Is Your Pig Depressed in Your New Home? Here's What You Need to Know

Moving into a new home is an exciting but also stressful time for everyone involved, including your beloved pet pig. It's not uncommon for animals to experience stress and anxiety during a big change like this, and it's important to recognize the signs that your pig may be feeling a bit down.

Understanding Pig Behavior

Pigs are highly intelligent and social animals that thrive on routine and familiarity. When their environment changes suddenly, they can become stressed and exhibit signs of depression. Some common behaviors that may indicate your pig is feeling down include:

• Isolation: Your pig may start to keep to themselves and avoid interactions with you or other animals in the household.
• Lack of appetite: A depressed pig may lose interest in food or eat significantly less than usual.
• Lethargy: Your pig may seem more tired or less active than usual, opting to spend more time resting or sleeping.
• Vocalization: Some pigs may start to vocalize more or exhibit other unusual vocal behaviors when they are feeling stressed or depressed.

Helping Your Pig Adjust

If you suspect that your pig is feeling depressed in your new home, there are several steps you can take to help them adjust and feel more comfortable:

1. Establish a Routine: Pigs thrive on routine, so try to establish a consistent schedule for feeding, playtime, and other activities.
2. Create a Comfortable Environment: Make sure your pig has a cozy and safe space to retreat to when they need some alone time. Provide plenty of bedding, toys, and enrichment activities to keep them occupied.
3. Offer Comfort and Affection: Spend quality time with your pig, offering them plenty of love and attention to reassure them that they are safe and loved.

 

Bottom line is pigs do not handle change well. Do your best to spend some extra time with them. Changing homes has changed everything that they knew and were familiar with...sights, sounds and of course the usual scent of your previous home. It takes patience...lots of patience and of course love. 

 

Bailey getting used to her new place with her blankie.

 

Constipation In Pet Pigs

Is my pig constipated? Know what to look for and what to do to help your pig.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the causes of not being able to poop? Some causes of constipation include:

•     Changes to diet or activities.
•     Not enough water or fiber in the diet.
•     Inclement weather.
•     Not being active.
•     Resisting the urge to poop.
•     Stress.
•     Some medications (especially strong pain drugs such as narcotics)

Pigs will vary in their bowel habits. Some pigs have large droppings that make you think a large animal passed through your yard in the night, others drop little berries like a rabbit and you wonder how he can eat so much and have so little exit. Most pigs go every day sometimes twice, but have the ability to hold it for many days. Know what is normal for your pig in his habits, the amount and size of your pigs droppings.

For the pig that is holding it and not used to riding in the car, most will defecate as soon as you take them for a ride around the block.

There is a difference between the pig that is being stubborn and not wanting to go potty from the constipated pig. The constipated pig will be straining to go potty.

Keeping healthy bowel action means keeping plenty of fresh fiber (grazing or fresh greens) and adequate water in their diet.This does not mean making them drink their pellets like soup, but encouraging them to drink more water by adding just a little...and I mean just a little fruit juice to their water and making sure that your pig chow is high in fiber. If your pig chow isn't high in fiber you can just a couple of scoops of Piggy Lax daily.

Pigs that don’t drink plenty of water need additional foods containing it. Just a few foods that are high in water content are: Watermelon, Strawberries, Cantaloupe, Cucumber, Peaches, Lettuce, Celery & Zucchini. It's also a good idea to keep a can of pumpkin in the pantry as it helps ease digestion.

If the constipation turns out to be an obstruction then surgery is required. This is rare with outdoor pigs but way too common in house-pigs who ingest carpet and blanket fibers which are not digestible and build up in the colon as solid masses. These pigs are usually off their feed and have painful abdomens. They should see a vet ASAP.

The older the pig the more likely they are to sleep most of the day and thus they are not active. Here the pigs are made to get up twice a day for meals and potty. It might not be a lot of walking, but some is better than none. Get those older pigs up and moving about at least twice a day.

Does Your Pig Hibernate? Behavioral patterns during the winter.

Strange as it sounds it sometimes appears to be the case around here, we notice a definite change in temperament and response in the pigs during the winter months, or when it has been nice and temps drop again. Even the house pigs are affected to a certain degree.

This year we have heard from numerous folks with indoor pigs that seem to be filling the affects. We know it affects the outdoor pigs as we have watched them for the last seven or eight winters. There is very little activity, a little more arguing and growling among themselves and a tendency to not even particularly like people.

This is not too hard to understand as some of us are cranky and crabby during the winter months also, or at least I am. A week without sunshine and I am hard to live with.

Harley Hog trying to decide if he wants to come outside or not.

With these pigs however, it is almost like a semi-hibernation. They sleep most of the time, are less interested in anything going on around them, and only seem to come alive at feed time and even then it is not to the same degree as the rest of the year. They do not do the walking around the feed pans, the butting each other, and it sometimes seems to be an aggravation to them for us to bother them at all.

During the rest of the year we are met with squeals of delight and happy happy sounds. during the winter they grumble at us, make low throaty noises and really don't care to be bothered with a belly rub or pat on the side. Pigs that have never swiped at us before will do it in the winter months and pigs that already have a reputation for it do it more often than I care to remember during the winter months.

Whether they are in a heated house or one full of straw they still show signs of winter depression. They are crabby and irritable and generally hard to get along with. They seem to want nothing from us other than their dinner and their blankets to lay in and cover up with.

Making them go out to do their business becomes a real battle of wills and one that we don't always win. You would think that they would appreciate the fact that we shovel their walk out and "business areas" and keep it clean of snow before we ask them to make the dreaded trip outdoors, but that does not seem to be the case.

They also appear to not care as much about attention and fun things that they may have enjoyed the rest of the year. All in all it makes for a real strange relationship for a few months.

Maybe the answer is for us to semi-hibernate with them, but then who would shovel the snow? How many times can we apologize for it being winter again? Oh well, we have the consolation of knowing that is won't last forever, even if it seems like it when it is happening.

Nothing, but putting up with a whole bunch of crabby, complaining, grouchy pigs for a few months could make us people appreciate Spring, RIGHT?

Sounds - Which Ones Does Your Pig Recognize?

I'm not talking about the sounds that your pig makes, but the sounds that you make on a daily basis that they seem to respond to. We all know that they know the sound of a bag of chips, or food in their bowl, but what about other sounds that we make in our daily routine.

It was several years ago when living in NV that I noticed Chelie's reaction when I put on my winter coat. She had figured out the sound that it made when I put it on and knew that we were going outside. 

Lately I've been watching Porky and some of the other pigs to see which sounds they recognize. They seem to know the sound of the screen door opening, but only react when it is close to feeding time.
They do always seem to know when it's feeding time don't they?  Porky along with Rudy and Gracie seem to recognize the sound of the backdoor now and get all excited hoping that I will come over and let them out.

Most recently Porky has come to recognize the sound of the garage door going up/down. This isn't so bad most times when I'm leaving as he is usually still in his pen or far enough out in the yard, but I find myself racing to get the car into the garage and door closed before Porky when he is anywhere close by. You see he knows that is where the food is kept.

Porky guarding the garage.

Does anyone else have a similar experience?

New Year's Resolutions for Your Pig | 2019 The Year Of The Pig

It's 2019 and like most of us you have made some kind of resolution(s) for the new year. The most common are to get more exercise, eat healthier and save money. Here are just a few suggestions that might help you and your piggy succeed in 2019.

Eat Healthier: Since we control what our pigs eat, it is generally our fault if they are over or underweight. Though most pigs tend to be overweight there are those that are underweight as either the breeder or vet has told you to only feed 1/4 - 1/2 of chow a day. This is NOT enough for a pig, especially a growing pig during their first year of life when they need that feed to build a strong immune system and bones.

Flower getting every last bite of food.

We all love giving our pigs treats as we know how cute they can be and will do almost anything for one. Remember that a treat is just that "a treat". It must be earned, and not part of their daily meals. For those pigs that tend to "pig out" you might want to try our Busy Ball which is meant to slow our pigs down and the meal last longer. They are also getting some exercise at the same time.

More Exercise: Not to worry, I'm not talking about lifting weights or jogging, but making sure that your pig gets up and out at least twice a day. A nice walk around the yard or in the house on those rain/snow days will work just as well. This also helps with the pig that gets constipated. 

Oshay's version of working out!

Learn a New Trick: Our pigs love to learn new things so why not teach a new trick or take a behavior that they are doing naturally and turn it into a trick. Remember that when teaching new behaviors to keep the training sessions short and always end with a win for your pig even if it means doing a behavior that he already knows like sit. Lots of small treats work in the beginning, but remember to show lots of enthusiasm and praise. As the sessions go on; less treats and more praise and enthusiasm.

Mini obstacle course at the 2006 Pignic.

Save More Money: Our goal has always been and will continue to be to offer the highest quality products for your pet pig at affordable prices. Did you know that we now offer free shipping on most of our light weight products? Did you know that we offer monthly specials on our most popular products? Be sure to check back monthly to see if your favorite product is on special.

Happy New Year from all of us at Pigs4Ever!

Quality Time With Your Pet Pig

With our busy lives and having a pet pig it's important that we remember to spend some quality time with them. Whether it's 5-10 minutes here and there or an hour or more. Make that time with them count.

For most people with an inside pig this can be an easy thing to do. Let them sit or lay with you while catching a favorite show on TV or catching up on reading. We did this for several years with Ziggy and Flower. Every afternoon we would stop what we were doing and take a break to watch a favorite show. The pigs had an hour of our attention and even learned to recognize the opening music. Take this time to love on them and groom them..they will look forward to it. Ours knew that I would be checking their ears and eyes and picking off any flakes that they had.

Years later when it was just one house pig we would go for evening walks around the property and even the cat would tag along. It was quality time that we spent together. As well as that hour with me sitting on floor in the evening with him.

Now all of the pigs here live outside and it is harder spending quality time with those that want it, especially now that life is busier. Yes there are some days when a real effort had to be made to spend that extra 5-10 minutes that they want. Rudy is that pig that is always into something and we have to wonder if he is doing it for the attention. He really just wants 5-10 minutes of our time for a belly rub and to be loved on. Gracie seems to be more independent and does enjoy a belly rub, but is always alert...never seems to really relax. Harley also enjoys a good belly rub. Of the rest 3 don't want to be touched and the other 3 will let you touch them, but are always cautious. They seem to be fine with a roof over their heads and food in their tummies.

Now with Porky who was an outside pet even before coming here seems to go through stages as to how much attention he wants. The end of summer we started taking a walk around part of the yard shortly before he was to go in his pen for the night. It is our one on one time. He hasn't been much for belly rubs until lately or letting me clean his face, but now he wants the belly rubs and puts up with me trying to clean his face...to a point. We have missed some of our walks lately with Hurricane Irma and trying to get things cleaned up, but we are continuing to bond and have our one on one quality time every evening. Remember it is about quality not quantity...make that 5-10 minutes count! They will remember.

Dottie and Porky

Pigs and Sunburn

Can my pig get sunburned? Yes, pigs can get sunburned just like humans. They do not have dense fur protecting their skin like most animals do. They can get very bad burns from the sun if they are not properly protected.

Sunburn is common in the white non pigmented pigs, some of which can be highly susceptible to ultra violet radiation. The symptoms are similar to those in humans with rapid reddening of the skin and considerable pain.

This is why pigs like to wallow and coat themselves in mud, which protects them from the sun, helps to keep moisture in their skin and protects them from bugs.

Most people provide a wallow for their pigs, that is a mud hole, so that they can coat their skin with mud for protection from harmful UV rays and cool themselves down at the same time.

Trees, a shade structure such as a lean-to or barn left open so that the pig can go inside when it gets too hot.Various types of shade sails or fabric also work; see example below. It should be made with fabric providing 70% UV block or higher.

A sunscreen made for pigs is a good idea when you know that they will be out in the sun for a considerable time and don't want them to get dirty with mud.

There are several degrees of sunburn and sun stroke. Both are very harmful as you probably already know.

Sunburns can show up as a slight redness of the skin.The skin is warm and tender to the touch. In more sever cases the skin is very irritated and red. Often swollen and pressure sensitive. It can peel after a couple of days due to the top lay of skin being damaged. Proper moisturization is required (Aloe Vera gel is highly recommended) in order to help heal the damaged area and an anti-bacterial ointment is recommended for open sores.

Unfortunately, there is no real cure for sunburn. The best treatment is prevention. Using a sunscreen, mud, staying in the shade and staying hydrated are the best ways to prevent sunburn and sunstroke.

Sunstroke often goes along with sunburn, especially the stronger degrees of sunburn damage. The precursor to sunstroke is called heat exhaustion.

Heatstroke

Heat stroke usually occurs where ventilation has failed or in extremely hot weather and/or high humidity.

The pig is a relatively poor controller of its own body temperature, not sweating (other than from the snout) and if it is unable - due to environmental conditions - to wet its skin and thus allow latent heat of vaporization to cool it (the exact process that occurs with sweating in man) it cannot lose heat from the skin.  Even if able to wet the skin (wallowing, playing a kiddie pool, etc) if humidity is very high, the water will not evaporate and thus there will be no cooling.

Always provide your outside pig with plenty of shade, mud hole to wallow in and/or pool. On those high humidity days when it is dry and dusty out wetting the ground down with the hose will help keep pigs cool. This gives the pigs a cool place to lay.

Symptoms are a very high respiratory rate, muscle trembling, red skin, high temp, vomiting.

Immediate attention is needed. Cool the pig down slowly with cool water (NOT ice cold) on the belly and behind the ears. Depending on the pig you can do this with a hose or cool washcloth. Offer water (cool NOT ice cold) to drink a little at a time. 

Pet Safety Tips for 4th of July

Fireworks, picnics and other Fourth of July traditions can be great fun for people; but all of the festivities can be frightening and even dangerous for our pigs and other pets. Noisy fireworks and other celebrations can startle animals and cause them to run away; holiday foods can be unhealthy; summer heat and travel can be dangerous; and potentially dangerous debris can end up lying on the ground where pets can eat or play with it.

The safest and best bet for celebrating this Fourth of July with your pets is to exclude them from holiday festivities, at least this time around. Instead, find a safe, secure spot in the home for your pets while you go out and enjoy the loud bangs, bright lights and spectator fun. Your pets will appreciate the quiet a lot more than you’ll enjoy the noise.

Here are a few simple tips on how to keep pets safe… plus a bonus tip on how
pet owners can have a better chance of finding a lost pet.

1) Stay inside: Try to keep your pet indoors at all times during holiday celebrations. Ideally, someone stays home with your pet.

2) Make them feel safe: Comfort your pets with petting, hugging, talking to them in a soothing voice, providing a treat and staying nearby if possible. Make sure they can access their crate or “safe place.”

3) Avoid the noise. Try to drown out the fireworks sounds as much as possible by closing windows, playing music or turning on the TV. You can also do the same thing for pigs that in barns.

4) Act normal! Your pig takes cues from your and your family’s actions. It will help if you go about your normal routine as much as possible, talking and playing with your pet as usual.

5) Make sure your yard secure and that you have a current photo of your pet, just in case.

Preparing in advance:

• Make sure your pets have identification tags with up-to-date information. If you have horses, you might consider marking a safety (breakaway) halter with your contact information and leaving it on your horse during this stressful time.
• If your pets aren’t already micro-chipped, talk with your veterinarian about micro-chipping. This simple procedure can greatly improve your chances of getting your pets back if they become lost. If your pets are micro-chipped, make sure your contact information in the microchip registry is up-to-date.
• Take a current photo of all of your pets.
• Make sure the environment is safe and secure. If your neighbors set off fireworks at an unexpected time, is your yard secure enough to keep your pet contained? Are pasture fences secure enough to keep pigs or other animals confined? Evaluate your options, and choose the safest area for your animals; and make improvements if needed to make the area more secure. 

Safety during July 4th celebrations:

• Leave pets at home if you are going out to parties, fireworks displays, parades and other gatherings. Loud fireworks, unfamiliar places and crowds can all be very frightening to pets, and there’s great risk of pets becoming spooked and running away.
• If you’re hosting guests, ask them to help keep an eye on your pets to make sure they don’t escape. Better yet consider putting your pets in a safe, escape-proof room or crate during parties and fireworks.
• Keep outside animals in safely fenced areas and as far from the excitement and noise as possible. 
• Keep your pets inside if you or your neighbors are setting off fireworks.
• Keep sparklers, glow sticks, fireworks, charcoal and kabob skewers away from curious pets.

After the celebrations:

• Check your yard for fireworks debris before allowing pets outside to play or relax. Even if you didn’t set off fireworks yourself, debris can make its way into your yard, where curious animals may pick it up to play with or eat.
• Check your pastures and remove debris to protect horses and livestock.
• If you hosted guests, check both your yard and home for food scraps or other debris that might be dangerous to pets.

Winter and Your Pig

Depending on where you live temperatures are already well below freezing and the pigs have come down with a severe case of the winter “grouchies”. House pigs are appalled that they are forced to go outside to potty.

The girls will attempt the fake squat and run back to the house, but a seasoned pee watcher can easily recognize her theatrics and block her path to the house and force her to return to her favorite spot until there is observable production. The boys on the other hand will look you right in the eye while peeing as you pet them in the house.

It is not necessary to put coats on our pigs or keep them completely indoors during the cold months no matter what part of the country you live in. They will do quite well as long as they are put outside for a short period of time.

House pigs really hate going out in the cold. They complain and moan and groan all the way to the door, but it is important that they go out so that the systems stay working well. Most pigs learn to potty in a hurry and get back inside to their blankets.

It may be necessary for you to shovel snow from the walk to the potty area and the areas itself as most pigs do not do snow.  Make sure that footing is as good as you can get it to prevent falls and injury. If necessary you can place throw rugs over slick surfaces.

This is the time also to watch for constipation problems since house pigs are prone to holding it rather than staying out long enough to get the job done. You can increase fiber in the cold months or on older pigs we have given stool softeners if needed to keep things moving. 

Older house pigs and grown pigs would rather not go out in cold weather but it is important that they move around some and going out to the bathroom will not hurt them.

It is well to remember also that your pig’s temperament may not be the same during the cold months. They tend to be more cranky and irritable during the winter months.

Pig Hair Loss

If your pet pig is over a year of  age it will most likely shed or "blow its coat". This generally happens at least once a year. Some will do this twice a year. They may loose their hair all at once or in stages. Once this shedding starts you can easily pull the hair out by the handfuls to help your pig along. This usually happens sometime in the spring or early summer when the weather starts turning warm. I've had some hold out till late summer and others that have blown their coats during the winter when it is unusually warm.

Below are a few pictures of my pigs in the middle of blowing their coats. As you can see it happens in stages and they seem to turn elephant gray when all that black hair missing. Mindy the pig that still has all her hair lost it late summer when all the others had lost it late spring early summer. 

Hansel blowing his coat.

Cindy blowing her coat and Mindy still with all her hair.

You will almost immediately see the new hair coming in.  Please remember that each pig is different and not all will get back the same amount of hair that they lost. As they get older the hair may remain short and have a patchy look to it.

When your pig is loosing it's hair it will itch terribly. You may notice him running around trying to itch on trees, walls, furniture, your leg, other pets, whatever is around!! Just help your pig along by pulling any loose hair. It will come out very easily. Also, a good scratching and/or brushing a few times a day will be appreciated. I would do this outside if I were you, unless you have your vacuum cleaner handy.

CHRISTMAS FROM BENTLY BATTOE'S POINT OF VIEW

His stocking is hung with the greatest of care
Not that this means he will leave it there.
He snuffles for presents and we learned from the past,
If we don't hide them well, they will not last.

The nativity scene is set out in a row,
Why he must rearrange it we do not know.
He moves the stone animals out of their beds,
And uses the wise men to rest his head.

Maybe he feels that his scene is lacking,
For there are no porkers to give him backing.
Ben gazes at us with a baleful eye,
We can almost hear him asking Why...?

Should there not be a pig in this special scene
Of love, compassion, and man's greatest dream?
Of course, we say, you should not be left out,
As we place a stuffed pig with a big rubber snout.

Our Christmas story is different by choice,
As we feel our Bently deserves a voice.
When it comes to love and the Christmas spirit,
A pig beats a camel no matter how you hear it.

Ben knows that God in His infinite wisdom,
Created pigs for just this reason.
A laugh, a chuckle, love and devotion,
What more could we ask of God's world in motion.

We humans could learn a lesson well taught,
By porkers in general who give us this thought.
A laugh a day, a clear conscience at night,
A slight forgiven, a wrong made right.

These things so easy for our porcine friends,
seem to be hard lessons learned for mortal men.
In this season of Christmas, love and light,
Should we not try harder to do things right.

Bently watches me write this as he lays at my feet,
Thinking all of this rhetoric really is neat.
Best wishes to everyone he sends by the bunch,
And tells me; Enough already; it's time for my lunch!

Phyllis Battoe
12/94