Winter Dangers for Potbellied Pigs

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Pigs do not like cold or wet weather. If you must leave your pig outside during cold weather, they need shelter, preferably with some sort of heat source, such as a heat lamp. Be careful that the light bulb is where the pig cannot touch it and keep any cords out of reach.

The water bowls need to be checked daily to be sure that the water does not freeze, preventing the pig from getting a drink. Monitor your pig's water intake carefully. Pigs seem to lose interest in their water during cold weather and I have seen some very severe cases of constipation in pigs because they are not drinking enough water. You can add fruit juice to your pig's water bowl or even some powdered Jell-O mix to make it sweet and more palatable to them. You may have to experiment a little to see which flavors your pigs likes best.

Antifreeze is a sweet tasting liquid and many animals die each year because they lapped up a puddle they found on the ground. As little as 2 ounces may be fatal to a medium-size dog. Less than one tablespoon may kill a cat. Antifreeze is toxic to pigs, as well. As fast as a pig can sniff something out, it would not take them long to find a puddle and slurp up enough antifreeze to fatally poison themselves.

If you know that your pig has ingested antifreeze, give him hydrogen peroxide immediately until he begins to vomit. Then contact your veterinarian. Early signs of antifreeze toxicity may be subtle and it takes about 12-24 hours for more obvious signs, such as vomiting, anorexia and depression, to appear. Early diagnosis is imperative if treatment is to be successful. If you even suspect that your pig may have ingested antifreeze, call your veterinarian immediately!

Many plants are toxic to your pigs but in the wintertime, mistletoe and poinsettia are added to the list. Mistletoe is probably the greatest threat. All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the berries. Pets that eat mistletoe will vomit and have diarrhea. If you catch your pig eating mistletoe berries, take him to the veterinarian immediately. Poinsettias, though not as toxic, still pose a problem if eaten or if the sap contacts your pig's skin.

Many people believe in sharing their own special holiday treats with their pigs, but some of these can also be toxic. Just 10 ounces of chocolate can kill a 12-pound dog. It would take much more to kill a pig but a small amount can still make them very ill. Symptoms of chocolate toxicosis may include restlessness, vomiting, increased heart rate, seizures or coma. Again, if you know your pig has just eaten something that can be toxic, you can try to make him vomit in order to get rid of the offending substance. This can usually be safely accomplished with hydrogen peroxide given by mouth. The amount of hydrogen peroxide varies with the individual. A few tablespoons may be enough for some pigs and others may require a pint. Give the hydrogen peroxide until the pig empties its stomach. Using a syringe will be helpful.

Christmas trees and holiday decorations are very interesting to pigs but tinsel, popcorn or cranberry strings and glass ornaments can cause severe intestinal damage if ingested. To be on the safe side, consider confining your pig to a separate room, away from the tree when you are not at home. Remember, one of the most common surgeries performed on pigs is done to remove something they ate that is blocking their intestines.

WARNING: If your pig has consumed some household product, read the label carefully to be sure that it does not warn against inducing vomiting. If it does, call your veterinarian or the Poison Control Hotline immediately. (800-548-2423 $30.00)

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Harley and Snowball out for some winter fun

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Petunia out for a bite to eat, then it's right back inside to keep warm

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Miss Ito, snuggled up against the fireplace ignoring all those pretty gifts under the tree

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There are some very spoiled pet pigs that are causing frustration and agitation with otherwise understanding & tolerant piggy parents. This condition is referred to as The Spoiled Pig Syndrome (SPS). Is your pig misbehaving? Grouchy? Pigheaded? Nippy? Won't listen to you? Then your pig could have SPS. To make a change, the pig needs to know you are the boss, not the other way around

What causes pigs to become spoiled and how do you prevent it from continuing? I don't have the answers scientifically accepted as facts but I do see some similar behavior after lengthy discussions with pig owners.

First I look at the physical reasons for undesirable behavior, starting with the feeding menu and schedule. Your pig could have adverse behavior based on WHAT you feed, HOW you feed, WHEN you feed, and WHO feeds.

Then look at the environment the pig lives in. Does he/she have their own "get away" space? Does the pig feel threatened or disliked by a family member? Does the pig get enough fresh air and exercise? Is there unhappiness and discontent in the family?

Next comes questions to determine good health. When was the pig weaned from the mother, and from the siblings? Could there be a toothache, urinary infection or anything else causing pain or discomfort?

Once all the physical reasons are discussed, changed or eliminated, I take a good look at the way the pig has been socialized.

The majority of problems are vastly improved when communication is established between Parents & Piggy. "Discipline" is the magic used to communicate. Put your foot down, no more Mr. Nice Guy, make the little porker behave, if not... withdraw the reward. BUT as soon as you see the behavior you are striving to get, then INSTANTLY reward. Use your voice and body language to express what you want to communicate.

Training and consistency is critical for success in communicating. If we are NOT consistent, piggy will be getting mixed signals. Always use the same short phrases or single words to describe the behavior the pig is displaying. The rule here is: same phrase for same behavior... every time... by everyone in the family.

Communicate with your pig through consistency, training, discipline and lots of love and you will have a great companion. Remember the pig is exceptionally intelligent and will respond in a positive manner when presented with the opportunity to be equal.

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Just a few more pics of my "not so spoiled" pigs

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Visit my link PHNR Open House to view all sorts of pictures of not so spoiled pot bellied pigs. This link will bring you to my open house held in June 2003

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I met Rafael the potbelly boar on our first visit to the farm we were thinking of purchasing. He was living in a small, dark stall filled with urine soaked hay. He had no bristles because of mange, was so skinny his ribs stuck out, and he greeted us with the gentlest "ufff" of hello. We convinced the folks who were selling the farm to leave him with us when they moved. Their last words of advice to us were, "Just be sure to feed him only a little bit of food so he won't grow to be a big pig."
That was my first encounter with the idea that pigs can be kept small by chronic underfeeding. I wondered - so, if I have a great dane and feed it only bits of food, will it be healthy and stay as small as a beagle? Interesting idea! Interesting idea, but to my biologist mind, not too likely! Recently the idea of underfeeding pigs to keep them small re-emerged in a heated InterNet discussion. So, here is the question: Can you prevent a pig from reaching its genetically pre-determined size (this means skeletal dimensions, length of bones) by limiting the pigs food?

First, it's very important to differentiate size meaning skeletal dimensions from size meaning fat and muscle content. In this discussion size means skeletal dimensions, that is, how long the individual bones grow. To restate the question then: Can a pigs skeletal size (its bones) be kept small by limiting food?

The next important idea is that of genetics of size. Every individual as well as every species has an inherited, genetically predetermined size potential. "It is critical to recognize that the long bones appear to have a genetic program that determines their eventual length" (ref. 1). That is, no matter how much is eaten, the bones grow to a certain length and stop growing. No matter how much a beagle is fed, it won't grow to the size of a great dane. That's because the beagle's genes tell the beagle's bones to stop growing when they reach a certain size. No matter how much you feed a potbellied pig, it s not going to reach the 4 foot height of a Duroc hog for the same reason that the beagle won't grow to the size of a great dane - genes.

However, there is a phenomena called "stunting". This is when restricted feed is used to limit the growth of a creature. The amount of food limitation needed to decrease bone growth borders on malnutrition! But, yes, it is possible to limit the skeletal size by chronic and severe underfeeding. The diets I'll mention here were either fed "ad lib" which means free-feeding, or according to National Research Council (1988) guidelines (about 2 pounds of food per day for young pigs). Now this is much more than pet pigs are fed. Its important to understand that close to 100% of the nutritional information for pigs is related to obtaining optimal growth for slaughter at a young age. The idea of maintaining a slim piggy for a long life is relatively new. How to determine what amount of food is adequate would be the subject of an entire article! For this article I'm assuming recommendations such as Mazuri makes on their commercial feed are at least minimally adequate (feed 1-2% of weight of pig per day). Amounts will vary depending on lifestyle and genetics of individuals. My outside pigs eat 4 - 6 cups of a 12% protein feed per day plus unlimited grazing and aren't fat. However, Precious, the inside pig, is fat on 1-1/2 - 2 cups per day of the same food.

Piglets who were free-fed a 5% protein diet starting at the age of 3 weeks could be maintained at the weight of a 3-6 week old piglet for up to 2 years! This severe underfeeding when combined with a starchy diet mimics the human diseases of malnutrition called kwashiorkor and marasmus. Symptoms include retarded growth, apathy, diarrhea, liver disease, hyper irritability and retarded mental development. A low protein and low fat or starch diet gave moderated but still severe symptoms (ref. 2).

There is a long list of nutritional deficiencies other than protein deficiencies that can lead to slow or interrupted growth. Deficiencies in the minerals manganese, calcium, zinc or too much phosphorus, as well as deficiencies in most of the vitamins can cause interrupted growth. However these nutrient deficiencies come with effects other than stunted growth, e.g.. lameness, weak bones, dermatitis, epilepsy-like fits (Vitamin B6 deficiency), etc., etc. (ref. 3).

Given that vitamin and mineral deficiencies stunt growth with unpleasant health consequences, the question becomes whether or not there is a level of dietary protein that will limit growth yet allow the pig to be healthy? I could find nothing on this subject. A 10-12% protein diet (fed at recommended levels) will slow the growth rate of young pigs, but will not affect the final size. A 10-12% protein for young piglets (weaning age) was far below the recommended level of 15 - 20% and great care was needed to evaluate the level of necessary amino acids (ref. 2).

In fact when young pigs are fed a diet deficient in protein they continue to deposit protein in the skeleton at the expense of muscles and skin. "This hierarchy of tissue responsiveness also extends to longer periods of time" (ref. 1). Thus, an undernourished pig will still show skeletal growth. Its only when severe protein deficiencies are reached that growth is actually stunted.

So a 5% protein diet leads to stunting and massive health problems while a 10 -12% protein diet for young pigs can be a problem unless carefully monitored and although growth is slowed, the eventual size is normal. From these studies, the concept of limiting size by restricting feed becomes pointless to me! A moderately restricted protein diet can cause health problems and doesn't make for a smaller pig. So what is the sense of continuing to limit protein? The more that protein is limited below 10%, the greater the probability of the effects of severe malnutrition.

This is not to say that there may not be a combination of nutritional and environmental factors that can limit growth and allow for a smaller, healthy pig. Feral pigs are many times leaner and smaller than relatives reared in captivity. Why? No answer was given in the source that raised the question (ref. 2). Factors such as the type of food, as well as amount and nutritional content, activity and stress level of the pigs could play a part. It also could be that many feral populations are bordering on malnutrition during at least part of the year.

In any case, trying to limit growth by nutritional deprivation while hoping for a healthy pig, is venturing into unknown territory. Is it worth the loss of an inch of height to risk the health and mind of your pigger? Are pigs different from other creatures in their plasticity of growth? That is, can a pigs skeletal structure be determined by nutrition more easily than, say, a dog or cat, or human? Apparently not. According to the sources I found, pigs are just like other creatures in their skeletal growth requirements. In fact bone growth studies done with chickens, rats, humans and others are compared directly to pigs (all references). But then, why is it that litter mates fed different diets are sometimes different sizes? There are instances when siblings from the same litter are adopted by two different people and the piglet that is fed more ends up taller than the piglet that is fed less. Isn't this proof that a pig can be kept small by limiting feed?

Most likely not. This experiment would have to be done using genetically identical piglets (litter mates are not generally genetically identical!) raised in identical environments. The only difference being amount fed to the piglets. Did you know that stress (noise, illness, physical discomfort, social environment, etc.) can limit growth? Therefore it's very difficult, or next to impossible to determine whether feed, genetics, environment, or a combination of factors determined the different sizes.

The best bet for making sure a pig stays small is to be sure the parents were well-fed and genetically small. Although, given the nature of genetics, even that is no guarantee! By the way - when we met Rafael six years ago, he was skinny, starved, and a big guy at 24 inches tall at the hips. Now, after six years of an overly well-balanced diet, he's a plump, round, happy, and no taller pigger.

Which brings me to my last question about this topic. Isn't it better to have a full size, perhaps slightly plump piggy (not obese!) who's really happy, than a skinny, small, pigger who's hungry all the time? Food is joy to a pig, and the idea of starving such a creature in pursuit of a most likely unattainable goal seems so cruel.