PA MINI PIG
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How-To Care for Your New Piglet
Potty Training
This is one of the most important subjects when purchasing a piglet. I will tell you from personal experience it's easier then training a dog. My recommendations are to start your pig in a extra room (laundry room, spare bedroom,etc), pigs are an animal that repeats their actions over and over again. You will see them going to the bathroom, pick it up with a paper towel and place it in your litter box. Most pigs go to the bathroom in one corner. They poop frequently and usually after eating (like most animals). They will have accidents from time to time, so discipline them for this and reward them for going in the litter box.
Some people go for the other option when potty training outdoors. We did a petting zoo this past year and found someone who had a pig for 17 years, potty trained to go outdoors and did great with it. She said the number one thing to remember when training to use the yard is reward. She used raisins (low calorie,tasty,and the box made noise that the pig knew when she was going to get this reward).
Feeding
We recommend feeding your new piglet a food that is made for mini pigs. Tractor supply and most larger feed mills carry a brand called Mazuri pig chow, they make it especially for mini pigs(babies,adults and older pigs). We also recommend fruits and veggies,some of the favorites my pigs enjoy include: apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, and tomatoes. We feed our pigs twice a day(usually 9 am and 5 pm), they always have a bowl of water offered to them as well. When we wean piglets off of their mothers we usually give them about a 1/4 cup of solid foods twice a day. As they grow larger so should their portions.
Life Span
Pigs can live to be in their high teens. I have met several people that have owned pigs that reached 15-17 years old. We usually say its like owning a dog, 10-14 years is the average.
Maintenance
Pigs are pretty low maintenance animals. I recommend trimming their nails 1-3 times a year (it is obvious when they are too long). Just take a finger nail cutter and it will take several cuts to go thru one nail. We give the piglets a shot of ivomec as soon as they are weaned. This is a de-worming solution and also helps with mange mites. We give ivomec twice a year, as most pig owners do. We recommend you have your pig seen by a vet at least once a year. If you like a clean piggy a bath is definitely a good idea,but pigs are prone to dry skin, one bath a month is the most we would recommend. I bathe them before leaving our farm and use Johnson and Johnson no tears for children.
Do you have any other questions? Please feel free to contact us
