just looking not for eating

[keg_0069]

A new member of our family. Nugget our mini pig.

 

[bmudd14474]

Congrats on the new addition. Did you name him Bacon or Baby Back?

 

[keg_0069]

we call her nugget.

 

[travcoman45]

Looks like dinner ta me! Does it run when ya get the bbq sauce out?

Cute, but I hate havin dinner pets, to much temtation!

 

[thestealth]

awww, piglets are so cute...

I remember when Max was a wee piggy...now he's just a grumpy old hog.

 

[keg_0069]

nice looking pig you have. ours will be around 25lbs. full grown.

she doesn't run when the bbq sauce comes out. she just snorts

 

[bassman]

I've heard that you really have to love your pets to be able to eat them!

 

[TulsaJeff]

Looks delicious.. errr.. I mean.. cute. Yeah that's what I meant

 

[thestealth]

Oh cool...a mini potbelly. I didn't think they had perfected the breeding of those yet.

Max probably weighs between 75 and 100lbs. We don't know his exact weight, he's too hard to get to the vet in his old age (he's 14) so our vet makes house calls if needed.

She's fixed I assume..?

 

[keg_0069]

when she is old enough she will be fixed.

 

[thestealth]

Good. Once a sow starts going into heat, she'll go into it about every 3 weeks. It will get annoying (we had a female many years ago but she got the cancer).

Don't underfeed her to keep her small...

 

[meateater]

What a cute little chub...errr piggy.

 

[smokin relaxin steve]

Awesome! my Girl wants one or 2 (i have to admit i do now after reading about the type of pet they make)... we have a farm near here that breads them (but has a pretty long waiting list, but i will wait till we are married for that)... Congrats on the new addition!

 

[smokingd]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM pig nugget's is that why you got a small one LMAO very nice. I just love them little things they taste.. I mean are so nice

 

[thestealth]

Breads them...for frying?

They are good pets. Smart, loving, free fertilizer, low/no shedding, clean, easily housebroken, relatively disease free (depending upon location very few vaccinations are required)

...but there are downsides.
They constantly hunt and root for food. You cannot keep food in lower cabinets unless it's baby proofed. You may have to baby proof the fridge as well. Speaking of food, it's not always easy to come by. You can't just feed them table scraps or dog food, they'll get huge if you do. It's best to get them actual mini-pig food. We have a Farmers COOP in town, so we get our feed there. I assume you can get it at a petsmart type store, but I've never looked. Males have a scent gland in their junk. When they get excited or scared, they emit a pretty foul odor. They live a long time, estimates are between 15-25 years (maybe longer). The oldest on record lived to 19. Potbellies have only been in country since the mid eighties.

Even though the care of them is similar to the care of a dog (attention, socializing, etc.) they are not like a dog...

Sorry for the thread jack and being a somewhat debbie downer. I just don't want someone to get a pot belly without truly investigating the species and how to care for them.

 

[hdsmoke]

I had a friend that got her daughter a "mini" pot bellied...umm...im guessing it now weighs 150-200lbs! Hope you really got the "mini blood lines!

 

[smokin relaxin steve]

Yeah i have been reading about them over the past year...
Luckily the local farm that Breads (LOL!!!) breeds them also sells the food... and now luckily i have you LOL!!!! thanks to SMF...

 

[thestealth]

I didn't want to be the one to come out and say it...but...there are no mini blood lines...just selective breeding and underfeeding. All Vietnamese potbellies (the black ones) come from the same line.

 

[thestealth]

They do make good pets. After Max passes, I doubt we'll get another one. Max has been an outside pet for going on ten years. One reason, the scent gland, it really can stink. Looking back, we should have had it removed when the vet had to surgically remove one of his his nuts (it never dropped), but we didn't know about it. The other reason, like dogs, they are social animals. He wanted to be where we were. He would follow us up and down the stairs (our family room is in the basement) and climbing on the bed/couches. Pigs aren't really designed for that. He developed a shoulder problem going down the stairs. We finally got that cleared up with steroids and calcium/gloucousomine, but our vet recommended not letting him climb the stairs or getting on furniture. We eventually moved him outside. He still gets to come in, but for the most part he's an outdoor animal. :(

About their intelligence. When we litter box trained him, we used cedar shavings in a cat box. After a few months, we housebroke him. He was maybe 6 months old when he was fully house broken. Fast forward 13 years, our neighbors tree fell on our fence during an ice storm. I had to bring Max into the garage until I could repair the fence. Just for reference, Max pees like a beer drinker, seriously, he pees for like 5 minutes. I didn't really want him peeing on the garage floor, so the next morning I went to the COOP and bought a bag of cedar shavings and put it in our plastic kennel tray, tossed in a couple of his turds and hoped for the best. About an hour later, I went to the garage and there he was, using the "litter" box. Even though it had been over 13 years...he still remembered...

 

[smokin relaxin steve]

Thats awesome man... If you dont mind i will be keeping you in mind for Private Message Questions If & When we make our purchase! Sounds like you been around the block in Potbellies world... Thanks for the info!