Caring for and training most pets is quite a bit of work, especially if it is not your typical dog or cat. For instance, those who decide to own a pot-bellied pig have quite a bit of work cut out for them. You can wean your pet as a baby and it can live a healthy long life if you take care of it properly, and feed it right.
When your pig is a baby you need to ask for starter chow at a feed store. More specifically you need to ask for the first food that pigs ever eat after they are born. Usually pigs will eat this food until it is several months old. Every pig is different so it is hard to say exactly how long it should be on starter food, but you may figure at least 6 or 7 months. Starter chow contains approximately 15 to 18% protein.
As the pigs grow older, they will begin to eat different types of chow that contains higher amounts of protein. For example, you can find a hog feed that contains ground corn and supplements, and is made of 36% protein. This higher protein count is best for adult pot-bellied pigs. The chow that pigs eat is full of other nutrients that they need as well, such as vitamins and minerals.
Pigs can eat certain human foods as well, but it is recommended that you be careful which foods to feed your pig and which ones not to fit it. One food that pigs can eat is leafy vegetables such as romaine lettuce or other dark green lettuce leaves or cut-up pieces of fresh carrots. You can feed your pig fruits and other sweet foods as well, but in moderation.
If you want to feed your pig foods besides regular pig chow you can but do so in moderation. Furthermore, you need to be careful exactly what you would feed your animal. For example, pot-bellied pigs should NOT eat chocolate. Chocolate is very harmful to these animals, and possibly could cause death. In fact, you should try not to feed your pig candy of any kind. Be careful what you feed your pig.
Some foods that are safe to feed your pig in limited amounts include the following:
Corn, Fruits, Potatoes, Yams, and Sweet Potatoes: Your pig enjoys these and they have some nutritional benefit. However, you need to be aware that these foods are starchy and contain quite a few calories.
Tomatoes: Pigs like these but you need to be careful because they are highly acidic.
Spinach: You can feed your pigs this vegetable because it helps clean out the animal’s digestive system. However, spinach is also high in sodium, and should be only given if the pig has clean water supply.
Certain Snack Foods: Cereals such as Cheerios, as well as unsalted and unbuttered air popped popcorn, bite sized shredded wheat squares, and other similar snacks acceptable to feed your pig. Be careful not to feed your pet snacks that are too high in fat and salt, especially fried potato chips or similar foods.
The other major concern about a pig’s diet is to make sure that your pig always has clean and fresh water. It is recommended that you change the pig’s water supply at least twice a day. Also, beware of the possibility that a pig could contract salt poisoning from water deprivation, which is another reason to supply your animal with fresh water as often as possible. It is best to never limit their supply of water as well.
Pigs drink quite a bit of water because they do not sweat. Also, since pigs do not sweat at all except for a little around their nose, they roll around in the mud to keep cool. You can also provide for them a plastic kid’s pool with water added to it so they can jump around in it. Of course, you will want to learn how to clean your pet pig afterwards if you keep it in the house.
If you need to clean your pig after a fun roll in the mud you will want to consider the following:
Avoid putting anything liquid into the pig’s ear canal. This is harmful to them. Instead, just stick your finger in its ear as far as it will go (or perhaps large-headed dry cotton swab). To make ear cleaning easier you can add a small drop of mineral oil to your finger. When you pull your finger out of your ear, the mineral oil causes the dirt to stick to your finger as it comes off of the pig’s ear. You can also use a wrung-out cloth to clean the outer surface of the ear.
You can clean your pig off by spraying his entire body gently with a hose or you can take out the swimming pool that you purchased for your pig to play in and coax it into there. Once the pig has been cleaned with water you will want to take it in the house before it runs back into the mud.
After cleaning, it is best to dry your pig off right away to prevent from it getting dirty again right away.
If you want to make sure your pig stays healthy and lives to its maximum life expectancy (approximately 15 years old) you will want to give it regular checkups. It is recommended that you make sure you can find a vet who is trained to deal with pot-bellied pigs before you invest in one. The pig will need a series of immunization shots and will also need to be spayed and neutered as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment