The very best thing you can do is educate yourself as much as possible. Do NOT take advice from people that may or may not be qualified to give you that type of guidance or advice. ALWAYS know you are getting credible information from a trusted source. There is sooooooo much inaccurate information being passed around, so we thought we would try and present some of the facts we know to be true that has seemed to cause an abundance of confusion. 

I have told this story before, but not on the blog. When I had ZERO pig knowledge and ran out to buy a pig because I was selfish and didn't think it would be hard to care for a pig, I noticed these "holes" in my pigs legs. I IMMEDIATELY called my vet who was out of town, so a partner saw my pig. She agreed, it looked bad, possibly a parasite, a flesh eating bacteria, but felt confident in prescribing me an antibiotic and some antibiotic cream for these "abscesses". Needless to say, when my vet arrived back to the office and saw my pig was seen, he was kind enough to fill me in that they weren't "holes", not parasites, no flesh eating bacteria, but instead scent glands. That was definitely an expensive lesson to find out they were a normal part of the anatomy. Click here to learn more about scent glands.

In a pigs natural environment, they are able to forage around for food, pee in a stream and build a nest of sticks and leaves and can survive a long time doing this. We cannot expect an animal with naturally wild instincts to be good and act the way WE want them too ALL the time. It isn't going to happen. We can't make our pigs smaller, so we have to build bigger indoor enclosures, buy new fashionable pig clothes, bigger water and food bowls, reinforce weak or damaged fencing. Why you ask? Because you have committed to this pig for potentially 20+ years and as your pig grows, you will have to modify everything to make sure your pig is safe and secure. 

Yes, pigs DO shed. Pigs are NOT hypoallergenic as some may say and people CAN be allergic to their pig. It isn't common, but it does happen. 

We have a blog as well as a page dedicated to pig halitosis. Some pigs have HORRIBLE breath while others simply isn't that bad. There are a variety of things that could be going on, but based on my experience, this pocket of goop is what has caused the foul breath. Click here to read more about tusk care/dental care in pigs.

Yes, female pigs also get tusks. Most female pigs do NOT have big giant tusks like the males do, however, there are always exceptions. There are a lot of people who have no idea which is why we are adding it here. 

Pigs NEED outside time. Pigs who are exclusively kept indoors can suffer from Vitamin D deficiencies and boredom. Bored pigs are often destructive pigs. Click here to read more about enrichment for your pig.

Pigs and dogs are natural enemies. I do not care how sweet your dog is, honestly, size isn't of significant importance when a piglet goes into a home with a dog. We see people posting daily on social media that their pig was attacked by the family dog. We warn as many people as possible. It doesn't matter if you are standing right there with them, it can and does happen all the time. 5 seconds is all it takes for your dog to get his/her powerful jaw around a pig's neck and your pig could die as a result. Please do not leave the two unattended. Click here to read more about the dangers.

Not every pig roots and causes complete destruction in the yard, but some do. If a perfect yard is in your plans, you will need to set aside an area for your pig with secure fencing (because the grass is always greener on the other side) to keep your pig contained to that particular area. Pigs have a great sense of smell, on top of that, they are extremely curious and like to dig around to find buried treasures that may be hidden in the soil. When pigs are not given the opportunity to go outside and root and play, they can often become destructive IN the house. A fenced in yard is a must for a pig parent. This is not only to keep your pig in your yard, but also to keep predators out. Click here if you need some ideas for outside containment. We have pages for indoor pens as well as outdoor houses and fencing. 

Having a vet that sees pigs is a step in the right direction, having a vet that specializes in pigs is like hitting the lottery. There aren't many out there. It is super important to have a vet lined up, that's knowledgable about pigs, before your pig gets sick or injured. There isn't a worse feeling than knowing your pig needs to be treated, but you cannot find a vet to help. We have a list of vets that have been confirmed over the last couple of years who have said they will see pigs. Not all specialize in pigs and some are limited in what they can provide, so you will need to call and find out what their particular policies are with regards to pigs as patients. You can click here to view our vet map. We also have a general health form that you can download (click here to go to the general health page) and use should your pig become ill to help you with details you might not think is relevant, but your vet will be grateful to have. Aside from sickness or injury, a vet may be needed for vaccinations, general questions about your pig or routine care like hoof or tusk trims. Always have a back up plan, matter of fact, have back up plans for back up plans. 

Piglets tend to do "ok" with stairs, but...as your pig grows older and wiser and bigger and heavier, they tend to have issues with stairs/steps. It is best to set your pig up with success by having an alternative solution ready to put into action, such as a ramp. Click here for our page that discusses this.

We preach this day in and day out. ALL pigs grow. The ones that do stay piglet sized (and there is only a handful that I am aware of) will likely never see their 5th birthday sadly enough. Some people are truly ignorant to the fact they're being told to basically starve a pig to stunt the growth while others know exactly what they're doing. Nonetheless, we wanted to make sure everyone knew there are no "teacup", "micro", "micro mini", "nano", "pocket sized", "apartment", "pygmy", "dandie" or any other made up misleading descriptive term to elude to one person over another having "smaller" pigs. Click here to see our page regarding this MYTH.

