# Teacup pigs?



## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

Anyone have teacup pigs and want to share tidbits and pictures? We're bribing my daughter with a pet teacup. We want to raise a few feeders eventually and she is stompingly against the idea. So we're bribing her with a pet pig, lol.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Do not, do not, do not get sucked into the whole tea cup pig thing. When I first started looking for my mini pigs the tea cup thing is what first drew me in. I did a lot of research and realized I'm still going to end up with a good sized animal. A lot of people basically starve their pigs to keep them small but the issue is their organs still grow and end being chronically sick and dying well before their time. Don't get me wrong there are smaller pigs then others but before you spend a lot of money on a pig out of smaller lines ask what the parents age is, and look up how to tell body condition. If they are thin and under a 3 years old they are not as big as they should be. I just see a lot of people get a "tea cup" pig and spend a LOT of money and they could have bought a $50 pot belly pig. 
Ok now that I have given you probably unwanted information lol I'll share some pictures 



































































































But they are a lot of fun even though they don't stay tiny. I just my my Female left, Mini Ham and she is my girl!


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

Everything I have ever read/seen says that "teacup" pigs are a myth. Piglets are cute but they don't stay tiny.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

But ooooh, my o my, how pretty they are, especially when newborn! (Same for normal pigs, only they will grow out of your house in no time! How was it, "To meet a 20 kg pig racing down the stairs to tell Momma Welcome Home From Work is very nice. To meet the same pig a year later, weighing some 200 kg, racing down the stairs to tell Momma Welcome Home From Work is ... somewhat disturbing." Said by one who trained pigs for the film about Emil in Lönneberga and his piglet.)

Thanks for the pictures!


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

Thanks for all that info!! I did know that they don't stay "teacup" sized. They get to around 60-70lbs, correct? This plan is for springtime, so we have some time to do our homework. Growing up one of my sister's best friend's mother got a mistaken identity teacup pig for an anniversary present. 2 years and 250lbs later he was tearfully sent to freezer camp. 

Your pigs are adorable!


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Jessica84 said:


> Ok now that I have given you probably unwanted information lol I'll share some pictures


Please! No more pictures! The cuteness is literally killing me!:dazed:


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

No they defiantly get bigger then 50-60 pounds. But they are not built like a dog or a goat. They are solid so there is a lot of weight in a small body. So I’m going to guess on minis weight and say she’s like 100 pounds. If you remind me after fair I’ll fix the wire the goats chewed in half on my scale and weigh her. But anyways she’s only like maybe 20” tall. My dog that is the same height is not quite 50# and I can pick her up. 
But my daughter loves pigs too. I didn’t want to get a farm hog because they are so big. She is a very brave child and I could just see one rolling on her and killing her. That’s when I started looking into the tea cup and then realized there is no tea cup. What I actually wanted was a kune kune when I started digging into different breeds. They are known for being totally laid back. But I thought the same as you, a mini would be about 50-60 and kune kune gets about 150-200 (they claim although they claim juliana only get 50 and I’ve yet to see one that small) I love mini and I do not regret my choice but if I had found a kune kune breeder close by that’s the way I would have went. 
There is a FB group, just mini pigs, the members can be very opinionated and down right rude. I never reply to anything and I never ask a question but I have learned a lot just reading some of the posts and ignoring the stupid ones like banning pork, keeping a pig even though it ate your child’s arm off, that kind of stuff.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> No they defiantly get bigger then 50-60 pounds. But they are not built like a dog or a goat. They are solid so there is a lot of weight in a small body. So I'm going to guess on minis weight and say she's like 100 pounds. If you remind me after fair I'll fix the wire the goats chewed in half on my scale and weigh her. But anyways she's only like maybe 20" tall. My dog that is the same height is not quite 50# and I can pick her up.
> But my daughter loves pigs too. I didn't want to get a farm hog because they are so big. She is a very brave child and I could just see one rolling on her and killing her. That's when I started looking into the tea cup and then realized there is no tea cup. What I actually wanted was a kune kune when I started digging into different breeds. They are known for being totally laid back. But I thought the same as you, a mini would be about 50-60 and kune kune gets about 150-200 (they claim although they claim juliana only get 50 and I've yet to see one that small) I love mini and I do not regret my choice but if I had found a kune kune breeder close by that's the way I would have went.
> There is a FB group, just mini pigs, the members can be very opinionated and down right rude. I never reply to anything and I never ask a question but I have learned a lot just reading some of the posts and ignoring the stupid ones like banning pork, keeping a pig even though it ate your child's arm off, that kind of stuff.


Yep! Even though kunes are a bit heavier they are usually very docile. We have done tons of research on smaller non or little rooting hogs. Kunes seem to be a great pet choice for their laid back selfs and no rooting. We really want to try guinea hogs.... but dang the grow out is a year to a year and half.... i know yall are talkin pets not freezer food. But we debated those two breeds for the longest time. Sometimes you see juliana kune mixes to keep them a tad smaller. We visited a kune farm and those were the sweetest pigs!

Our dil has a pot belly. She is on a pretty strict diet but she is still a big pig. She is the size of our lab mix male dog.... he is a large dog. But she is a grumpy nasty thing. She does not like anyone but her people.... so when she comes here she spends most of her time outside. Thank goodness it is not often. I absolutely refuse to be bitten by any animal but this dang pig!!!!! I threaten at least lebenty million times a day that she will be bacon in my freezer....if they lived here... yup pig would def be in the freezer and give me some amazing lard. i despise that pig. Our dil just whines that she is a pet.... but i truly do not care. she is nasty and needs be eaten!


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

Wow! Great info! I will definitely look up that FB group, thanks for the suggestion and the warning, lol.

So @Jessica84, yours are potbelly pigs? But you would have gone Kune Kune if you'd had the option. Did you do anything special in terms of training them not to be jerks? And are they okay with other folks who are not family?

@Sfgwife we DO want feeder pigs and my daughter got mad and this was the compromise (mostly joking, I'm not actually in the habit of letting my kids make big decisions like this. Or accept bribes!!). We are also looking into Amer Guinea Hogs. For us the long grow out isn't too bad because we also would be using them to clear land and build soil.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh gosh nothing is worse then a mean sow! I am so so happy mini doesn’t seem to get grumpy when she comes into heat, which is very common even in sweet pigs, because I would not put up with it. It would break my heart to do it but if I can’t trust any of my animals around my kids they can’t stay here. I was really worried about it when I decided not to breed her any more and I can’t find a vet to spay her. 3 years since her last litter though and she is still sweet. The worst she does with strangers is run from them. Any of her family she runs to us for her belly scratches lol


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

whitejerabias said:


> Wow! Great info! I will definitely look up that FB group, thanks for the suggestion and the warning, lol.
> 
> So @Jessica84, yours are potbelly pigs? But you would have gone Kune Kune if you'd had the option. Did you do anything special in terms of training them not to be jerks? And are they okay with other folks who are not family?
> 
> @Sfgwife we DO want feeder pigs and my daughter got mad and this was the compromise (mostly joking, I'm not actually in the habit of letting my kids make big decisions like this. Or accept bribes!!). We are also looking into Amer Guinea Hogs. For us the long grow out isn't too bad because we also would be using them to clear land and build soil.


Oh i know that you are doin a compromise. I was jus givin info that we have researched and on one nasty pig experience. .

We do use ours for clearin too but we also need four or five a year.... we trade a friend turkeys, chickens and hogs for beef. He gets two hogs a year. And we do two for us and one for sellin sausage. So the grow out makes a difference for us. We do not wanna be feedin that many hogs for that long lol! We do heritage breeds and get piglets in spring and butcher in winter. But we have been toolin with the notion of keepin two sows and a boar all the time. Just. We do not need find piglets every spring. Only feedin three through winter is doable and comparable to buyin piglets every spring. Then we could have the numbers we need plus a few to sell to pay for that winter feed.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> Oh gosh nothing is worse then a mean sow! I am so so happy mini doesn't seem to get grumpy when she comes into heat, which is very common even in sweet pigs, because I would not put up with it. It would break my heart to do it but if I can't trust any of my animals around my kids they can't stay here. I was really worried about it when I decided not to breed her any more and I can't find a vet to spay her. 3 years since her last litter though and she is still sweet. The worst she does with strangers is run from them. Any of her family she runs to us for her belly scratches lol


Yea she is a nasty one. She has snapped at our grandson too... i flipped my lid when it happened here. Had a gun in my hand and that dil got the pig out of my vision and off the farm before i could do it. I just do NOT understand lettin it do that esp to your toddler! A pig bite is way worse than a dog bite. They do not just make punture wounds they shake and tear plus all the nasties in their mouths. The pig has only been here once since that happened. Son asked if she could stay and they go to the beach for a day... i said sure she will be processed before you get back. They didnt go to the beach....


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I’m sorry whitejerabias I think we posted at the same time. Mini is 3/4 Juliana. The dad was 50/50. The male never did get sweet but he was never mean. He came when I called him and that kind of thing but there was no touching. He wasn’t as young as mini when I got him. I think that might be why. With the babies once I kinda broke them up where they couldn’t feed off each other’s fear that’s when they started to calm down. My craziest baby I had is a big sweetie now. He lives in the house and goes to all the neighbors to visit lol they all love him. None of mine have been mean before so I don’t know what one would do. If it’s a female everyone says to spay and that will fix the issue. But yes I defiantly would have gone with kune kunes if I could have. To me they don’t look all that much taller just more blocky and long......ok I just googled them lol they say kune kunes are 22-26” tall and 100-250 pounds. I’m assuming it’s probably like every breed of animals they have larger lines and smaller lines and probably depends if your feeding them like a hog to eat or a pet. I do think that your daughter would enjoy the personality of a kune kune more, and you could also get a pair, they be her pets and the offspring income or fill the freezer.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> I'm sorry whitejerabias I think we posted at the same time. Mini is 3/4 Juliana. The dad was 50/50. The male never did get sweet but he was never mean. He came when I called him and that kind of thing but there was no touching. He wasn't as young as mini when I got him. I think that might be why. With the babies once I kinda broke them up where they couldn't feed off each other's fear that's when they started to calm down. My craziest baby I had is a big sweetie now. He lives in the house and goes to all the neighbors to visit lol they all love him. None of mine have been mean before so I don't know what one would do. If it's a female everyone says to spay and that will fix the issue. But yes I defiantly would have gone with kune kunes if I could have. To me they don't look all that much taller just more blocky and long......ok I just googled them lol they say kune kunes are 22-26" tall and 100-250 pounds. I'm assuming it's probably like every breed of animals they have larger lines and smaller lines and probably depends if your feeding them like a hog to eat or a pet. I do think that your daughter would enjoy the personality of a kune kune more, and you could also get a pair, they be her pets and the offspring income or fill the freezer.


I laughed when you said that about the neighbors visits! There is a lady on byc that has a turkey hen (she had two but one recently died but she got two new poults to turn into lappers)... anyhoo... she takes daisy for walks in the neighborhood and they get flocked by kids and adults alike. Daisy recently was the star in a lil girl's birthday party. She got to ride over in a golf cart and had her own goodies and she loved all the attention. Hahahahaha! Daisy also likes to fly.... beside the mower.... and make fly byes at the mowers occupant hahahahahaha!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh I love turkeys! The one I had as a kid would have been like that turkey if I lived in a populated area. Her and her adopted kittens went every where with me. But that makes me happy because she was a meat turkey (I’m not a poultry person so no clue the breed) and so was the one I got for the kids years ago who was also sweet. We recently got heritage turkeys, a black Spanish and a royal palm and I’m really hoping they are as sweet as the ones we have. It sounds like they just might be with your story......although these have a obsession with pecking my finger and toe nails lol


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

Y’all are scaring me a bit, lol. In a good way tho. Sounds like a pig is going to be the same amount/type of work as our dog. We’ve got a pit bull rescue who is sweet as pie but anxious as hell and if you’re not aware and sensitive to that she seems like a jerk.

