Help! What To Do With This Baby Piglet?

[Show Me Chick]

Fellow pig owners I need some advice! Here the story: I went today to get my seven year old daughter a pot bellied piglet. I found some on Craig's list (someone needs to block my computer from going to that site) anyway it was a 2 hour drive one way to the place and when we showed up the owner was grilling food and I didn't want to keep him long so we went to the pig pen and he said this was the only girl piglet he had and it was the smallest so I said I will take it. He then told me the piglet was 4 weeks old and hasn't been weaned but should do fine without mom. Not sure about that? Also found out then the piglets were not tame. The girl was priced higher than the boys but I didn't care cause I wanted a girl. I never bothered to look at its privates since I figured he knew the sex of his piglets. When I got home from the long trip I took my girl out of the crate to give it a bath since she had feces on her body and also had sores/burns on her knees which probably came from the urine that was excreted on the small concrete pen it was living in. While washing I noticed she was a he!!! I emailed the guy and let him know he sold me a boy. He emailed back saying he will find the female piglet in the pen tomorrow and I can come get her whenever. Kind of makes me mad because if I go back to exchange it will cost me about $35 in gas and about 4 hours drive time round trip. What would you do? If I keep this male will it be ok as a pet for my daughter or should I go back to get the female? Really don't want to spend money and time driving back down there. I feel like he should bring the girl to me since it was his mistake but I'm sure he won't do that. Oh also this little male we got today bit me (drew blood) when I took him out of the dog crate and will try and bite most of the time I go to touch him!!! He didn't do that when I bought him. I guess I can't blame him since he was never socialized and was pulled off his mother today but is this something that will pass soon? He's tiny but it's still scary since it hurts bad when he bites. Also anyone know about neutering a male piglet and if I do it will he be as good of a pet as a spayed female pig? Since he's only 4 weeks what should I be feeding him? Gosh I don't know what to do! I never expected a wild unweaned male piglet! Here is a picture of my vicious little tater tot giving me the stink eye...

 

[nzpouter]

he'll be ok... when pigs know where their food comes from they'll be your best friend... you might want to start with soaked pellet and bread to start with, feed him what he can finish in a set amount of time and remove the extra... there should also milk replacer you can give him till he's about 6 weeks old...

most pigs enjoy a tummy rub, so that'll be something to try when he's a bit tamer...

as for neutering, best to ask your vet, not hard to do with a local anaesthetic...

 

[chilling in muscadine]

I have two female PBPs. One I got at 8 weeks old but the second on I got at 7 days old and bottle fed it. Your male still needs formula. The feed stores sell a uin-milk formula and a regular baby bottle works fine. IDK about getting him neutored but the males will grow tusk and they will go around and sharpen them all the time. Is your pig gonna live outside or inside? I do know that with the tusk they can cause injurys.
The man was totally wrong to pick out a male and after the drive you made. I would be ticked off. If you do go back and get your girl you need to measure her food. Pigs will eat anything you give them and then you will end up with a PBP that weighs 150 pounds. The pig will get fat rolls around its eyes and want be able to see. It sad if you see one in this shape.
My girls get two cups of pig feed a day and for snacks they will get either oranges, apples, carrots, different veggies. They are both over a year old and they are both good on there weight.
Be careful because some people will try and sell regular piglets for PBPs. A pot belly will wag its tail like a dog and the happier it is the faster the tail wags.
Just PM me if I can help you out any and you had way to much food in your pic. Get the baba if your gonna keep him.
BTW pigs don't like there feet off the ground but when you hold him, hold him tight against your chest and this will make him feel secure. It also takes some time to tame them. Plenty of attension and that want be a problem anymore. They are really smart creatures. I wouldn't give anything for mine.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=126568

Here is the a link about my girls. I love to show them off.

S@R@

 

[Show Me Chick]

Thank u thank u thank u!!! Ok so I know I need to get some milk replacer tomorrow. Don't worry I know I've got waaay to much food in with him right now. I promise to not make him obese as I don't want his eyes to get fat rolls. The bad thing is I don't think he's ate or drank anything tonight. I put water mixed with 2% cow milk in with him...I know cows milk is not great for piglets but that's all I have tonight since I didn't know he wasn't weaned.

