Baby Pig. Now What?

[EddieWalker]

My Mom came over and told me that my cat was chasing a baby pig out behind my house. I went out there and saw them right off, but they were playing with each other, and the pig was chasing the cat.

I grabed my fishing net and caught it fairly easily. Then it got tangled up, so my Dad cut away some of the netting.

I have it in a plastic storage bin for right now. It's only a couple of pounds, and I have no idea how old it is. No umbilical cord, and the fur looks in good shape.

We gave it some milk and cat food for the night.

Now what do I do with it?

Eddie

 

[/pine]

I would name it "BB"...as in BBQ...

get some pig chow for about 3 months...then corn for another month...then on the spit...

 

[beenthere]

Get it to squealing, and the mother should show up. Think it is from a feral (wild) pig family?

 

[Redgoatea]

My vote's with pine. Feed it and eat it. 7

 

[CurlyDave]

1. Go rent the movie "Babe" & watch it.

2. Keep it as a barnyard pet, or name it Pork Chop and eat it.

Given the rapid rate at which pigs go feral, I suspect the feral ones can become tame just as easily.

 

[Duffster]

Looks to be about a week old.

 

[77transam]

Much as I love bacon, I'd be hard pressed to keep him just to cook him, Lil' fellers' just too darn cute!

 

[dave1949]

Don't rent it out

Bottle feed it with milk and try to get it to eat pig starter feed. Purina makes starter feed, should be easy enough to find. You can make a mash of starter feed and milk if that helps it eat better.

You will have to decide if it is a pet or future BBQ. Pigs will become tame and friendly with human contact. They are of similar intelligence to dogs. If it's a male, it should be castrated for pet or BBQ.
Dave.

 

[Redgoatea]

1. Go rent the movie "Babe" & watch it.

2. Keep it as a barnyard pet, or name it Pork Chop and eat it.
y.

1. That movie always makes me wanna smoke something.

2. I thought you were supposed to name them all Wilbur?? 7

 

[gauthier]

We used to raise one or two up every year,,had a lot, a house and a slop trough,,come about dec/jan we shot them,bleed them and processed them,had a smoke house.

He is cute now,but in a few months,most of that is about worn off

 

[jinman]

Make a Geico commercial. . . "Wee! Wee! Wee! all the way home!":laughing:

EDIT: . . . and you can't hide anything. Look what else followed you home. (see attachment)

 

[n8wrl]

It's gonna get big fast. My youngest daughter got a pair of piglets a few years ago - I had no experience with them. I had to enlarge thier pen twice and they nearly destroyed that. After about 8 months I said it's time for BBQ and she balked. I offered her $1/pound and she said 'SOLD!' **** things ended up costing me $500 PLUS feed but good ribs!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

EDIT: . . . and you can't hide anything. Look what else followed you home. (see attachment)

Good eye Jim.

I say Trans Mule

 

[beppington]

EDIT: . . . and you can't hide anything. Look what else followed you home. (see attachment)

I believe I see the word "KAWASAKI"

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Good eye Jim.

I say Trans Mule

Forgot to say something about the pig...train him. Click on the pic.

 

[beppington]

...

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Eat him. I'm sure pigs make good pets, but I'm also sure they make even better sausage. I've raised two sets of pigs in my life, and it's been worth it. All I can say is make yourself a good, sturdy pen. Alcatraz couldn't keep a pig locked up. Make friends with the produce manager at your local grocery store. Get scrap and surplus feed wherever you can find it. Feed him good corn or a finisher ration for the last three weeks or so and then send him off to the butcher.

You got a good find, there. Weaner pigs are worth $75 to $100 each in this area.

 

[Duffster]

Eat him. I'm sure pigs make good pets, but I'm also sure they make even better sausage. I've raised two sets of pigs in my life, and it's been worth it. All I can say is make yourself a good, sturdy pen. Alcatraz couldn't keep a pig locked up. Make friends with the produce manager at your local grocery store. Get scrap and surplus feed wherever you can find it. Feed him good corn or a finisher ration for the last three weeks or so and then send him off to the butcher.

You got a good find, there. Weaner pigs are worth $75 to $100 each in this area.

Pigs must be worth more than here. Butcher weight hogs are only ~$150 here.

I agree though, pigs make much better sausage than pets.

 

[EddieWalker]

Jim, You're eye is very good. I had a heck of a day yesterday and will update the other thread with pics this weekend. I'm running extremly late for two different jobs that I'm supposed to be working on for clients today, and instead, I spent the morning building a pen for the pig with scrap stuff I had laying around.

I found ten feet of chicken wire and a metal wire panel in my scrap pile. I went through my wood and found some pieces of half inch plywood that were 22 inches wide. So with my Dad's help, we put in some bent up, broken t posts, stretched the chicken wire and cut the plywood to size. It's about as simple and basic as it can get!!!!

As you can see from the pictures, my cat, Luna, is either extremly curious, or wanting to make friends. My mom thinks Luna wants to eat the piglet, but I'm not so sure.

Dad is off to Walmart to get some whole milk and a baby bottle. For now, we're gonna keep it as a pet. It's totaly calmed down today and is easily handled, seems to enjoy attention and being petted.

Now I'm wondering how do you castrate an animal like a pig? and when do you do it? It's a he, but there's really nothing there to get ahold of. Any thoughts, suggestions or links that explain it to a guy who has never done anything like that, and never wanted to?

The part about country living that I really never thought about was just never knowing what will happen next out here!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[/pine]

FWIW...
I was told long ago that for the healthiest pigs they should not be raised on dirt floors...not sure how factual this is...