What seems to be around here after a quick CL search are Julienne- American mini or Julie-Vietnamese mini crosses. One breeder said parents were on site and not more than 65lbs. 

But if y’all are saying KuneKune, I’ll listen. To me, temperament and trainablility are more important than size. Hell, if you tell me a standard sized pig will make the best pet we’ll go with that and DD can either deal or come up with a new bribe.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Sfgwife said:


> Yep! Even though kunes are a bit heavier they are usually very docile. We have done tons of research on smaller non or little rooting hogs. Kunes seem to be a great pet choice for their laid back selfs and no rooting. We really want to try guinea hogs.... but dang the grow out is a year to a year and half.... i know yall are talkin pets not freezer food. But we debated those two breeds for the longest time. Sometimes you see juliana kune mixes to keep them a tad smaller. We visited a kune farm and those were the sweetest pigs!
> 
> Our dil has a pot belly. She is on a pretty strict diet but she is still a big pig. She is the size of our lab mix male dog.... he is a large dog. But she is a grumpy nasty thing. She does not like anyone but her people.... so when she comes here she spends most of her time outside. Thank goodness it is not often. I absolutely refuse to be bitten by any animal but this dang pig!!!!! I threaten at least lebenty million times a day that she will be bacon in my freezer....if they lived here... yup pig would def be in the freezer and give me some amazing lard. i despise that pig. Our dil just whines that she is a pet.... but i truly do not care. she is nasty and needs be eaten!


Sounds as if Facebook is a place I must keep very far away from! I would go crazy!

Guinea hogs??

Your stories make me think of a friend, who talks about "police hogs". Pigs sniffing for drugs, and one even defending Momma when a drug dealer wanted to see her dead - and successfully, the drug dealer ended up in prison. Anyone here who can tell me how true those stories may be?


Sfgwife said:


> ... i said sure she will be processed before you get back. They didnt go to the beach....


(rofl)


Jessica84 said:


> you could also get a pair, they be her pets and the offspring income or fill the freezer.


If the daughter will allow that ...


whitejerabias said:


> Sounds like a pig is going to be the same amount/type of work as our dog.


As far as I know, a pig can do almost everything that a dog can do. Their smell is excellent, and their brain is alert. Their social ability is very good. Only, they are a bit heavily built, so direct racing might not be their - shall I say - cup of tea ...


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah... if you end up with a standard or standard cross make sure you get it ringed. They can destroy a 10 acre lot faster than you would believe possible. They even can uproot large trees. 
The mini breeds aren't always so small but, they don't root. It makes a huge difference on your land.
Also, don't feed regular pig grower. Get the pet pig food made for miniatures. My little pot belly weighed right about 80 lbs. He was a tiny sweet little guy and lived for 18 years before he was attacked by a stray dog. His name was Hamlet lol.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

My DIL got a "tea cup" pig. (They can't pay rent but that's a different story). I tried to explain that tea cup was a misnomer, but she didn't listen. The so called breeder said if they only fed the pig 1/4 cup mini pig feed, it would stay around 35# it's entire life. (Sure it would, it's life would be very short as it would starve to death). 
The pig was terrible. They never tried to train it. It rooted up the entire yard, looks like a mulboard plow went over it. It tore out the fence they had it in. It grew to weigh 150+ #. 
The grand finale was when they were on a vacation (can't afford rent but could fly to fla). Anyway, the pig got into the barn where all my yearlings and 2 yr. old first fresheners with their kids are. 

