The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Connor on January 05, 2014, 09:18:22 am
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What breeds are suitable for pets and are small and docile and wouldn't cost a lot to feed and keep?
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Kunes
search the board there are lots of discussions on the topic...
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Depends what you call "a lot". Any kind of pig needs to be fed correctly - specialised pig feed is expensive, vegetables straight from the garden, or soaked milled grain straight from the farm are cheaper and OK but food (waste or not) that's been in any kind of kitchen, definitely NOT, and illegal. The cost of housing, bedding and wormers also need to be taken into account, as does electric fencing if you don't have proper pig-proof walls or fences. Popping a few piglets in a dog cage in the back of the car to take them home is one thing - getting a full grown pig to the vet if necessary quite another.
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And they do make a real mess - even Kunes root, if not as deep as a Tammie.
I truly don't get the pet pig thing.
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I truly don't get the pet pig thing.
I truly do, because they are lovely, affectionate, intelligent animals, and it is a privilege to be allowed to become the friend of one.
But just because I 'get' it, it doesn't mean it's right. They are not designed to live in small back gardens, much less human houses, and mostly are going to be extremely unhappy in those kind of conditions.
The legislation being as it is, it is not possible to keep a couple of pigs as pets who clean up kitchen leftovers and accompany you on walks around your local lanes, sadly.
I absolutely do understand why people would keep a couple of pigs in a nice paddock / orchard or whatever, just for the pleasure of seeing them and interacting with them. (But hopefully always a couple - even with plenty of human interaction, most pigs need other pigs to be happy.) But they need to be managed as pigs and given the means to behave like pigs, not managed as house pets.
I possibly would have worded all this slightly differently had Hilarysmum still been a member of the board - Digby shows every indication of being blissfully happy with his life as companion and couch potato, literally, lol!
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Are foxes a threat to pigs?
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i was watching ramseys hotel hell on 4od the other day and their kunes were kept in the cellar. (usa)
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That's so wrong.
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First off, I need to make it clear that when I (and probably most TASers) talk about pet pigs, we mean 'pet' in the same sense as pet ponies, sheep or chickens ;) They live outside, in as near a natural environment as possible and certainly with other same species for company. The only kind of pig that's suitable as a house pet are guinea pigs!
Kunekunes with their smaller size, growth rate and appetite (and super friendly natures) are ideal permanent/pet pigs. As adults they are less inclined to root up grass and can be used to maintain ground in the same way sheep or any grazing animal would. But, they still need housing, fencing, regular medications and males should all be castrated unless you've got a stunning example of a boar and a buyer looking for a breeding boar - castrations for Kunekunes are best done by a vet and the cost can vary from £10 to £60 per piglet..... The BKKPS website has a lot of information on it and a discussion forum where you can ask questions.
I would strongly discourage you from jumping straight in and starting breeding though, it takes time to learn the do's and don'ts and get a handle on pig husbandry.......you might find you like the idea more than the reality. Also, supposing you bred a litter of piglets and found you didn't have any buyers, do you have the space, time and funds to keep them or raise them for pork? Sorry, don't mean to sound negative, but the amount of people I've met who think you just put them in a field and leave them to it is unbelievable and they wonder why their pigs aren't happy, healthy or flying out the door to eager buyers.....
People who keep pigs and breed them do so (usually) because they love pigs or have an outlet for pork........if we wanted to make money we'd have 9-5 paid office jobs :roflanim:
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What breeds are suitable for pets and are small and docile and wouldn't cost a lot to feed and keep?
I suspect Connor is looking for pigs that would be suitable for a pets corner or petting enterprise to run alongside his poultry venture?? ???
In which case a pair of kune Kune a female & castrated male would probably fit the bill, you do however Connor still need to follow all the rules & regs laid down by the NI equivalent of DEFRA for keeping livestock.
HTh
mandy :pig: