The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Marketplace => Topic started by: bigchicken on November 25, 2011, 11:29:30 am
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A friend of a friend has two small pigs with shelter going free to very good home. The pigs were bought as micro but have grown bigger that expected. Woman is keen to have them re homed locally as she would like to visit them. New home will be vetted and must be for life and not resold or eaten. PM me and I will pass on your details
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your friend might be lucky in finding a home for life for them it costs £700 a year to keep a normal pig so will probably cost the same to keep the two difficult times financially is she prepared to pay for there feeding for life if she is they may see out there piggy life to the full if not it is a very big ask to lumber somebody with the costs good luck anyway :farmer:
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Yes Robert you may be correct, I am acting as a go between you could say piggy in the middle :pig: ;D
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Not a dig at you, bigchicken, but this made me smile and shake my head. Good luck finding someone to take them.
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Yey Rosemary Its a bad situation. Head shaking is well in order its the poor pigs.
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good luck with this. no one will take in other people's pigs for life and feed them, there are several posters on her that do re-home various animals who eventually go the happy farmyard in the sky.
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I think this is a case of wanting to have your cake and eat it. ::)
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What a shame! Just how big have they become then?
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I don't have a lot of info sorry its all coming to me through a go between, I think I will try to find out a bit more tomorrow.
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Yes, I am one of those who take in "unwanted animals" :) I do appreciate that peoples situations change - such as ill health, losing jobs etc, and unfortunately, the livestock has to go. But, on the other hand, I have taken in animals and hens, and the excuses for rehoming are a bit pathetic. "My wife is pregnant, and does not want to walk down the garden to feed the hens (4 of)." This excuse has been used to me on numerous occasions.
Obviously, I am too far away to take in these pigs, but hope someone can help. I think, the lady wanting to find a new home, although I understand her caution and wanting the best for them, but there are so many about wanting rehoming, she may have to take what offers she has.
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That's very good of you Roxy, but at least hens give you eggs, and cost chicken feed (sorry) to keep.
The trouble with these chaps is that they're not pets (like a dog for instance), but yet they're not livestock either, in that they can't be bred from, sold, or eaten. £700 or whatever a year, for (how long do pigs live for anyway?) years with no return, is sadly more than I suspect any of us would be able to offer at the moment :'(. The best I can think of is that maybe they could be rehomed to a farm park or similar, where they could be penned next to a big notice that says "These are micro-pigs. Now let this be a lesson to you!"
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The farm parks and the like round here are full to brimming point with unwanted animals - some are asking for foster homes in a desperate attempt to help people who cannot keep their animals.
I am under no illusion how much a pig will cost to keep - I know how much my monthly feed bill here is, and its not for the feint hearted. Yes, I do sell a lot of eggs which helps, but at present none are laying, so no income from those.
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The best I can think of is that maybe they could be rehomed to a farm park or similar, where they could be penned next to a big notice that says "These are micro-pigs. Now let this be a lesson to you!"
Brilliant. I'd almost be prepared to pay their keep to see this happen. (But not quite.)
I agree with everyone about pigs being expensive to keep and if it has to be a forever home then no return apart from the fun of having them about.
But I can't quite see where you are getting £700 per annum per pig from, robert. Even at 6lbs per head per day (which is more than Meg needs, she gets 4lbs/day when not rearing piglets), that's 1 tonne per annum per pig - none of us is paying more than £500 /tonne and many a lot less. Yes there's straw and so on on top of that, but £700 still seems over the top to me - or what am I missing? :o
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if you have two pigs you are not going to be buying a ton to last the year it will be a few bags at a time some are paying nearly £10 per bag from postings then the travelling to get the feed cars don't run on fresh air then straw fruit and veg also costs money some buy some are given it but you still have to travel to get it then the fencing of the paddock still costs money then your time just how do you value your time the minimum wage per hour or what you could attain if you were working then the dreaded vet bills and all that without a shelter the purchase price getting them in pig pedigree papers and end of life disposal costs
i may be out a few pounds but i am not in the next parish :farmer:
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i agree with Robert we've been quoted £9 a bag
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Also with pigs unlike pet sheep for eg you are completely at the mercy of the cost of bought in feed unless you have the land and machinery to grow and harvest and store grain crops. So they are especially likely to see costs just heading up, wheras sheep and to an extent some breeds of cattle can be mostly supported by the home grown produce of a smallholding ( grass in summer, hay in winter).
