# Do you have a mini pig?



## Tallabred (May 23, 2008)

I am thinking of getting a mini pig. I would love to know about your experiences with a pet mini pig.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

Pushy, loud, demanding. They can push a refrigerator clear across the kitchen trying to get in. They also like the taste of dry wall. I keep mine outside now. I love them that way


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## Tallabred (May 23, 2008)

Hmmm . . . good to know. That is the info that I am looking for. They are so cute as piglets - kind of like my bucklings are so cute then . . . buck rut - ugh!


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I was thinking about getting one but my friend said that they dig up the yard and do a lot of damage. but they are just so cute!!!


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## Amadioranch (Jun 18, 2011)

We had one in the house.....it was a amazingly bad idea. Totally food motivated animal. Was working on destroying the house with its unstoppable food cravings. Into everything. Last straw was when it ate a hole in the carpet to get at a old food spill. Oh and when it ate my keyboard on my laptop because I had handled food earlier and apperantly the keys smelled like it. NOT A HOUSE ANIMAL.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

To keep a mini pig mini you have to restrict feed. That makes for an animal that is always hungry. Just imagine how you feel when you are hungry. Then think about being that way all of your life.
It don't make a happy pig.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Most mini pigs don't really stay mini. Those cute little parents you see are not mature/full grown. As pancho says, to keep them truely mini, you have to nearly starve them to stunt their growth.


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## Tallabred (May 23, 2008)

Boy am I glad that I posted this question. Thank you SO MUCH for your experiences. I feed everyone, including myself, to much  Size is not a problem but attitude is.

Never thought about digging up what I keep the goats out of, carpet or random damage. . . This is a good thread for anyone thinking about getting a mini pig.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Mini pigs don't stay small and avoid those lying breeders that call 6wk piglets 5-6mo old pigs!! Anything as adults to be 25-50lbs is total bull. No one will ever convince me otherwise. 
Go see the farm, see the parents, don't be fooled thinking other juvies are the parents! 
PBs are 60-130lbs, 75-100lbs being the most common. 

Mine live outside, they can lift and squeeze in and out of stuff that's real heavy. So you need proper fencing for them. Mine have made several fav hang out's where they root all the time. They beg for food all the time! They will eat themselves sick.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

We left the PBP sow who generally lived in the house, in the bathroom while we went to town because she was messing with the carpet. So while we were gone, she took up the bathroom vinyl. Did a very thorough job of it. I didn't have to scrape much to lay new vinyl. Now if it had been planned, it might have worked out better.
She also learned to open the sliding glass door to go outside to poo, but never learned to close it.
Pigs have personalities, and some are calmer than others. We have American Guinea Hogs and AGH X PBP. The AGH are much friendlier, calmer and like attention more than the PBP. They also dig less, but they get bigger. My 2-yr-old sow is probably 200 - 230 pounds, and the 3 y/o boar next door is bigger than that with big tusks, so the idea of little bitty pigs may not work out.
Kit


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Tallabred said:


> Boy am I glad that I posted this question. Thank you SO MUCH for your experiences. I feed everyone, including myself, to much  Size is not a problem but attitude is.
> 
> Never thought about digging up what I keep the goats out of, carpet or random damage. . . This is a good thread for anyone thinking about getting a mini pig.


I am glad you posted this too!!! Now I REALLY won't get any of those cutie pies!


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

My pigs don't really root at all when outside. They are also pretty darn small at 4 years of age. About the size of a big beagle. Probably at least 55 pounds. She is tiny for a mini pig though.
You do have to watch what you feed. You have to give a measured cup a day for a baby, 2 cups for yearling and 3 for adults. I feed regular hog feed. That may sound like very little but a measured cup for a three pound animal is a good amount and far from starving. Though they would eat five times that amount if allowed. Yes if free fed they do grow like weeds though!


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Anyone see that new Honey Boo Boo show? They bought one for their daughter and she dresses it up in pink dresses and sleeps with it. It curls its lips and makes all kinds of bizzare growling noises like it's going to rip her face off at any moment.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

lasergrl said:


> My pigs don't really root at all when outside. They are also pretty darn small at 4 years of age. About the size of a big beagle. Probably at least 55 pounds. She is tiny for a mini pig though.
> You do have to watch what you feed. You have to give a measured cup a day for a baby, 2 cups for yearling and 3 for adults. I feed regular hog feed. That may sound like very little but a measured cup for a three pound animal is a good amount and far from starving. Though they would eat five times that amount if allowed. Yes if free fed they do grow like weeds though!


There are a couple of breeds of pig that do stay small. However, most of the piglets sold as "micro" pigs are not this breed and don't stay near as small as most people expect.