 

[Show Me Chick]

chilling in muscadine, oooh your girls are adorable!!! I went and took a look at the pics and now I'm going back to read the link. Hey what do you think about the biting, will he learn to trust me and my daughter?

 

[Show Me Chick]

chilling in muscadine, Forgot to ask you...I know my piglet is not a normal color for a potbellied but I did see the parents and they both were very small and were black so why is my piglet the color he is? A mix of some kind? I would say the parents looked around 75 lbs although the owner said they were 50 lbs.

But still small for a adult pig IMO. My piggy will live outside but I still want him to be tame and don't want to have to worry about him attacking my daughter. I'm just so shocked at this little guys temper since when I was growing up I had a few full sized pigs (600 plus lbs) as pets and they never bite me.

 

[drdoolittle]

Any piglet that has been kept solely with mama and siblings and not handled, will be at least a little "wild". We got a young hog to raise for butchering, and she, of course, had been only around her family sonce birth. She was very "wild" at first, but she actually got very tame while we had her-----she loved it when I scratched places on her back she couldn't get to easily! This pig was over 230lbs. when she went to slaughter-----if she could become friendly, I have no doubt that your little guy will settle down quickly! As far as taking him back, that's up to you-----I've never had a male pig, so I don't know anything about the tusk issue. Good luck!

 

[chilling in muscadine]

Quote:
Hopefully you got some formula today. I had stopped on the way and got all that stuff before I got my 7 day old Stormy. If it was me I would get a female. I had no idea what I was doing when I went and picked my girls out. My SO said to get girls because of the tusk issues and males will get quite frisky when they get ready to bread. I knew mine would be living with dogs and a mad male with tusk could lay a dog open and I didn't want that to happen.

I didn't have either one of my girls spayed and only one gets voicy when she goes into heat but its not a problem. Right now is when you need to be taming him. Hold him alot up close to your chest where he can feel your heartbeat. Hold him tight where he knews he isn't gonna fall. Just keep doing this and playing with him and he will be tame. Mine both come to there names when called. Mine are both affectinate and want to lay in your lap like a dog. Now they both will work you like they are starving to death, don't let him fool you.

Get you some wormer, unless the man said he already wormed them, but I don't know if I would beleive what the man said. He was sooooooo wrong to do what he did after that drive. With my girls my SO thinks they have something else mixed in there genes down the line somewhere because of the color. But they have more pot belly in them then anything else.

Best advise, tame him now, if he gets any older you will have a harder time plus these are the baby pig days and they are the coolest. How old is your daughter, little, older. The biting will stop once he is convinced he is going to be O.K. My Stormy, when I brought her home at 7 days tried to jump on my pitt bull that weighs 80lbs. My pitt bull looked at me like will you stomp this insect plus he was 13 years old at the time so not a threat to my girls. Don't get me wrong my girls are never left alone with dogs. If I don't have a sitter they are seperated. It would just crush me if one of my dogs hurt one of my girls.

The trick to there feeding and health, and I got a lot of info from Redhen{hey gal} is to give them enough while growing to make sure there organs are getting enough nutrition but not get to fat. If he gets heavy, you can trim him down. I will give carrots and fruits, greens to my girls.

Be careful with the weather, I do know if they get to hot they can die and pigs don't have much hair. They drink a lot of water. As far as winter, I don't know how cold it gets where your at but I have seen a set up with a doglou. I would keep plenty of hay myself. This may not be the best advice, mayby someone else knows a better solution. My girls sleep by the wood heater. lol Anyway pigs like to get under the hay and they like to sleep with there noses covered up.

Let me know how its going and get that baby tame now. The pig will be just like a dog following you around. Oh and my girls are shy around strangers. Have fun!!!!!

 

[Haviris]

Male's fine, just get him neutered.

 

[lorieMN]

tusks can be cut off,most breeder boars are cut off