[gecko999]

Hi..  I have a Kune Kune boar who is now about a year old who has recently found himself alone after his partner died.  I have a female Kune Kune who is only about 12 weeks old.  Can anyone tell me at what age can i put them in the same pen?  Friendship more than breeding but thats the long term plan!  thanks

[HappyHippy]

I would keep her away from him until she's big enough to be mated tbh  Probably around the 10-12 month age. Any sooner than that and it's exactly what he'll do - you don't want her in pig too early or hurt by his advances. Kune Kunes can start having seasons from 4 months old, so it's better not to risk it 
HTH
Karen 

[gecko999]

thx for reply.  thats what i was thinking but i just didn't want the boar all alone for the next 6 months!   Im too nice!

[Rosemary]

Maybe they could chat through a fence - old fashioned courting?

[HappyHippy]

thx for reply.  thats what i was thinking but i just didn't want the boar all alone for the next 6 months!   Im too nice!

Depending on where you are, someone might have a sow or older gilt that needs 'attention' so he'd have a bit of company - for a bit of time at least. It's good for them to have someone to snuggle up to - especially as the weather gets colder. Or, it could be the perfect excuse to get an older sow  Have a look on the Kune Kune society forum - I'm sure there are a few looking for homes at the moment (sorry, I shouldn't encourage you !  )
Hope that helps,
Karen 

[Sylvia]

There certainly are Kunes looking for homes! I have been offered four in the last week or so (two lots of two gilts)
This is the beginning of the end of the "pet pig" craze I suppose.
When I have more land, hopefully next year, I will have a "pet pig" sanctuary, I think.
Gecko 999 whereabouts are you?

[robert waddell]

Sylvia you better run for cover from happy hippy
i don't think the pet craze will end as long as pigs are adorable there will be pet owners
it is more to do with the buggered state of the nation and the world economies
 IF YOU CANT KEEP ONE EAT ONE

[HappyHippy]

There certainly are Kunes looking for homes! I have been offered four in the last week or so (two lots of two gilts)
This is the beginning of the end of the "pet pig" craze I suppose.
When I have more land, hopefully next year, I will have a "pet pig" sanctuary, I think.
Gecko 999 whereabouts are you?

Kune Kunes have fallen out of favour because of "micro pigs"  But it was pot bellied pigs that were all the rage in the 80's - that fad didn't last long either 
To be honest, no pig makes a good house pet (except maybe the guinea pig) but folk see them on the telly, see the celebrities with them and 'just have to have one' - impulse buys without thinking it through 
Sylvia, there's a woman up here with a sanctuary - I think she's overrun. And there have been a few abandoned onto the streets, animal health officers are having a hard time catching them. The whole thing is going to end badly........ really badly 

Sylvia you better run for cover from happy hippy
i don't think the pet craze will end as long as pigs are adorable there will be pet owners
it is more to do with the buggered state of the nation and the world economies
 IF YOU CANT KEEP ONE EAT ONE

Why would I be bothered ? I don't sell Kunes as 'pets' in the same way as micro pigs are sold, my main aim in breeding them is to grow bloodlines and produce tasty pork with a lower input cost and less damage to my ground. I vet anyone who is buying them carefully and make sure they know about the responsibilities, legalities, that they have ample sized outside space for them and that they know what to expect. I'd rather keep them here myself than sell them to an unsuitable home (same goes with all my pigs)
The current 'micro pet' craze has been fuelled by the media (and we all know how accurate they are in their reseach and reporting  ) and irresponsible breeders who are more concerned with making money than with the welfare of the pigs - to be honest, the more 'bad' publicity the better. I want the whole house pig 'craze' to come to an end sooner rather than later (hopefully before many hundred more are sold into unsuitable homes and kept by people who don't really know what they are doing)
 

[robert waddell]

several points with your post Karen        the pigs that turned onto the street i hope the animal health peps will persue the abandonment of them  they should be identified by tag     and they should have a list of keepers simple go round checking who has still got there pig   or are they untraceable like the immigrants
if this IS happening then a stop should be made on it  YOU GET THE EVIDENCE WE WILL PERSUE IT

you must be in a minority if your piglets are worth £15 and some body with there head buttoned up the back comes to you and offers £700 + for a piglet  you would not sell   and the same goes for animal or fowl 

[HappyHippy]

several points with your post Karen        the pigs that turned onto the street i hope the animal health peps will persue the abandonment of them  they should be identified by tag     and they should have a list of keepers simple go round checking who has still got there pig   or are they untraceable like the immigrants
if this IS happening then a stop should be made on it  YOU GET THE EVIDENCE WE WILL PERSUE IT

It is happening - there/were are a couple in Coatbridge, maybe they've been caught now ? It was North Lanarkshire AHO that told me about it, so they do know and they are on it. But even with a tag - many micros were moved without paperwork and CHP numbers, so there's very little chance of being able to trace them 

you must be in a minority if your piglets are worth £15 and some body with there head buttoned up the back comes to you and offers £700 + for a piglet  you would not sell   and the same goes for animal or fowl 

Yeah, well I must be buttoned up the back  I would never sell a pig into an unsuitable environment, regardless of the amount of money being offered  Maybe you think that's stupid - but for me, it means I can sleep at night  Regardless how little you think something is worth, I think each life deserves to be respected -
for me, some things are more important than money 

[Sylvia]

Karen, I couldn't agree more! All of my Kune offspring will be going to the butcher, that's what I got them for. But the girls are dearly loved pets first and foremost, I could no more eat them than one of my dogs (and, Robert, before you ask..NO!! I wouldn't send a puppy to the butcher) 
I would rather eat a pig or keep a pup than sell it to a questionable home or give one away to a secure home.
But a few unwanted Kunes would be welcome for their own sakes.

[robert waddell]

if it is north lanarkshire council   how come it has not made the press    the cat in the bin did  and they are not the diseases risk that pigs are portraid as   one rule for one and the rest can and do as they like
you are misinterpreting what i am trying to get over with your second quote
what does define an unsuitable environment          our ideas differ hugely from the people that make the laws and administer them       this pig being abandoned only highlights the fact that the powers that be do not know where all pigs are at any given time and the last ten years has been an utter waste of time and resources
there should be massive fines and very long jail terms for those that blatantly defy the laws just because some one wants
as i said if you pass the details on  we will persue it for the benefit of all pig keepers in Scotland

[HappyHippy]

if it is north lanarkshire council   how come it has not made the press   

Perhaps because they caught them ? I don't know why - I don't even read the papers ! I can't imagine what printing anything in the papers has to do with it though - is that just so eveyone can point the finger of blame at someone ?

you are misinterpreting what i am trying to get over with your second quote

Well, you'd better explain what you mean because by saying I'm in a minority, it sounds like you are inferring that the majority of livestock breeders would sell an animal at an overinflated cost with no forethought about where they were going or what the conditions were going to be like, if they had someone gullible enough to be prepared to part with their cash   

as i said if you pass the details on  we will persue it for the benefit of all pig keepers in Scotland

If you want to presue it Robert, be my guest - I don't have the time or the inclination to go stalking ferral pigs or giving AHO's a hard time.

[robert waddell]

does the papers not keep people informed  of what is happening in the world even if it is with a journalistic twist
in the old days and in horsie circles   it was always muted if you you were offered a good price for your stock and refused it it could die on you and be a dead loss            so if i came to you and offered well above market value for a pig  you would not sell



unfortunately we now live in an age when someone has to be accountable for whatever happens rightly or wrongly
there is a surprising number of people with pigs and sheep that have no records and little else and they can be got rid of as well (where does all the stolen sheep end up and pigs  a few years ago)


by putting a lid on it they the powers that be do not want it publicised that there is major flaws in there bead counting  i have no interest in stalking pigs either feral or otherwise     it is the ones above AHO that should get the hard time they are the ones that allowed the pet/micro pig industry to flourish by giving out CPH and pet pig walking licences