- Jun 6, 2013
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I've just gotten my first piglets. Mangalitsas, 2 gilts about 3 months old. I'm trying to research pig behavior and training. They're farm girls, not pets, but I desire all of my livestock to have a functional, trusting, trouble-free relationship with me.
I've been doing a lot of reading. I've read about the "move the pig" thing, that seems logical. I feel like I've been grasping their basic disposition; food-oriented and food-motivated and food-obsessed! I want to get off on the right foot with these gals since they'll be so huge in a few years. They're already a handful at 30-40lbs!
It's been 6 days and they're warming up to us well. They will take food out of my hand and have become more interested in me when I'm around. We have them in a run by the front door so we're constantly around/coming and going. I've read cautions about making sure they don't associate you strictly with food lest they become demanding and overly-manipulative. I've read about not giving in to tantrums, not treating them like dogs in terms of scolding or redirecting, and not mistakenly praising bad behaviors.
There's one particular behavior I don't quite understand and am not quite sure how to properly address. And that's nibbling and using their mouths. Obviously I don't want a 500lb pig nibbling people someday.
The two ways they've expressed this is by nibbling toes and shoes when we enter the pen (we have to step down into the pen and they set to nibbling shoes as they come in) - and not like a curious "what's this?" nibble, but like an intentional excited action, though not expressly aggressive and not fearful or intense. It's not hard or painful, but it doesn't sit well with me (although it's quite cute). It's a bit hard to shoo them off when you're climbing down into the pen and they stop when we're in with them (we're on a steep property, everything is up and down...)
The other behavior is one gal likes to come up behind me while I'm sitting with them, and decisively grab a mouthful of my shirt and start shaking it like a dog playing tug. She got my skin a bit the first time and I gave a start and softly shooed her away. She still does it but seems acutely careful to not get my skin. I feel like this might be a demanding or negative behavior, though my partner thinks its a playful behavior. I don't mind gentle play, but if it's a demand for food I want to nip it in the bud.
I guess I'm just at square 1 understanding the pig mind and their behaviors. Any advice would be appreciated
I've been doing a lot of reading. I've read about the "move the pig" thing, that seems logical. I feel like I've been grasping their basic disposition; food-oriented and food-motivated and food-obsessed! I want to get off on the right foot with these gals since they'll be so huge in a few years. They're already a handful at 30-40lbs!
It's been 6 days and they're warming up to us well. They will take food out of my hand and have become more interested in me when I'm around. We have them in a run by the front door so we're constantly around/coming and going. I've read cautions about making sure they don't associate you strictly with food lest they become demanding and overly-manipulative. I've read about not giving in to tantrums, not treating them like dogs in terms of scolding or redirecting, and not mistakenly praising bad behaviors.
There's one particular behavior I don't quite understand and am not quite sure how to properly address. And that's nibbling and using their mouths. Obviously I don't want a 500lb pig nibbling people someday.
The two ways they've expressed this is by nibbling toes and shoes when we enter the pen (we have to step down into the pen and they set to nibbling shoes as they come in) - and not like a curious "what's this?" nibble, but like an intentional excited action, though not expressly aggressive and not fearful or intense. It's not hard or painful, but it doesn't sit well with me (although it's quite cute). It's a bit hard to shoo them off when you're climbing down into the pen and they stop when we're in with them (we're on a steep property, everything is up and down...)
The other behavior is one gal likes to come up behind me while I'm sitting with them, and decisively grab a mouthful of my shirt and start shaking it like a dog playing tug. She got my skin a bit the first time and I gave a start and softly shooed her away. She still does it but seems acutely careful to not get my skin. I feel like this might be a demanding or negative behavior, though my partner thinks its a playful behavior. I don't mind gentle play, but if it's a demand for food I want to nip it in the bud.
I guess I'm just at square 1 understanding the pig mind and their behaviors. Any advice would be appreciated
