Mary Allen
They are smart and quite headstrong: some people prefer mini pigs to dogs or cats.
Characteristics
What do mini pigs look like?
In principle, mini pigs look like their larger relatives, the domestic or wild boar: Four short legs, a strong body, and a large head with two triangular ears and the typical pig snout. And because mini pigs are descended from different breeds of pigs, they also look very different.
They can be black, black and white, pink or brown. The bristles are sometimes long, sometimes short, or curly. Some mini pigs are densely-haired, others have hardly any hair. The pink mini pigs can even get sunburned in the summer!
Because they have such different ancestors, it’s hard to say how heavy they’ll be: at best, a miniature pig should weigh no more than 10 to 15 kilograms.
But there are also breeds that get bigger – up to 20 or even 65 kilograms. But then they are no longer suitable for the apartment or the garden.
Because mini pigs can’t see very well, they mainly use their noses to explore their surroundings: they sniff everything and rummage through the ground with their short trunks. Pigs are only awake during the day. At night they sleep and rest.
Where do mini pigs live?
Mini pigs are descended from and bred from Asian and South American pigs. They are descendants of the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig and European pig breeds. Mini pigs need a fenced lawn or part of the yard where they can roam to their heart’s content.
What types of mini pigs are there?
The animals offered today as mini pigs are descended from different breeds of pigs. But all of them also have Asian pot-bellied pigs as ancestors. They were purposefully bred to stay small. However, there are still no regulations as to how exactly mini pigs must look. So they can be very different.
How old do mini pigs get?
A miniature pig is ten to 15 years old.
Behave
How do mini pigs live?
The first mini pigs were bred in Europe for use in medical research. They were particularly suited to this because their bodies function in almost the same way as humans. It was first discovered in America that they also make great pets. Today, around 100,000 miniature pigs, like dogs and cats, live with people.
However, only female pigs or castrated boars can be kept as pets. Uncastrated boars become quite unpleasant when they are sexually mature: they smell strong and can also be aggressive. Mini pigs, like all pigs, are very smart – they are at least as intelligent as a dog.
However, they are much more stubborn than dogs and hardly anything can be said. Although the answer to their name, they obey orders only occasionally. Mini pigs are companion animals: They don’t want to be alone but need a second pig as a companion if possible so that they are happy and content.
Unfortunately, they rarely get along with other pets such as dogs or cats – most of the time they (like us humans) are not really friends with the mini pig. It is best to buy two young mini-pigs from the same litter – siblings get along best with each other. You can also walk your mini pigs like you would a dog – if you have a harness and a leash for the animal and you get used to it early enough.
How do mini pigs reproduce?
When a female miniature pig is one year old, she should be mated and have pups for the first time. Younger animals often cannot do anything with their offspring, and the little piglets starve to death because their mother won’t let them drink. The boars – i.e. the male animals – become sexually mature at about four months.
Mini pigs can have young twice a year. Usually, three to four young are born, which are tiny: they weigh about 150 to 200 grams – less than a packet of butter! It is important for them to be able to drink plenty of breast milk so that they have sufficient immunity and remain healthy.
After just four months, they weigh about two and a half kilograms – more than ten times as much as at birth. Mini-pigs can only be separated from their mothers and handed over to them when they are ten to twelve weeks old. They are fully grown when they are about two to three years old.
How do mini pigs communicate?
Mini pigs can grunt, squeak, squeak, and screech too. When threatened, they emit sounds that sound like barking. Scared young pigs scream shrilly. And if a mother pig makes gurgling noises with young ones, beware: she may soon launch an attack, fearing for her young.
Care
What do mini pigs eat?
Pigs, like humans, are omnivores. However, they remain healthier if they mainly eat fruit and vegetables, as well as cereal flakes and hay. In the summer they also eat grass. Twice a week they get quark or yogurt mixed with lime and minerals.
The amount of food is also important: Since the piglets always have an appetite and hardly ever stop eating on their own, they should never be given too much food – otherwise, they will become overweight. And of course, the pigs need a lot of freshwaters.
Keeping mini pigs
You can’t just keep mini pigs indoors – they need exercise in an outdoor enclosure. It absolutely has to be escape-proof, because the minis, like all pigs, are very clever and curious and would use every opportunity to go out into the area. The fence must be at least a meter high, otherwise, the pigs will disappear one day. In bad weather and in winter, they also need a stable (e.g. a large kennel). A box with litter serves as a toilet.
If they were only kept indoors, the mini-pigs would get sick very quickly because then they could not move enough and be busy. They also do a lot of nonsense: they gnaw on doors and wallpaper, pull on tablecloths, and even open cupboards out of boredom. It is best for a mini pig to have an outdoor enclosure and a stall – it only comes into the house for visitors. By the way: Mini pigs are not cheap. They can cost from 200 to 1000 euros!