# micro pigs ?????



## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

ok i have just had avery excited phone call from my friend and he said i have to start getting these :lol2: ok i do love my friend but he does come out with crazy ideas at times i have to admit they are cute :flrt:
doese anyone here own any ?

Micro pigs with a hefty price tag - Telegraph


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## Darbz (Mar 22, 2009)

Are they like microchips?

If we can get microchickens for eggs, microbeans and some really tiny black puddings too we could market a whole micro breakfast! :gasp:


on a slightly more serious note:

Omg, they are SO cute! I need one.


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## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

Darbz said:


> Are they like microchips?
> 
> If we can get microchickens for eggs, microbeans and some really tiny black puddings too we could market a whole micro breakfast! :gasp:
> 
> ...


:lol2: you are funny micro breakfast :lol2: please stop, im still laughing from the phone call he must be serious hes sent me another link The £700 teacup-sized pigs that are the latest celebrity must-have pet | Mail Online
i have to say they are so cute he also said you can pick them up for about £250 ive never known him to be so excited about an idea !


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

I'll PM you in a sec.


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

They're not actually _that_ small really when you think of how much they weight. Just to add you need a licence from DEFRA to keep pigs, even indoors, then I believe when you get them you need to register them, and more faff lol. I can't help thinking that if Ron Weasly has one, did he not have swine flu? Can it be passed back to the pig?


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## Genseric (Oct 7, 2007)

The missus and I were just saying that a couple of them would make great pets for the wee man (and me of course ).

I might wait till the price goes down though..


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

LeviathanNI said:


> The missus and I were just saying that a couple of them would make great pets for the wee man (and me of course ).
> 
> I might wait till the price goes down though..


They are pretty cool. A friend of my Dad's used to have pot belly as a house pet, it would go to the toilet outside and played with his dog. Really easy to train, it learned and followed commands easier than a dog.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).

I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).
> 
> I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.


Yes very true. Wont be long before they start getting dumped due to acting like pigs.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).
> 
> I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.



But its ok for Rats, bunnies, cats, snakes, lizards, mice, spiders, etc etc etc?  :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

LisaLQ said:


> Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).
> 
> I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.


Actually they aren't a "new" fad at all. They were in the news months, even years ago and that caused a massive fad, but it has died down now. Pigs actually act primarily like dogs (I'm not saying all pigs do, and I'm not saying pigs are a good replacement for a dog or anything of the sort btw!) when kept as house pets, as I am sure a few pet keepers will tell you. A lot of pigs enjoy being around humans.



leggy said:


> Yes very true. Wont be long before they start getting dumped due to acting like pigs.


The fad is pretty much over now (thankfully), I doubt this will spark another.



Crownan said:


> But its ok for Rats, bunnies, cats, snakes, lizards, mice, spiders, etc etc etc?  :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Don't forget dogs.


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).
> 
> I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.


To be fair I don't think many people who keep them as house pets, deny them outside space, I mean otherwise their houses will be full of poop.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

You can give a rat (and other already domesticated pets) things it does naturally (eg substrate, climbing things, toys etc), can you give your pig a mud pit in the living room, or some loose ground to snuffle through? Or will they be bathed, pushed into outfits and litter trained and get to do nothing that they would naturally do?

I knew here wasn't the best place to disagree with another fad. Needless to say those who are ok with hiding pets from halls staff or keeping far more animals than they should have would be all for bringing pigs indoors for the fun of it.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> You can give a rat (and other already domesticated pets) things it does naturally (eg substrate, climbing things, toys etc), can you give your pig a mud pit in the living room, or some loose ground to snuffle through? Or will they be bathed, pushed into outfits and litter trained and get to do nothing that they would naturally do?
> 
> I knew here wasn't the best place to disagree with another fad. Needless to say those who are ok with hiding pets from halls staff or keeping far more animals than they should have would be all for bringing pigs indoors for the fun of it.


I never said I was 'for it' I was just wondering why its ok for people to do that to dogs, cats, rabbits etc but not pigs


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## Genseric (Oct 7, 2007)

Well just before you mount your horse there... we have a sty etc, but no desire to keep full sized ones...

mount away...


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

LeviathanNI said:


> Well just before you mount your horse there... we have a sty etc, but no desire to keep full sized ones...
> 
> mount away...


I just giggled like a right loon :lol2::blush:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Isn't someone on here advertising them in classifieds?? I'm sure I saw a post about them in there - unless was it was a 'micro pigs wanted thread! :lol2:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

littlepigfarm was advertising them not so long ago. : victory:


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## ryanr1987 (Mar 7, 2009)

lol there well cute when they are piglets but when they grow to a 65lb beast. pigs are scary. not ideal pets unless you can provide a proper pen etc


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## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

we have kept pigs for years and years, several have been hand reared 'runts' we have also had rare breeds, plus commercial pigs.
Pigs are individual and some would actually prefer a dogs life, we had an oxford sandy and black and a pot belly that would spend most of their time in front of the fire when the weather was chilly, when it was time to walk the fields they came with use, playing with the dogs , running about or just ambling next to our heels.
pigs are (in general) far easier to house train than dogs as well as contrary to some peoples beliefs they are very clean animals that will always have a chosen spot to defecate in.
I do agree that some will not get a mud wallowing life but they do make fantastic pets when there needs are taken in to account and provided for.
Any one thinking of getting a pig will need a movement license from Defra, you will not be able to move your pig from your property with out a license either so that side of things would need to be researched fully along with their care needs


