Anyone here own pigs?

[Jody]

My three year old daughter adores and loves pigs. Since around June of this year, I've been wanting to get a pair of goats, but have been procrastinating on that.. One day while enroute to the local feed store with my daughter, I said to her, "maybe we'll go get those goats today" and she replied, "but daddy, I don't want goats, I want a piggy"..

She really does like pigs too.. anytime and everytime she sees anything with a pig on it, she wants it, whether it's an article of clothing, or a toy, etc, etc.

I have a small barn with a section I could pen up to be a stall for the pig and found an ad on craigslist for piglets for $60 and I am thinking about buying my daughter a piglet for christmas, however, it would end up my responsibility to care for and clean.

I did some reading and estimate I'm in for 150lbs of feed per month plus table scraps. Does this sound about right?


As for cleaning the pen, how much poop can I expect to be picking up daily for one pig.

Is having just one pig ok, or do they get lonely?

Since it will be my daughters pig, I would not be able to harvest it for food, however, in the event of an emergency or food disaster, what's the maximum age one should harvest a pig?

What are any common issues/problems with pigs?

And this one is important, if this piglet is raised around my child, is there still risk later on of this pig harming my child if they grow together?

Oh, also.. what about free range? I'm not prepared to fence off the entire property, but would like to allow the pig to free range during the day.. Do they stay near home like a dog would, or even chickens? Another thing, there's fields, trails, etc and I got this silly idea in my head that we could take piggy for a walk.. Have you ever leashed a pig? lol.. Can a pig ride around the back of my pickup for a ride to the beach, lol

Anything else I should know..

 

[Goat_Walker]

Are you after a pot bellied pig or a regular pink farm pig? Pot bellied pigs can stay small or grow huge depending on what you feed them. The big pink farm pigs though ive seen get to at least 400 lbs. A pot bellied pig will stay small as long as you keep it on a food schedule. Its important not to over feed it. One cup of dog food. Some fruit and veggies.


But then again I only know this from wanting a pig myself. Wait till Redhen gets on here. She has piggies.

 

[Jody]

Haven't considered potbelly as any photos I've seen of them as adults they look um... not as cute as regular farm pigs. I'd love to get her a Goettinger mini pig, but I think finding one before christmas will be difficult and very expensive.

A small pig would be better, but I doubt my wife would want a pig in the house, so a farm pig is better cause it can live in the barn.

Thought about teacup pigs, but just found out about their history of health issues, etc related to their size

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
awwwwwwwwww I'd love a little teacup piggie, never seen one but sounds too cute!

 

[PeeperKeeper]

We have "regular" farm pigs. Frankly...they scare me to death! They are HUGE!

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

I have had meat pigs..not pets, but meat pigs usually do better if there is more than one..competative eating..150lbs. a month at first seems excessive for one but we always supplemented with dairy milk and scraps..so maybe not..just remember little piggies can be little houdinis, have a secure place for them. we had ours in a stall with a fenced in area out the back. I found them to be extremely clean..they did their business in the same corner everyday; slept in a bed of hay but they did like to wallow in the mud.

 

[Jody]

Oh well

Nevermind.. Wife just walked in on me and caught me browsing "Pigs for sale" ads online and said "don't even think about it"

 

[gritsar]

Well, I'm with your wife on this one. IMO, a pig of any sort, even a pot-bellied pig is not a good choice of a pet for a 3 year old. Many years ago, my pig (125 lbs.) knocked my 16 year old daughter down when he got overexcited at dinnertime. She smacked her head pretty hard and made contact with not one, but two electric fence wires. She hated the pig after that, even though it really wasn't his fault. There's alot of strength in their "little" compact bodies.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
I bet you can find one that needs to be "rescued" - that normally works for me

 

[RiverOtter]

WOW
Totally with the wife!!!
Yes, I have pigs. A farm pig is in the cute, baby stage for about 6 weeks. At which point they weigh between 30 and 40 ponds (probably as much as your 3 year old). At which point they grow astronomically. 6 months later they weigh between 200 and 250 pounds and are ready to butcher.
A 250 pound pig is no longer cute. They are BIG. Think of a 100 pound dog, then think of something that is 2 and a half times that size. Also, pigs have been known to kill and eat small animals. To a 250 pound pig (which a farm pig will be a short 6 months after you bring it home) your 40 pound toddler is a small animal.
And it is genetics that control a pot belly's size, not diet. A mini pig is mostly mini when compared to a farm pig. A 3 year old farm pig will generally weigh between 400 and 600 pounds or more, depending on breed and sex. Compared to a 600 pound animal, a 150 pound pot-bellied pig is indeed a miniature. That doesn't make them small.

The only place for a pig and a child to be are on opposite sides of a stout fence. This is assuming you like your child and would like her to grow up. In which case I reccommend a cute, soft, pink STUFFED piggy and her own copy of the movie Babe.

An excellent first pet is a guinea pig. Sell her on the name and the cute little grunty noises they make and get her one of those.

Sorry if I come across as harsh. I'm not trying to insult you, but as I read this post I was scared enough for your child that I had to log on and respond. We have pigs. Not mean pigs, just your basic, well-treated pig. We give them treats, hose them down on hot days, give them a good life until it is time for them to go into the butcher. But if one of us has to go inside the fence, there is another person on the outside, ready to help. If you slipped and fell in there, maybe nothing would happen. But it's really easy for a 200 pound animal to hurt you by accident. And pigs, like bears, are in fact omnivores and would likely enjoy eating us as much as we enjoy eating them, given the right circumstances