I understand these pigs getting too big to keep, but I believe it is unreasonable to take on an livestock animal as a 'pet' (as opposed to livestock) and then to not offer it a pet home for life when it gets inconveniently large but insist that others do that for you and not allow them to treat it as livestock (which it is).
Fully grown pigs are too expensive and too hard to manage to be kept as pets. I suspect someone might take them from her (for the free shelter!) and then on her next visit she might find that they have mysteriously passed away and the new owner is looking very full and fat and has trouble keeping the freezer shut with trotters poking out of it...... :o
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lachlanandmarcus you have just said what i have been wanting to say but you have made me smile well laugh realy the trotters hanging out the freezer :D :yum: now the two with no conditions bigchickens computer will crash with the traffic :farmer:
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Also with pigs unlike pet sheep for eg you are completely at the mercy of the cost of bought in feed unless you have the land and machinery to grow and harvest and store grain crops. So they are especially likely to see costs just heading up, wheras sheep and to an extent some breeds of cattle can be mostly supported by the home grown produce of a smallholding ( grass in summer, hay in winter).
Aha L&M, but not to the same extent with a Kune Kune pig which will only need a little hard feed and grazing to flourish. And, with Kunes you have a long standing pedigree and evidence of smaller size and easier managability factor (I know ::) I keep hammering on about how good they are, but it's true ;)) :thumbsup:
I've taken pigs from people who no longer want them (or can't keep them for other reasons) and I make it clear that they'll get a great home with me - until the point comes when they might get a new home (which would be vetted to ensure they're not going to be moved on again) or go on to slaughter if that's the best option (in the case of unregistered/badly conformed or aggressive pigs) and I've not had anyone say no.
But then, it's not 'micro pets' I'm talking about and I completely understand the bond between pet & owner - regardless of the species - and can see where Chickenfeed's friend is coming from in wanting to make sure they don't end up in someone's freezer.
Chickenfeed - you could try posting on facebook. There's a micro/mini pig help page which helps match pigs with prospective pet owners UK wide, or failing that there is a lady near Hamilton who is/was taking in micro pigs to her sanctuary. If you phone the animal health officer at North Lanarkshire council, he should be able to give you her number. Good luck in finding them 'forever' homes.
HTH
Karen :wave:
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but yet they're not livestock either, in that they can't be bred from, sold, or eaten.
why cant u eat them, havent they grown too big? i would guess they are kune size, and they are eaten.
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but yet they're not livestock either, in that they can't be bred from, sold, or eaten.
why cant u eat them, havent they grown too big? i would guess they are kune size, and they are eaten.
PP their current owner doesn't want any new owner to eat them - so it's not to say they can't, just not these ones.
A pig (regardless of the size/name/cuteness factor) is a pig :pig:
'Pet' owners have exactly the same laws and regulations to follow as farm based owners, in the eyes of the law there is absolutely no difference. A pig is, and will always be, considered a 'farm animal' or 'livestock' and not a pet species.
£700 or whatever a year, for (how long do pigs live for anyway?) years with no return, is sadly more than I suspect any of us would be able to offer at the moment
I think 'micros' eat the same, if not less, than Kune Kunes - so feed wise, you're looking at less than £200 per pig for a year - obviously if they grow to a massive size and need more feeding it's gonna go up a bit. But a lot of folks keep 'pets' for nothing more than pleasure and dog food costs more than pig food :-\
Pigs can live til they are 12+ depending on the breed & health of the pig. Sadly, most of these 'micros' probably won't live past 5 or 6 :( But that's another story for another day ::) ;)
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Sound tasty to me. Alas, too far away for me to offer a 'home'.