The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Kimberly61 on December 20, 2012, 09:46:17 pm
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:pig: I have just got 2 beautiful micro pigs. They are 8 weeks old so I was going to keep them in the house for a while but they seemed a lot happier out in the pen.
They are really small, I'm worried about foxes and other wildlife attacking them.
We have got a large dog kennel in the pen but we have boarded up the entrance just in case.
Could anyone please tell me if they will be safe and at what age it will be safe to not board up entrance
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Hi Kimberley
:wave:
Right first things first. Please do not keep them in the house, pigs are farm animals whatever the size and should be kept outside. The dog kennel sounds fine whilst they are small if it is in a pen, but then you need to look at getting an ark for them. I do not think a fox will get them, if you are worried, you can always put a door on the kennel and close it at night, or do you have a stable or something like that you can keep them in. They will also need a good size pen in which to root.
On another note I presume you have a herd number for them and of course the CPH without this you can be fined up to £5,000 by defra.
Lastly and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I would be very wary of these pigs as they grow. I do not know of one micro pig breeder in the uk whose pigs have stayed small. Preloved and the auctions are full of these micro pigs that have started small like yours and ended up as large as some of our traditional breeds. If they are pot bellies crossed with a Kune Kune then you have a chance of them staying a reasonable size, but if they have come from the "founder" in Cumbria then please be very wary. And lastly (again) make sure you only feed them pig nuts and vegetables that have not passed through your kitchen. I would suggest you buy a book on pigs and read up on all the legalities including by law keeping medical records, and that includes making a note everytime you worm them. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
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Great advice there from rispainfarm :thumbsup:
How big are they, Kimberley? As big as a spaniel? A wild rabbit? Could you weigh them?
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Oh... Wish you'd looked on here first - there's a lady in Gloucester desperate for a new home for the micro pigs her daughter bought. However, I can imagine how delighted you are with the ones you have bought as they are still small.
If you hear of other people who are interested, having seen yours, please do suggest they get in contact with someone on here before buying - anyone in the pig section perhaps, but I would happily pass on some advice, and I think rispainfarm would do the same. Sadly many of the breeders are not giving sufficient advice to the people who are buying them.
Tell me, did you see the parents of the piglet - both the mother and the father? Can you describe them if you did? Do you have photos of them?
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badgers have been known to take young pigs. are you in the countryside?
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Just add yourself to the long list of suckers. :rant: