How do I cure a Pot Bellied Pig?

[Rodneyd]

I live on 6 acres and my neighbor on about 20. They have a pot bellied pig. Had it for about 3 years now. Up until about 3 weeks ago the pig stayed on their property. Their barn and house is about 200 yards from my place. Then all of a sudden he comes over to my barn and gets into my chicken feed. Decided he liked it and started coming over daily and knocking over the feed barrel. Also went around to the chicken coup and got into their feeder. I chased him several times with a broom over to the fence line. Now he sees me coming and runs. That little porker can haul butt. Feed store said pigs HATE to get shocked so I put up a low, 2 strand electric fence. That short, fat %$@* dude walked through that fence like I put it there for him to scratch his back on it. The obvious question is "Why don't you tell the neighbors?" They really are nice people. The guy comes over and bales some hay for me and doesn't want to charge. But the last time we said something about their dog, who would come out into the road and snarl and almost attack us as we walked by, it took 2 years to clear the air and get on speaking terms again.

HELP..... What do I do? How do I take care of this pesky porker and still maintain peace in the valley?

Rod

 

[butzkeg]

Turn in into bacon, the kindly ask your neighbor over for breakfast!

 

[GlueGuy]

Sounds like you need the services of a diplomat. My wife is an ace at that sort of thing. She can tell someone they're a no good so and so, and they will thank her for the advice. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Seriously though, this should not be a big deal if you approach it humorously or good-naturedly. Choose your words and approach carefully; maybe even practice it with someone else (wife, brother, whoever).

When I first saw the subject of this post, I thought you were wanting to "cure" as in ham. See what impact your choice of words can have?

The GlueGuy

 

[RichZ]

Rod, are you 100% sure that the current was going through the electric fence? I don't mean to state the obvious, but I use electric fences for my horses, and it's easy to get a break in the line that you may not see. That happens to me every once in a while, and I have one horse that's always testing the fence. She'll actually periodically touch the fence with her nose, and if she doesn't get a shock, she'll try to go through it. It's hard to believe that the pig would keep on going if shocked, although I have no experience with pigs.
Just a thought.

Rich

 

[MossRoad]

Some people just don't get it. When I was a kid, all of the neighbors would feed the birds and racoons by throwing old bread out on their back lawns. One of the neighbors sent out a letter asking people to stop feeding the wild animals because her dog was getting fat!

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>

 

[Egon]

pig roast

Egon

 

[TerryinMD]

Ahhh.... the fine art of diplomacy.

Try by using some humor. The next time the pesky little guy comes over, call up your neighbor and say something like "You gotta see this, that little porker of your's is ..... Come on over." With that introduction, you can then possibly slip into the conversation of correcting the issue.

Another tack, is to say something like, "Have you ever seen a pig hit by a car, dang car slides for yards, destroys the animal, and then you're stuck for paying all of the damages and a possible fine for the animal getting out of its pen."

Terry

 

[jims5acr]

I have to agree about the electric fence. If it is working right he would not come through it. I would check and make sure it has voltage where he comes through, it is real easy to have somthing touching it and take the current away.
MHO
Jim

 

[Boondox]

Rod -- Have you tried adding some of that really HOT pepper additive to the bird food? I think it's called capsicum pepper extract. Birds can't taste it, but it burns mammals so badly they get blisters on their tongues. Worth a shot at $2 a packet. It's usually advertised to keep squirrels out of bird seed.

If it works, problem solved and no hard feelings with the neighbor. If not, you're only out a couple of bucks.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[Rodneyd]

Pete,
Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't heard of that. Will try to find some at the feed store. Nothing else has worked. The fence is hot. I tested it several times along the whole length.

Well, off to find some HOT SAUCE............ Here piggy, piggy, piggy! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !