Pigs

[lvponies]

They are so piggly wiggly cute!!

 

[Jill]

I have wanted to get a pigmy / micro pig for the longest, but it seems like so many of them approach livestock, vs. household pet size. I love how smart they are, and I think if we ever got one, both H and I would be devoted (but probably never again eat wonderful things like ham and bacon!)

I just especially love those little ones that have "blue merle" spots!!! Soooooooooo cute!!!

 

[MountainWoman]

I think the KuneKunes are the perfect size. They aren't huge but definitely not micro house piggies. The horses were a little scared of their noises at first but are now fine with them and they are really entertaining and friendly.

I know what you mean about eating bacon. I've had turkeys for a few years now and can totally not even stand the thought of eating turkey any longer.

 

[Boss Mare]

I love all the pics!!

 

[Charlene]

any new pics of your boys? it's been raining here for two days, i haven't been able to do anything except feed mine. i miss playing with them!!

 

[MountainWoman]

They are growing quickly and very friendly. They are living in the barn at the moment until spring weather when they will move to their own quarters in their own pasture but they are very noisy and the horses weren't sure about strange piggie noises so I put a panel in one of the stall doors so they could meet on neutral territory. I'm happy to report that horses can adjust to pigs and they don't mind all that squealing and piggie excited talk any longer.

 

[Charlene]

they are SO SO SO cute!! glad the horses are accepting them. they do make some wildly funny noises, don't they!?!

how do you tell them apart??

 

[MountainWoman]

Charlene, one is a little darker than the other and a little bigger. Here's some pictures. They get along great with the horses now.

 

[disneyhorse]

Those are definitely cuter than the potbellied ...

 

[AngC]

Just curious.... are these for pets (or dare I ask, for pork chops?)

Sorry, no offense intended; I've been thinking about getting a piglet or two. (And after browsing this thread, I'm still puzzled whether people are raising them as pets; I don't recognize the breeds.) My only prior experience is I raised a couple pigs for 4-H about ten million years ago; they went for non-vegan purposes.

 

[MountainWoman]

Mine are two neutered male pigs who are going to help maintain the pasture. Kunes are grazers and don't usually root up land when they have room to graze and are pets. KuneKunes are still considered an endangered breed so people are mostly raising them to place with other breeders who are going to better the breed. Some pet quality pigs are sold as pets and occasionally one will end up as a meal but it's not typical with the Kunes at the moment.

 

[Charlene]

thought you would get a big kick out of this!

Top ten reflections upon owning what started out as a cute little piglet

by Torry Stiles

[ Dear friends: Regular readers will recall that last September I became the proud owner of a small pot-belly pig. Porkrinds is now seven months old and life in the Stiles house has been interesting, to say the least. ]

10. The first rule of pig management: What goes in the pig comes out of the pig. …and pigs out-grow a normal sized litter box very quickly.

9. Do NOT give a pig chili. Trust me on this one. Just don’t do it.

8. Cats love Porkrinds because she generates more heat and moves less often than humans.

7. Pigs have pointy little toes that hurt when they step on your big flat feet.

6. She eats anything you don’t want her to.

5. If you attempt to move her out of her way she cusses at you. I’m not sure what she’s saying but I know she’s cussing.

4. We rarely have to look for her as she is pretty easy to spot and often in the way.

3. Pot-belly pigs don’t like snow. I can’t blame them: if my nipples were barely an inch off the ground I doubt if I would be out in two inches of snow.

2. Pigs are not known for their fetching abilities. Basically, if they can’t eat it they don’t care about it. If they can eat it then you ain’t gettin’ it back.

1. The person who sold us Porkrinds assured us she would grow to “about 35-45 pounds.” … She lied. … Big time.

 

[MountainWoman]

Charlene, thanks for sharing that. Have to say though my piggies are snow piggies cause we still have the darn stuff on the ground. They have really been entertaining.

 

[Charlene]

spring has sprung here, hope you get some nice weather soon! three of my pigs would rather never see snow but little harley seems to have a blast in it. many times, i would look out the window and see him doing zoomies while the rest of the herd hung back in the barn and watched him. i'm sure they were wondering what planet he came from!