Checking the rules/laws/ordinances regarding pigs, in the area you live, can save a lot of heartache. Not all cities welcome pigs with open arms. Much like everyone who does add a pig to the family, it takes time to learn about them. Most people have never even seen a pig in person, much less thought about a pig as a companion pet. There has been a lot of success with people have ordinances amended to allow potbellied pigs to reside within city limits, but those people have worked hard to make that happen. We put together a packet of information to help guide you on that journey if you choose to tackle that. I have found that most cities are willing to listen to the information and typically have some follow up questions, but in a lot of those cases, the decision to allow pigs was the outcome. YOU will need to do some work to make your case and show your city/town/county why you feel pigs should be allowed. Click here to view our page and packet of information that can be useful to you if you are fighting to keep your pig or you want to establish or change an outdated ordinance. 

No explanation needed. 

Naturally we will add more to this page as the day goes on and time permits....What do you feel needs clarification? Send us an email at [email protected] or message us on our Facebook page. We are certainly open to suggestions, but wanted to present these "truths" in a creative way.

It is common for humans to struggle with winter weight gain. Whether the struggle is in preventing it, or losing the weight after the fact, seasonal weight gain is a fact of life for a lot of animals that live in seasonal climates. With the onset of colder temperatures — a time when food items become scarce in the wild — activity levels drop, metabolism slows down, and hibernation mode sets in. This is not limited to animals in the wild, however. There is not always a plethora of seasonal vegetables available to some pig parents during the colder months. This makes it more difficult to find nutritious choices for your pigs diet. The fact that it gets darker earlier in the day makes feeding times one of the keys to prevention. As with people, eating right before you go to bed leaves unburned calories leading to weight gain. Changing the time you feed the last meal of the day can also allow your pig to have the opportunity to burn off those excess calories by means of playing, digging or just moving around after a meal.  Darkness means bedtime. If it gets dark at 530pm, most pigs are ready for bed at 530pm.  Feeding the last meal of the day a couple of hours before darkness sets in allows your pig the opportunity to burn off some of those calories versus eating a big meal and going right to bed a short time later. If this is possible for you to feed your pig an earlier dinner, and you haven’t been, try doing it 30 minutes earlier each day until you reach your desired time instead of feeding your pig 2 hours early one evening and their bellies telling them its time to eat much earlier the following morning. I personally feed at 6am and 3pm. These are times that work for me. Occasionally there are days that I am a few minutes late with dinner, and my pig lets me know. But overall, I believe allowing the time to burn off the calories does impact winter weight gain.
 
Even though we have devised ways to stay warm and active, and to stockpile plenty of food to get us through the winter months, our bodies still react with the age-old evolutionary methods for preservation. This is as true for humans as it is for our domesticated pets, and this is where that struggle lies. Luckily for us, pellets are available year round usually, but the selection of foods to add to these pellets are not. Determine what winter veggies are available to you beforehand and check the nutritional content to be sure you aren’t compounding the problem by adding high calorie or non-nutritious items to your pigs diet. We have added a link to our nutrition section to a search engine for ALL foods and this site can tell you the nutrition content of practically any food. This is a great tool for those of us who aren't nutrition experts and don't necessarily know which foods are best. Click here to view our pig nutrition page and look for the USDA.gov link for the nutrition link. ​​
 
When a pig that is used to being outside all day digging in the yard is now only outside for speedy breaks, or a pig that is accustomed to a sunbathing outdoors is now reluctant to spend much time outdoors in the cold, it naturally follows that the food that has been consumed is not being burned as energy resulting in weight gain. Click here to see our recommended product page with a list of treat dispensers that can be used for feedings.
 
Meanwhile, we are eating more at home, making large meals for family get-togethers and I am sure there are some at the dinner table who may “accidentally” drop or even purposely slip a few human food items to your pig. NIP THIS IN THE BUD! Make sure you tell your guests that your pig is NOT to eat human food unless you have prepared some in  special way just for him/her.

​Prevention is Key
 
If you don’t start, you’ll never have to stop. This is a motto to live by. If you don’t gain weight, you won’t have to lose weight. If you never start feeding sugary treats, you will never have to find alternative treats for your pig, etc. If your pig is normally active and in good physical shape, create an exercise plan for the winter months so that he or she can continue to be active. This might be games with indoor rooting boxes, or other enrichment items, a romp through the snow in the backyard, once you have shoveled a path of course, and a brisk walk with your pig when the weather allows for it. Just be sure to get out as often as possible so that both your pig and you can work off the excess calories. Click here to see our enrichment page with ideas of things you can do to keep your pig busy or entertained. Enrichment is important for many reasons, but one of them is to prevent boredom and a second is to encourage activity. 
 
If it is too difficult to maintain a regular exercise routine during the coldest months, consider cutting back on calorie intake to compensate for the lowered physical and metabolic activity. Fewer treats with a gradually decreased amount of feed being fed should cover the difference.