, and one for the litter. She’s pretty content in her space for now but may out grow it sooner than later.  

(Henry)

• You’re HOW OLD?: As with any pet you need to check for life expectancy. Pigs live a LONG time. Anywhere from 12-20 years depending on breed, health, and care. So please don’t get a pig with the intention to only have it for a few years.
• Snip, Snip!: You will need to have them spayed or neutered. This is a MUST especially if you plan on engaging your pig with other pets or young children. If not fixed they will become aggressive, stink (males from marking), become unmanageable, and grow tusks. You will need to find a doctor that will work on pigs specifically since pigs do not handle anesthesia well. Even here in Texas it was difficult for me to locate a doctor willing to work with Henry. Before Henry was fixed last year Danny and him would duke it out. They definitely didn’t see eye to eye and Henry made it known he didn't care for Danny either. He would purposely go to pee on our rugs whenever he didn’t like what Danny was doing. A bonus to having them fixed is knowing that it helps manage their small piggy weight too!​​

• Friend or Foe?: Be cautious with other animals, specifically dogs. When we first brought Henry home all the dogs could think was “Oh. Em. Gee look at that little mini bacon snack.” I was terrified of letting them get too close. We had to introduce each animal one by one. Many hardcore pig owners will believe in separation of the animals when not supervised. We were lucky! Henry loves his dog friends, the cats, and the cows. He used to cry when we would separate him from the others especially at night. There have been some dogs that have come over that acted differently with Henry. So please be cautious. You need to be aware that dogs are predators and that little pigs are just a running snack if not properly managed. Even today I will hear them fight once in a while, but now it’s mostly over Henry trying to sneak their dog food or Henry trying to use one of THEIR beds, not his own.
• Babes got brains!: They are highly intelligent making them easily trainable. They are listed with the top ten most intelligent animals on the planet, are more intelligent than a cat or dog (sorry dog and cat lovers), and their intelligence is compared to that of a human 3-4 year old. Henry has learned to sit, stay, come, twirl, No, treat, Belly Rub, and what time he gets fed everyday. Henry makes us aware when we’re late to feeding him too. He has also learned where ALL of our animal’s food is kept and when the other animals get fed. He also knows including that the sweet tasty stuff is always located on one specific corner in our kitchen. Little Penelope has already learned her name, come, No ma’am, and sit! Thankfully both were litter box trained before we got them too. They learn very fast! But because of their intelligence be aware of their manipulative ways. Henry will manipulate us into thinking he’s starving, he will cry/squeal when he wants attention, and he has trained our dogs to give him extra massages. The saddest part is that the dogs actually fall for it. Without a firm hand these porkers will become defiant. To avoid them getting bored you will need to keep their mind stimulated beyond just giving them treats and food.
• Social Butterflies: They LOVE attention and socialization. If you work many hours outside the home they will be upset with you. They will also pick a “favorite” person. For example, Henry hated Danny but he favors Madi and I. They get sad and depressed when not engaged in interactions. They have a big memory too and will hold grudges when upset. When we were in St. Thomas and Hawaii last year I came home to give him a treat and greet him and instead of taking it he threw the treat on the ground and walked away from me. This happens every time we leave the house for more then a day or two. So be aware that if you get a pet pig you will need to play and engage with them consistently.​​

• ​SO emotional: Just like humans, pigs have big personalities! They have likes and dislikes, best friends and ones they hate. They even have routines they like, Henry and Penelope both have a bedtime and nap schedule they themselves follow. They can even be picky eaters. Henry won’t touch a single vegetable no matter how it is given to him but will suck anything down that even slightly smells sweet. Pigs have fears, and get excited easily. Sometimes I’ve noticed Henry just wants to be by himself too. I have also taken note that Henry takes on many characteristics that the dogs have as well. Whenever a car drives by I will see all the dogs run to the front gate barking and then just a few yards back you’ll see Henry sprinting while “barking” too. They can be emotional rollercoasters so be prepared for excitement and tantrum rage happening all together.
• MY EARS: They are the loudest pets I have ever owned. I find them to be even louder than most small dogs. They squeal and cry like a newborn baby when irritated, angry, or picked up. Even now if you lift Henry’s legs to pick him up or as I mentioned earlier if we don’t feed him right on time, he loses his mind. It’s at an eardrum busting level at times. Penelope is no different. They are also chatty Cathy’s! Doesn’t matter if they’re just hanging out or walking around they are pretty much always oinking unless they’re asleep. They make noises for general socializing, excitement, frustration, curiosity, and a very funny Hangry noise. They are much, much louder than any other animal I own. If you live in an apartment or with close neighbors, a pig is most definitely not an animal I would recommend.
• Do my spots make my butt look big?: You do have to watch their diet. Henry is by far the worst ever. He will eat anything and everything with the exception to veggies. HE. WILL. NOT. EAT. VEGGIES. I have tried and tried to get him to but he’s stubborn. I have even coated broccoli, carrots, and lettuce in ranch. He sucks on them to get the sweet off and then spits the rest out. In the morning he begs for food and then pretends like he’s starving. He spends his day between his naps outside trying to find acorns, bugs, and plant roots. All of this started when we trained him with Cheerios. We have special feed that both pigs eat daily that covers all of their nutritional needs and then we feed small treats for training and rewards. We’ve learned with this new girl we will have to monitor what we introduce to her much more. Even though a pig is a pig, it does not mean they can eat whatever they want. Mini pigs have much smaller frames than that of a 600+ pound pig if their weight gets out of control it can cause big health problems and their little legs have a hard time holding up the weight when they walk. They will protest like they are starving, DO NOT GIVE IN! They are manipulative and very food motivated animals. Without proper care of a mini pig they will become a big pig! The only thing separating a mini pig from an average sized pig is in fact diet. Despite what a breeder may say about a pig being micro or mini, they are just real pigs. Minis are runts of litters that have been bred down multiple times. So if you don’t want a 600+ pound pig walking around your house pay attention to what they eat. Keep in mind Pigs will grow for about 3-6 years after birth.
• Beauty Sleep: They love their naps and sleepy time BUT they are nocturnal animals. When we got Henry I had a mini break down. I was not prepared that he would be waking me as an infant every few hours just to socialize and I was not nine months prepared to do so. I was miserable. This is one area Penelope is a bit different. Her breeder actually crate trained her before she was ready to be homed to avoid such a disaster. She goes to sleep when the lights are off, sleeps through until about 4/5am, has a drink of water, plays, and then gooes back to bed until breakfast time. This is something you might want to look into with your potential breeder or enforce crate training yourself with your new pig. It has saved me many sleepless nights this piglet time around. ​

So I hope you have a bit more insight into the life of being a pig owner vs just what cute YouTube videos will show you. I know that I was definitely surprised when we first brought Henry home. I love my pig babies though and hope that if you do choose to become a pig parent you'll enjoy yours too (and possibly be more prepared than I was!). May the New Year be good to you, happy 2017!

(NYE Vacation in Utah)