One little Houdini goat kid was running around loose. That pig grabbed the baby and broke the back leg. I walked in just as the pig grabbed the kid. I grabbed a pitchfork and the pig let go and took off. 

Baby goat is ok. Her leg is healing pretty well. Pig is gone. The buzzards and coyotes had a feast. (I couldn't catch it to find it a better home.). A car took care of that. Pigs shouldn't sleep in the road! No more pigs!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> Oh I love turkeys! The one I had as a kid would have been like that turkey if I lived in a populated area. Her and her adopted kittens went every where with me. But that makes me happy because she was a meat turkey (I'm not a poultry person so no clue the breed) and so was the one I got for the kids years ago who was also sweet. We recently got heritage turkeys, a black Spanish and a royal palm and I'm really hoping they are as sweet as the ones we have. It sounds like they just might be with your story......although these have a obsession with pecking my finger and toe nails lol


Turks can be lil loves or just plain dumb sometimes too. Ours love goin outside of the fence to roam.... but then pace the fence like crazy things cause they cannot get back in. Lol! Every.single.day we play the go back in the fence bit with those sillies. They k ow where the gate is a d will at least hover by it.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Goats Rock said:


> My DIL got a "tea cup" pig. (They can't pay rent but that's a different story). I tried to explain that tea cup was a misnomer, but she didn't listen. The so called breeder said if they only fed the pig 1/4 cup mini pig feed, it would stay around 35# it's entire life. (Sure it would, it's life would be very short as it would starve to death).
> The pig was terrible. They never tried to train it. It rooted up the entire yard, looks like a mulboard plow went over it. It tore out the fence they had it in. It grew to weigh 150+ #.
> The grand finale was when they were on a vacation (can't afford rent but could fly to fla). Anyway, the pig got into the barn where all my yearlings and 2 yr. old first fresheners with their kids are.
> 
> ...


Sou ds like your dil is about the same as this one of ours (we have two. The other is an amazing woman)... i love that the pig should not have slept in the road naughty pig! (dance)(rofl)


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

goathiker said:


> Yeah... if you end up with a standard or standard cross make sure you get it ringed. They can destroy a 10 acre lot faster than you would believe possible. They even can uproot large trees.
> The mini breeds aren't always so small but, they don't root. It makes a huge difference on your land.


What is ringed?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Ringed is putting a hog ring in their nose so they cannot root and tear everything up. (I would have if I could have caught that darn pig!) 
The poor pig was really loose most of its life and was going feral. (That was interesting to see on a daily basis, hair growing, it's teeth got longer and it started getting a little leaner as it ran and rooted!)


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Goats Rock said:


> My DIL got a "tea cup" pig.


Alright, I'm scratching my head over here. I thought I could let it go, but apparently I can't. What is a dil? A relation of some sort?


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

MellonFriend said:


> Alright, I'm scratching my head over here. I thought I could let it go, but apparently I can't. What is a dil? A relation of some sort?


Daughter in law?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

MellonFriend said:


> Alright, I'm scratching my head over here. I thought I could let it go, but apparently I can't. What is a dil? A relation of some sort?


Well sense you brought it up I'm gonna ask what DH is, I see that all the time on here and I have yet to ask. I'm assuming husband but what exactly is DH? 
I didn't mean to scare you on the mini pigs. Yes there can be very nasty ones out there but also very sweet one. Just off the few people who have posted on this they are running 50/50 lol it seems like having the fixed and the more socializing the better with them. Keep in mind though I do NOT have any real experience with kune kunes. Everything I have said is just off of what I have googled, the one friend and the few breeders I follow. I don't really have that much experience with normal pigs (lol) we never kept ours all that long and we sure didn't try to make friends with them because we knew they would end up in the freezer. The only ones we had that didn't was some piglets that were the results of a wild hog breeding our butcher sow. Stay away from part wild pigs! Lol we couldn't keep those things contained, they were not even semi friendly and they tore the place up. We butchered as many that would fit in the freezer and took the rest to the sale......where one guy stood up screaming that it's against the law to sell wild pigs lol I was like buddy I didn't tell them to knock my pig up and if you want me to no sale them and take them to your house I'm more then happy to do so! 
But back to mini pigs  I say if that's what you and your daughter want to for it! The ones that have the 65# pigs if you go and see them in person ask how old the parents are, or even how many littler the sow has had. That should give you a idea of how old she is. Mini had her first little after a year old and she has grown a lot since then. Honestly wider but probably a few inches taller too.


