pigs

[arwen]

anyone want to give me a heads up on pigs.
we want to get one or 2....
anyone have any pigs and want to share any experience or suggestions? :grin

[amstermarie]

what kind of pigs? i have heard, pot bellie pigs will grow and grow if you do not limit there food. i raised some pigs at school, but they were for slaughter. :cry. we had to weigh them weekley, we feed them 2 times a day. we were there when they were born. the school keeps the breeder pigs, and the babies they raise for meat. they were so cute when they were born. we gave them iron shot, we nutered the males, and we cut there little tails., and we notched the ears. they were fun to play w/ when they were small. but it did not last long at all. before no time they were out in the pens. then they stunk. i think it was 9 months and they were slaughted. i could not go to that class, even though they stunk it broke my heart. :bheart when they were ity bitty, i can not tell you how many times i felt like snagging one...

[arwen]

hmmmm....everything i've read said that they are really clean.
and if you have a really big place it shouldn't be a prob...they also use the bathroom in the same spot.

we want a regular one...i don't want a pot bellied...and i've also heard that controlling what they eat to keep a the pot bellied small is wrong. i'm sure you don't want to feed them all the time but anyway.

we'll have to think about it.

[Marrae]

We had half a dozen or so a few years back. They were fun when they were small but got rough and boisterous quickly. Knocked the children over and used to bite our feet. Their little teeth were sharp. :eek They are pretty clean animals but do have a distinctive smell. All in all it was quite a fun experience but we don't intend repeating it any time soon. :) One or two that you could get to 'know' and make friendly would be better though.

[Iarwain]

No, but we're planning to get a couple sheep soon! Sometimes I think I'm crazy and sometimes I don't -I KNOW I'm crazy.

If you get them please tell us all about it!

[arwen]

we want sheep too :tu
if we do get one i'll def. let you know!

[Amber]

I've had both sheep and pigs...I prefer the sheep. Pigs can be quite clean..it depends on how they are housed. Mine was in a concrete pen, so it was pretty easy to clean. They do still have a unique smell. My husband had a pig as a pet growing up, he even has a picture of him and the pig in a canoe on the river behind their house. He was quite fond of the pig, and it managed to find it's way into the neighbor's house a time or two. They kept it for quite a while but eventually they sent him to slaughter I think.

[Sanveann]

I think piglets are cute as can be! However, I do know that some grown hogs can be rather nasty. The husband of one of my online friends had his leg broken by a hog.