PURCHASING MY MINI PIG
Two weeks ago I was going through my local yard sale site. You know, those groups on facebook where people post the things that they are trying to get rid of. Well, I was just scrolling along, and I came across the cutest little mini pig I had ever seen. The girl who was selling him happened to be a friend of mine, and her asking price was $150, which was incredible. Especially with the fact that the usual price of a mini pig ranges anywhere from $350 to $2500. The only catch was that my pig was 8 months old. I wanted a piglet, but for $150 I decided to settle with an adult pig who was already named Arnold.
Two weeks ago I was going through my local yard sale site. You know, those groups on facebook where people post the things that they are trying to get rid of. Well, I was just scrolling along, and I came across the cutest little mini pig I had ever seen. The girl who was selling him happened to be a friend of mine, and her asking price was $150, which was incredible. Especially with the fact that the usual price of a mini pig ranges anywhere from $350 to $2500. The only catch was that my pig was 8 months old. I wanted a piglet, but for $150 I decided to settle with an adult pig who was already named Arnold.
MEETING ARNOLD
Fortunately, after meeting Arnold and taking him home I was pleasantly surprised. Arnold was 8 months old, but only weighed 9.2 pounds. Which is small for his age. I have been doing research, and most pigs his age are 30-40 pounds. He looked like the little baby piggy I was hoping for. He was also very sweet, and liked to cuddle every now and then. Well, after getting Arnold home, he explored the house for about 3 hours straight. I swear if there was any dust bunnies under couches, beds, or tables, Arnold found some way to get them stuck to his wet snout.
Fortunately, after meeting Arnold and taking him home I was pleasantly surprised. Arnold was 8 months old, but only weighed 9.2 pounds. Which is small for his age. I have been doing research, and most pigs his age are 30-40 pounds. He looked like the little baby piggy I was hoping for. He was also very sweet, and liked to cuddle every now and then. Well, after getting Arnold home, he explored the house for about 3 hours straight. I swear if there was any dust bunnies under couches, beds, or tables, Arnold found some way to get them stuck to his wet snout.
THE NEGATIVE SIDE
With the good, there are some bad things that go with having a mini pig. First of all, I don't think that I have Arnold's diet down pact yet. In fact, Arnold has gained 3 pounds in the two weeks that I have had him. If you are going to have a mini pig be ready to do a ton of research on what the best thing to feed your pig is. Also, you will need to know how often and how much to feed your pig as well. Along with a diet, you will also have to learn about how to take care of your pig. You have hooves, and tusks, and ear mites, and skin conditions to worry about. You will definitely have to know how to take care of your pig's health. One last thing, pigs are very curious, this is why you have to take the correct precautions in caring for your pig. For example, I had thought that my room was completely spotless. Everything had been cleaned the night before. Thankfully, my husband was watching our pig baby close enough that he had heard him chomping on something. He looked down under the bed, and found our pig chomping on one of those silicone packets that they put in things to keep moisture out. These are VERY toxic. My husband jerked them away from Arnold as quickly as he could. I called the vet, and he said to give Arnold charcoal to get the poison out. Thankfully he was okay, but you definitely have to be careful. Pigs need a lot of time and attention. You can't just put them outside when you're tired of hearing them snort around. Haha, if Arnold got outside without his harness on we would be in trouble. Pigs are fast, and hard to catch if they're not trained. Overall, if you have the time to properly take care of a mini pig it can be very rewarding, but if you are a super busy person I really wouldn't recommend it.
With the good, there are some bad things that go with having a mini pig. First of all, I don't think that I have Arnold's diet down pact yet. In fact, Arnold has gained 3 pounds in the two weeks that I have had him. If you are going to have a mini pig be ready to do a ton of research on what the best thing to feed your pig is. Also, you will need to know how often and how much to feed your pig as well. Along with a diet, you will also have to learn about how to take care of your pig. You have hooves, and tusks, and ear mites, and skin conditions to worry about. You will definitely have to know how to take care of your pig's health. One last thing, pigs are very curious, this is why you have to take the correct precautions in caring for your pig. For example, I had thought that my room was completely spotless. Everything had been cleaned the night before. Thankfully, my husband was watching our pig baby close enough that he had heard him chomping on something. He looked down under the bed, and found our pig chomping on one of those silicone packets that they put in things to keep moisture out. These are VERY toxic. My husband jerked them away from Arnold as quickly as he could. I called the vet, and he said to give Arnold charcoal to get the poison out. Thankfully he was okay, but you definitely have to be careful. Pigs need a lot of time and attention. You can't just put them outside when you're tired of hearing them snort around. Haha, if Arnold got outside without his harness on we would be in trouble. Pigs are fast, and hard to catch if they're not trained. Overall, if you have the time to properly take care of a mini pig it can be very rewarding, but if you are a super busy person I really wouldn't recommend it.
DO MINI PIGS TRULY STAY MINI?
The answer is yes. But, what does mini pig even mean? A mini pig just means that the pig is smaller than a farm hog. The truth is that farm hogs can weigh anywhere from a couple hundred pounds to several hundred pounds. So, this means that if your pig is under that weight, then it can be classified as a "mini pig". So, don't get a mini pig and expect it to be 10 pounds for it's entire life. Mini pigs can get up to 50 and even 100 pounds depending on what you feed them. Whatever you do, DO YOUR RESEARCH before investing in a pig.