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

DH Generally stands for dear husband


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

goathiker said:


> Yeah... if you end up with a standard or standard cross make sure you get it ringed.


Please no! It hurts, and hinders them from behaving like a pig! Rather give the pig a decent place where digging is allowed, and, maybe, like I saw once, give it tasks to do with the nose, my friend put small amounts of pigs food close to rather big stones, and after a week the stones had been moved a decent distance - by pig-craft!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

whitejerabias said:


> DH Generally stands for dear husband


Ahhhh got it! I just couldn't figure the D part out lol. 
I don't see how a ring would be any different then a piercing or a ear tag. A pigs nose is way tougher then a human nose and we (not me but others) pierce our noses. I'm
Not saying I'm going to put one in my pigs nose, she has a pen she can do what she wants in and I gave up on having a nice yard with a lawn YEARS ago but I can see why people do it.


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

Kunekunes are a lot of fun! I may be biased though  I definitely agree that there's no such thing as a teacup pig. My kunes are only about knee high, but they are heavy and solid! They are very gentle though. My boar just flops over for belly rubs, and my boar and sow both know to sit for treats. They're one of the smallest breeds out there (I think Julianas are the smallest?) but they're still substantial sized animals!


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

Oh my, now that is the cutest!!!


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

whitejerabias said:


> DH Generally stands for dear husband


I resemble that remark. I thought it was damn husband, though.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Jimmy Dean, born early May 2018, . Took picture today. My foot is a men's size nine for reference. He is a miniature pig of unknown parenthood. Woman who sold him to us passed away shortly after seelling him and his two brothers to us. He gets about 1/2 cup of Mazuri mini pig food twice a day and grazes, roots and forages in the yard between times. He weighs about 75 pounds now. I would have gotten a weight, but no earplugs handy.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh calistar I shouldn’t have come back on this thread! I just had to look and see if your name meant what I thought it did and yes you do in fact live in California! Where were you a few years ago lol 
But look at them!!! You can just look at them and tell how sweet they are in the pictures. Oh gosh I need to get out of here before I start trying to figure out how I’m going to buy a pair off you and keep the boy away from mini, then again maybe mini just needs a female friend lol


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

Jessica84 said:


> Oh gosh I need to get out of here before I start trying to figure out how I'm going to buy a pair off you and keep the boy away from mini, then again maybe mini just needs a female friend lol


I don't have any extra males right now, but I do have two 4-month-old gilts and I'm not sure where in CA you're at, but I will most likely be making a trip up to Sacramento next month to pick up a goat...just saying...


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh gosh I’m between Fresno and Yosemite but my husband works in Morgan hill (cal fire) but I highly doubt he would pick one up for me. Our relationship when it comes to animals is I get them while he’s at work and just pretend I didn’t know he didn’t want me to get any more animals lol asking forgiveness seems to be working better then asking permission and ignoring his answer lol but I love the black one, I’m going to have to think on how I can do this even if I really shouldn’t. But I mean whitejerabias seems very nice and I would love to let her know first hand the difference between the two


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

But a piglet would make a great Labor Day present! Or maybe you have an anniversary coming up? An early Halloween present?  And yes, it would certainly help solve OP's dilemma. You need one of my pigs, for research purposes!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

It seems to me, as if there are pigs in your country, who know well how to tame a human!  

Thanks for sharing wonderful pictures!


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Good looking pigs @Calistar . I wish we had had a place to get one when we got Jimmy Dean, not that anything is wrong with him. 
Does the hair seem to keep them cooler? Jimmy Dean has sparse hair and needs the wallow to cool off.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Well I just so happen to have a birthday in October lol your no help at all though! I need one person to help me not get in trouble lol but I know me and I’m going to be trying to figure out if I can make this work.
That’s a good question dwarf dad! I have never really seen any pictures of them in the mud. Granted I don’t go around showing mine while she is all nasty and muddy lol but you can tell she enjoys her mud and these always look so very clean


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Well I just so happen to have a birthday in October lol your no help at all though! I need one person to help me not get in trouble lol but I know me and I’m going to be trying to figure out if I can make this work.
That’s a good question dwarf dad! I have never really seen any pictures of them in the mud. Granted I don’t go around showing mine while she is all nasty and muddy lol but you can tell she enjoys her mud and these always look so very clean


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## whitejerabias (May 6, 2019)

@Jessica84 you seem to have gotten a mistaken impression of me, tee hee, but I definitely do need you to do some field research for me! And comparison pics!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

I think the mud protects against insects, as well as against heat. - Did you know pigs are excellent swimmers?


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Trollmor said:


> I think the mud protects against insects, as well as against heat. - Did you know pigs are excellent swimmers?


Did not know that. I thought that as dense as they are that they would have a hard time staying afloat.


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## Little Cow (May 31, 2010)

If pig breeders have bred pigs for centuries to get rapid growth and heavy bodies, shouldn't it take at least as long to turn those genetics into something much smaller? At least with a pot bellied pig, you know they will be small (assuming you confirm the parentage). Teacup pigs sound like a big scam.


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

Dwarf Dad said:


> Good looking pigs @Calistar
> Does the hair seem to keep them cooler? Jimmy Dean has sparse hair and needs the wallow to cool off.


I don't know that the hair keeps them cooler. It probably helps protect against sunburn, but these guys definitely still love to wallow! I was just outside refilling water buckets and my sow sat in hers, scratching her butt, while I tried to refill it. Truly classy animals 

Jessica, I'll PM you about piggies so as not to totally hijack OP's thread


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Dwarf Dad said:


> Did not know that. I thought that as dense as they are that they would have a hard time staying afloat.


I saw a small flock cross a small creek. One by one they jumped/fell into the water, sunk until they were covered with water all over, then came up, snorted, and began swimming like bath ducks! Maybe they float on their fat? (These were from a farm, parents really big.)


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Little Cow said:


> If pig breeders have bred pigs for centuries to get rapid growth and heavy bodies, shouldn't it take at least as long to turn those genetics into something much smaller? At least with a pot bellied pig, you know they will be small (assuming you confirm the parentage). Teacup pigs sound like a big scam.


Very good points of view!


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## Nudanud (Mar 1, 2018)

I don’t have mini pigs but I do raise hogs! I can vouch for the amazing temperament of the Kunekune line!
I actually raise a breed that was created off the Kune’s because we don’t live in an area that appreciates pastured products or fatty meats, but there is an AMAZING difference between our “shire” mix hogs and Kune based hogs (Idaho pasture pigs).
You can move an IPP anywhere on the property by just walking along with a food bucket or using a little pressure from behind. Even the BOAR. And these are production animals, not pets. I can’t imagine how well behaved they’d be if they were treated as pets.
One of my gilts, I taught her to sit and then stand on her haunches (when she was smaller) by using boiled eggs as a treat. If you have space.I can totally recommend going with Kune Kune and just pigs in general. They are such wonderful animals! Everyone should have pigs...LOL

The only downfall of these breeds that I’ve noticed is that their toes get long and crooked. They don’t seem to self trim as well as the shire hogs and if they get overweight, it can be tough for them to get around. 
Don’t know if this was mentioned, cuz I haven’t read every post, but a full grown pig is 4lbs a day of feed. So you can figure exactly how much a pet will cost (might be 2lbs if you had a mini that was only 200lbs full grown).


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