Micro Pigs - peoples thoughts?

foreign_correspondent

...they reach the size of a labrador, so not that 'micro' really - clean or not, pig !!!!!! smells, and they do root around in the garden - upturning grass and plants to root about - they need to do this, so you can't train them out of it; it is their nature - they are also social animals and so you would need to have two at least. They also love a good wallow in mud.

Pigs are also prine to sunburn, and fly stike, and if flies lay eggs in sunburnt or wounded skin they get maggoty and you have to sit and pick all the maggots out with tweezers... its not a nice job, but the pig will die otherwise

I expect these will be a fad 'till people realise they are a lot of work, then they will end up dumped

Generally, breeding for the smallest size involves breeding runts with runts (small and sickly animals) for generation after generation, and this leads to progeny with poor health. I expect if you do ring the farm though they will have a very convincing story about how healthy their animals are.

cleopatra4485

I am quite angry now that the news and other papers have promoted these animals as cute little pets without the other information if this is the case, can you imagine the amount of people who are now going out to buy them without doing the research first!

Hopefully when people do a google search on micro pigs, this thread will show up, so people can think about it clearly

olias

Nobody else has said it, so here we go...

At least when you get bored of them you can eat them!;)

Olias

cleopatra4485

olias wrote: »

Nobody else has said it, so here we go...

At least when you get bored of them you can eat them!;)

Olias

haha yes, though I think I am put off eating pork all together with the above maggot story.

Would feel very uncomfortable having my pork sunday lunch, with pet piggy looking up at you :rotfl:

Rummer

Pigs are fabulous pets however check the deeds of your house first because ours prevents us keeping any farm type animals.

YorkiePud_3

Yes, you would definitely need some land to be able to have them outside when you went out .. there is no way you could leave them in the house alone!!

I know a guy who kept a pig in the house (a full size pig!) and it was the most loving pet he owned. It would walk on a lead, loved all the locals and lapped up all the attention it got.
He house trained it and also taught it some tricks too and although he had kept border collies, he said the pig was the most intelligent of the two! *L*

I haven't heard of micro pigs before though ... it is infuriating that breeders are trying to breed animals smaller and smaller though ... it's like with dogs ... there are NO SUCH thing as teacup Yorkies and Chihuahuas .. they are just normally the runts of the litter but then the breeders go on to breed with the smallest ones (which often ends up with the Mum dying while giving birth) ... breeding to satisfy fads is something that needs stamping out I think.

If you have the land and the time to devote to them, get a proper sized porker!!

Frugalista

MrsTine wrote: »

- the only way to acchieve a drastic change like this to a breed is by severe inbreeding -

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Generally, breeding for the smallest size involves breeding runts with runts (small and sickly animals) for generation after generation

I think you'll find that they are actually "mongrels" :rolleyes: - hybrid vigour and all that!!

"The pigs are crosses of Miniature Pot Bellied pigs with Tamworths, Kune Kunes and Gloucester Old Spots

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218472/The-700-teacup-sized-pigs-latest-celebrity-pet.html#ixzz0TMRlJhQx

PS: I wouldn't buy one either

foreign_correspondent

Frugalista wrote: »

I think you'll find that they are actually "mongrels" :rolleyes: - hybrid vigour and all that!!

"The pigs are crosses of Miniature Pot Bellied pigs with Tamworths, Kune Kunes and Gloucester Old Spots

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218472/The-700-teacup-sized-pigs-latest-celebrity-pet.html#ixzz0TMRlJhQx

PS: I wouldn't buy one either

The size of the piglets get smaller with every litter with Peanut the piglet believed to be one of the tiniest adult pigs in Europe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218472/The-700-teacup-sized-pigs-latest-celebrity-pet.html#ixzz0TMTiT2S5

I dont know how they get the to be smaller and smaller if they are not selecting the smallest then breeding them?

Frugalista

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I dont know how they get the to be smaller and smaller if they are not selecting the smallest then breeding them?

Me neither!:D

foreign_correspondent

cleopatra4485 wrote: »

I am quite angry now that the news and other papers have promoted these animals as cute little pets without the other information if this is the case, can you imagine the amount of people who are now going out to buy them without doing the research first!

Hopefully when people do a google search on micro pigs, this thread will show up, so people can think about it clearly

yup, I suspect Ms Croft is having a field day - all this free advertising! She has only been in the business five months, apparently - I wonder who she has contacts with to get in the press?

Seeing as pig gestation is almost four months, and she has been set up five months, she cannot have produced so many that it is newsworthy yet, surely?

Hopefully, people will do their research before buying, but most of the photographs seem to be of little piglets, smaller than a cat is rather misleading, when you may well end up with a grown pig the size of a labrador - rather a large pet, in most people's books, and not one suited to living in a little basket in the corner of the kitchen alone!