How to Care for Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs
These good-natured pets are big (60 to 110 lbs. on average, with shoulder height ranging from 4 to 18 inches) and love to root. Caring for them requires space and a mellow attitude about the lawn and home, since a potbellied pig will root around in carpet, rugs, flowers and grass.
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Instructions
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You can keep your pig either indoors or outdoors. They're generally clean animals, and they prefer to relieve themselves outside. When your pig's tail stops wagging and becomes horizontal, it's a sign that she needs to relieve herself.
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Feed your pig twice a day with commercially prepared potbellied-pig food that's formulated to meet your pig's nutritional needs. Have a veterinarian advise you on the proper amount to feed, since food requirements vary with the pig and depend on age and weight. Be sure to watch your pig's weight closely.
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Train your pig to use a litter box if she must be kept indoors for long periods of time. Keep the box far away from her food and bedding area.
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Avoid lining the litter box with items your pig may like to eat. Instead, use a large plastic cement-mixing tub (available at home-improvement stores), lined with newspapers and pine chips.
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Take an indoor pig out daily so she can act like a pig and get exercise. Provide a rooting box, such as a child's swimming pool filled with sand, dirt and toys.
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Provide a warm, dry, draft-free environment such as a large doghouse, with plenty of blankets and straw, if your pig is kept outdoors. The more blankets, the happier the pig.
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Monitor your pig carefully when temperatures drop below freezing or rise above 80 degrees F, since pigs are sensitive to extreme temperatures and cannot sweat. Make sure the pig has access to a shaded area.
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Provide your pig with a child's swimming pool filled with water for cooling down when it's hot. Apply sunscreen (the type used on humans) if your pig often gets sunburned ' pig hair doesn't offer much protection.
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Spay or neuter your pig at 8 to 10 weeks. Neutering helps to reduce aggressive behavior in males.
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Have your pig vaccinated once a year, and get her hooves trimmed when necessary.
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Give a good foot stomp and a strong 'No!' to stop your pig from engaging in unwanted behavior. Spoiled pigs can become unruly, destructive and demanding.
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Be prepared for your pig to reach a shoulder height of 18 inches and a weight of 60 to 110 pounds. Keep in mind that potbellied pigs have an average life span of 20 to 25 years.
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Tips & Warnings
Potbellied pigs are considered livestock, so check with your city officials before moving one into your neighborhood.
Livestock veterinarians usually treat these pets.
Potbellied pigs are very smart and can easily be trained to do tricks, just like dogs.
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Comments
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Mar 29, 2006
Potbellies need to get wormed every few months or they can get sick and get you and your family sick, too. Sometimes my potbelly pig likes to try and drink out of the toilet. This is gross I know, but I think this is how my potbelly got worms. I know she had worms because one time I seen some in her droppings. So the next time I went to the farm store I got some wormer. It was suppose to be used for dogs but I gave her the amount for a large dog and it cleaned her out and didn't make her sick at all. It's expensive, so I only give it to her a couple times a year. Other than that she has been really healthy (except for the time she got attacked by the neighbors German Shepard). She got a bad cut behind her leg and it tore one of her ears. At least we don't have to worry about them anymore because we turned them in for animal abuse. Our potbelly is not spaded, and when she comes in season she grunts a lot and acts real nervous. It's more often than once a month. We want to breed her to raise potbellies to sell. Ours cost $75 when she was a baby, and the lady we got her from said they have about five babies every time and they can have 50 babies in there lifetime. Thats some serious bucks. The lady we got her from said good boars are hard to find and cost a lot. We feed her some cracked corn and she loves to eat the table scraps. When she starts getting to fat, I don't feed her corn for a while and she slims up. She never poops on the porch (that's where we keep her when the weather is bad). Usually she likes to sleep under the trailer, but I had to put a little fence up because she once unhooked the sewer line by rubbing on it. -
Nov 22, 2005
Be prepared for a lot of noise when you get a pot belly. We have one in the house that we saved as a baby and he never shuts up. We hear high squeals, low honks and grunts all the time!
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Nov 22, 2005
I don't know about potbellied pigs, but normal farm pigs are really bad pets. They are cute as piglets, but then they get really big (think a cow without legs).
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Nov 22, 2005
Be prepared to take responsibility if you get a PB pig. They're very smart, emotional & stressed (watch for tears) by heat, cold, sickness, fear, worry etc. Pups/dogs adapt better than PBs. PBs can feel abandoned & lonely. It's a big decision to get one.
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Nov 22, 2005
Be prepared for a lot of noise when you get a pot belly. We have one in the house that we saved as a baby and he never shuts up. We hear high squeals, low honks and grunts all the time!