However, if giving free feed will allow your pig to grow taller, not just wider/fatter, that does sound like growth was stunted by not providing enough food.


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Its funny, I saw this ad on CL the other day and thought "Good luck." 

Maybe things are different in other areas but no one is going to pay $200 for a pot belly pig here. Especially when you can get them for free. Do they actually sell in other areas?

pot belly pig - do not flag serious


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

I have a pig that someone used to have as a cute mini pig pet until it got big and they dumped it off in front of my house :grump:

He is a pot belly pig, I guess, and he is about 3 feet long now, weighs maybe 120 pounds, and has destroyed my herb garden, my spring bulbs, my fencing (he puts his nose under it and pushes until he lifts it/wrecks it, and goes right through), he eats everything, he ruined my fruit trees by rubbing on them and scratching , bashed down my goat stall door, the wall in my goat shed, giant pig poop all over the place, he dug up all my flowers and bulbs and ate them, I really don't want him and I don't really like him much, but I have no idea how to get rid of him lol


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

There'd be some meat on him Shygal. They ARE pigs after all. Just a thought.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

DaniR1968 said:


> However, if giving free feed will allow your pig to grow taller, not just wider/fatter, that does sound like growth was stunted by not providing enough food.


See, now the thing is, is that Im not sure you can call it stunting. If you are feeding them twice as much as other animals there relative size thats plenty. A puppy the same size as my mini pigs would get half the amount of food in a day. Pigs seem to have a unique metabolism, allowing them to adapt and survive. Maybe allowing them to grow so fast, and big, is actually worse for them? If we are raising large swine, we do ration them so they dont grow like they would a feeder. So why wouldnt the same hold true for small ones? As long as they are not thin, that should be sufficient feed. This is just my theory.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

GrannyCarol said:


> There'd be some meat on him Shygal. They ARE pigs after all. Just a thought.


I know but......his name is Hector :shrug:


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I totally understand.


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## CrisT (Apr 2, 2003)

My piggy Gracie is right now at the foot of the couch under her "blankie". She is totally a house pig. She does not do rain or cold or too hot. Trust me, they do not stay as small as all the ads. Gracie is about 100lbs but very compact. Not much different than a large dog in the house. VERY smart. Potty trained in 1 day to go outside and never an accident in the house. I do have to keep locks on kitchen cupboards. Learned this when I came home to a kitchen floor covered in flour!! Not a pet for someone that is not home ALOT. They are like having a 3yr old. I just love to snuggle on the floor with her under her blankie. She is very attached to me. I Love having her but she does take alot of watching. She has never destroyed anything in the house but all my flowers outside must be in pots. She will dig them up. I LOVE my Gracie. Oh, one more thing. She had to be spayed!!!! In heat every 3 weeks and boy was she a pest. Her nose rooting on my leg left bruises you wouldn't believe. Their noses are really strong.


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## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

I had one in the house for years, Wilbur grew to maybe 60-70 lbs,but as someone said, compact!
You are supposed to feed them mini pig feed that is widely available ,I guess it has more vitamins and less calories or something. And they don't get a lot.
Mine was very good in the house, rooted the carpets a bit but nothing serious. 
Loved to snuggle with me.
He'd go outside too and stay in the yard, never messed with my garden,but got in the neighbors once when tomatoes were ripe!
My ex put him outside later on, fenced with chickenwire and he never tried to get out, could go inside the barn or in his run.
I miss him and would get another one but DH says a cat and dog in the house is quite enough!


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## cnsper (Sep 6, 2012)

You can get one in Great Falls for $1000. Not kidding, that is what the craigslist ad says. For that price there better be several of them that come cut and wrapped.


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## beaglady (Oct 7, 2002)

Our local CL has several baby 'mini-pigs' listed for $75 each. Maybe I should buy them all and send to Great Falls.


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## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

mine cost $75 like 20 years ago, I do see them for a lot more now ,but mostly the micro ones.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

DH#3 and I had one. She was given to us as a 3-day old baby, so tiny she fit in the palm of my hand, and her snout was no bigger than a fingernail.

DH named her Spammy Jo, and she grew up to be about 3 ft. long and to weigh over 100 lbs. Eventually, we moved her outside to a shed inside a fenced area in the yard. She never made an effort to get out of her enclosure, and mostly seemed happy to sleep in her shed all day long. She had a very sweet temperament, and especially loved children. She'd flop over on her side to have her belly scratched. She did get a little cranky if someone went in her shed ... it was *her* shed, and she was territorial. She'd push you with her snout, but she never bit or anything. 

She was a good pet and I enjoyed having her. She really belonged to DH, though, and he took her with him when he left.


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