housing a mini potbelly pig in my chicken run?

[Debs55]

**if this is in the wrong place please move it, I wasn't sure

Ok so I have several large chicken runs and now we want to get a young mini potbelly pig (the ones for sale are males if that makes a differnce). I was considering housing it in my chicken run. The chickens sleep in a raised coop that I am sure the pig would not be able to get in to. Also the pig would have his own shelter on the ground. I have read things about pigs eating chickens but most have them have been either very large pigs or pigs snatching them off the roost and I didnt think that would be a problem since the pig could not get into the coop and he would only be about 35 pounds full grown.

Opinions and advice??

 

[Melanieh]

I am also in GA....My daughter had always wanted a mini pig. We finally moved to the country and got her one. However, that mini pig has grown up to be over 200 lbs. When we got her she was only about 3 lbs and drinking out of a bottle so we had no way to know that she wasn't really a "mini". She ended up being too strong, destructive and dirty to keep in the house so we ended up putting her outside. She gets along great with chickens and ducks. I do not think that the average chicken coop could hold a pig in though. They are so strong and smart, even when they are little. They can get out of almost any enclosure. We finally broke down and built a pen for her out of hog panels. Pigs are sweet, but my experience is not at all like what we expected. Be careful and think about it good and hard. If I could do it again, I would not have gotten the pig.

 

[Debs55]

the run is pretty strong. its lanscape timbers cemented in the ground with a layer of farm fence and a layer of chicken wire around it an landscpae timbers along the bottom. I am still in the "thinking about it" stage

 

[Folly's place]

I think it's a bad idea, for many reasons. "Mimi" pigs often get pretty large, remember that a normal sized hog my reach 1,000 lbs! I think pigs are really interesting animals, BUT they are large, smart, and omnivores. One pig alone is like one chicken; they are social animals who need friends of the same species. Read about management of swine before getting that one cute little piglet, and decide if it's really right for you, and that the pig(s) will have a good life. Mary

 

[Vosify]

Our pot belly (a true 'mini' pig who are actually still pretty hefty) did fine with our chickens. Granted they all ran loose together, but where never locked together.

But Bella is now back in the house. But yes they are very social. It just so happens our girl was raised in the house before we moved to a farm. But she decided the barn was not her thing and perfered ours and our dogs company. Regardless of the fact we got her a piggy buddy.

Mini or micro pigs are not small like many believe or are told. Males need to be fixed and preferably females too. Males will need tusk trims as they age. They have rough bristly hair. Regardless of color they can burn easily. They need to be kept at a good weight. They are prone to spine injuries so an overweight pig could increase that risk.

Also their FEET! they NEED to be trimmed regularly. If they get long they cause pain and abnormal gaits, which again can screw their backs up. Please look up pictures of full grown pot bellied pigs. Not babies. They do not stay cute (well I think they still are, but by no means do they stay looking like that cute piglet), and that's what usually gets them sold as soon as they are no longer cute and bigger then what they are told they get.

We have had the pleasure of our house pig's company for 11 years. And hopefully many more to come. They have 10-15 year life span. So it's a commitment most people are not whiling to take on. But don't realize until they already have the animal.

 

[RedneckGurl]

First, let me say there is no such thing as a true "mini pig". The only way to keep a potbelly or teacup pig small is to starve them which is sadly the way most so-called breeders keep them small until you purchase them. Pigs grow proportionate to their diet. They all start out cute and tiny but if you feed them appropriately they will grow to be anything but mini despite the name. We recently rescued a female potbelly that the vet estimated to be no more than two years old. She is knee high and weighs approximately 125 pounds yet she is still classified as a mini pig.

Petunia has been sharing space with our chickens since we got her. They go into her pen area to scratch through her poop, mining for corn which is one of Petunia's favorite treats. She pretty much ignores them and they ignore her. For anyone who wants good solid information on pot belly pigs or any other small breed pigs that people typically keep as pets, I suggest the website Pigs 4 Ever.com. They are quite knowledgeable and even sell specialized pig merchandise such as harnesses (different than a dog harness), treat balls, etc.

Unfortunately, whoever had Petunia before us did not get her fixed and therefore she goes into heat every 21 days. It only lasts about four days but they are intense days with her becoming aggressively amorous, trying to mount us, nibbling at us, and wanting to go find a male piggy. Sadly yesterday was the first day Petunia went into her latest heat and she managed to force open the gate to the chicken/pig area and was gone by the time we got home from work last night. We still haven't found her and I'm worried sick. We live in a fairly rural area on two acres with neighbors on our street but there is about 60 acres of undeveloped land behind us before you get to more houses to the south. We have no idea how far she might have wandered and if she can even find her way back home. I worry the most about her encountering something like coyotes who would look upon her as a very tasty dinner.

Does anyone on here know enough about pig behavior to even guess if she would wander far or if she's most likely not far but just hidden by the waist high brush in the field behind our house? We've been out calling her periodically and shaking a plastic cup full of whole corn which usually has her running as fast as her little piggy legs can carry her if she can hear it. A friend who grew up on a large farm in Indiana seems to think she will wander back up in a day or two but his experience is with the larger, commercial pigs that they raised. I just don't know and I'm just sick about it.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry! Hope you find her soon. Put up signs, talk to all the neighbors, report to the police/ sherrif and animal Control. Any farms around? All the best, Mary