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## ryanr1987 (Mar 7, 2009)

wohic said:


> we have kept pigs for years and years, several have been hand reared 'runts' we have also had rare breeds, plus commercial pigs.
> Pigs are individual and some would actually prefer a dogs life, we had an oxford sandy and black and a pot belly that would spend most of their time in front of the fire when the weather was chilly, when it was time to walk the fields they came with use, playing with the dogs , running about or just ambling next to our heels.
> pigs are (in general) far easier to house train than dogs as well as contrary to some peoples beliefs they are very clean animals that will always have a chosen spot to defecate in.
> I do agree that some will not get a mud wallowing life but they do make fantastic pets when there needs are taken in to account and provided for.
> Any one thinking of getting a pig will need a movement license from Defra, you will not be able to move your pig from your property with out a license either so that side of things would need to be researched fully along with their care needs


 Did you ever have any problems with aggression? my old man used to work with pigs for years and i have heard some horror stories, or is it differen't for pigs in captivity rather then on a farm


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## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

ryanr1987 said:


> Did you ever have any problems with aggression? my old man used to work with pigs for years and i have heard some horror stories, or is it differen't for pigs in captivity rather then on a farm


we had dozens of farm sows, mind you they we free ranged, only ever had two agressive ones, a big black berkshire sow and a lrge white boar, they were moody buggers.
I think a lot of aggression from commercial pigs arise from boredom, they are very intelligent and need thinks to keep them interested.


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## ryanr1987 (Mar 7, 2009)

wohic said:


> we had dozens of farm sows, mind you they we free ranged, only ever had two agressive ones, a big black berkshire sow and a lrge white boar, they were moody buggers.
> I think a lot of aggression from commercial pigs arise from boredom, they are very intelligent and need thinks to keep them interested.


 cool, they sound quite interesting to keep wouldn't get one personally though i have heard feeding time can get a little dangerous with pig groups of pigs.


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## Talk To The Animals (Jan 10, 2008)

It bothers me slightly how these were bred. Is it by breeding runt with runt, and getting progressively smaller pigs? If so, you won't know what other problems you are breeding in and how long it will take before these problems come out.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

ryanr1987 said:


> Did you ever have any problems with aggression? my old man used to work with pigs for years and i have heard some horror stories, or is it differen't for pigs in captivity rather then on a farm


We had 2 pigs at the animal sanctuary where I work. One was an old Kune Kune who had a fabulous nature. He was very gentle and loved his belly scratched, although it was a problem to reach cos it was nearly on the ground :lol Sadly he had to be pts last year.

The other one is a pork pig (maybe Middle White) and she was born on a kid's petting farm. She was the runt and was due to be pts, so her carer took her home and hand reared her. Of course she couldn't keep her and so asked us to take her. She's now 2 year old and is positively poisonous!! She'll have anybody who goes into her paddock.


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## aliconda (Sep 6, 2009)

LisaLQ said:


> Hubby saw these on a news website and said he wants one (jokingly). Reminded him that pigs need to be pigs, and not household pets (along with a slap round the back of his head for being so stupid).
> 
> I find it really sad that they're the new fad and these poor things will be kept as house pets when they need to be snuffling about in mud outdoors.



i think if that really was the case i wouldn't mind so much. but at the minute i can just see Paris Hilton and the rest of the moron crew with these tiny bits of bacon in their bags along with the chihauhau both in matching diamante collars and studded hoodies. its a pig for crying out loud, sizzle till crispy and add brown sauce, don't let it curl up on the sofa....


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Talk To The Animals said:


> It bothers me slightly how these were bred. Is it by breeding runt with runt, and getting progressively smaller pigs? If so, you won't know what other problems you are breeding in and how long it will take before these problems come out.


If you breed runt with runt, you don't necessarily get a small animal. By definition, a runt is just an animal that has failed to thrive, ie. they were malnourished whilst they were young, so a "Runt" could produce a perfectly healthy, big pig. Mini pigs are (or should I say, were, because there has been so much out-crossing of breeds) a breed...The Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig. These have been out-crossed with all kinds of pig breeds including the old spot to bring in new colors, making perfectly healthy, yet small, pigs. : victory:


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## Talk To The Animals (Jan 10, 2008)

Fair enough. I stand corrected!!


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## juliemac (Dec 30, 2007)

I have a pot bellied pig called Wilbur who lives in the house. We bought him as a miniature, unfortunately he grew and grew :lol2:, he still is smaller than some of the pot bellied pigs but is definately not a miniature! He's house trained and a lot cleaner than our dogs. He goes outside and has made part of our garden into his own personal mud bath, he also has room in the garden to snuffle. If left outside for long periods of time he cries at the conservatory door to be let in! He's a real character and I wouldn't want to be without him but he is hard work. Pigs love to scratch their behinds on anything hard which in Wilber's case is either the tv, kitchen cupboards etc and due to his sheer weight when doing this can be quite destructive. We have childlocks on the cupboard doors as he can open doors, drawers or anything if he puts his mind to it, especially if there's food involved and he has been known to rip a cupboard door off its hinges if he smells something nice behind it. Apart from all this, he is the most loving pig you could ever meet and will come and lie at your feet at night, I love him and wouldn't change him for the world :flrt:


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