Pigs as pets?

[Caramac71]

I've been helping to look after someone's animals recently and I have fallen in love with her pigs. Hers are the outdoor variety, not indoor pet pigs, but it just got me thinking about how I could have pigs in my life

I've seen lots of adverts for micro pigs, with people keeping them almost like a domestic dog.

Does anyone keep pet pigs? Is it fair to domesticate them to a mostly indoor lifestyle? Are they happier kept with in pairs rather than on their own?

Any info gratefully received!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Please look here

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/farmanimals/pigs

Pigs have specific needs, please do your research thoroughly. Personally, I dont believe keeping them like dogs is good or appropriate-they are pigs, they need to do piggy things with other pigs.

 

[meleeka]

I have two Kune Kune and they are amazing pets. They are social animals and need to be kept in at least pairs. If you've seen them cuddled up together in their bed you'll know why. Any reputable breeder only sells them in pairs.

I went for registered Kune Kunes rather than micro pigs as they are renowned for their friendly character and I saw mum and sad so knew exactly what I was getting. I've heard lots of stories about micro pigs ending up anything but micro!

They are very easy to keep but I'm not sure I'd want to keep one indoors full time. They do like to root for food and wallow in the heat which could be messy as a house pet. They are also quite noisy when they want food, it sounds like a child being murdered! They are also ruled by their bellies so they'll chance it every time you walk past where the food is kept.

They don't necessarily need much space as you can harness train them and go for walks. You also need a CPH number and they need to be registered with DEFRA.

I wish I'd got mine years ago.

 

[Caramac71]

Thank you both, very helpful. I think I will have to wait and be patient, and factor in getting pigs with our next house move (hopefully in the next couple of years) so that I can make sure we have the right environment for them.

 

[Lizziehorselover]

I did some volunteering recently and did a lot of work with pigs. They need somewhere to root around that is muddy and almost like a swamp so you do need a fair bit of dedicated space (one pen was roughly the size of a garage, maybe a bit bigger). Concrete top half that housed their sty and a muddy bottom half that also needed to be shaded.