Just when I think she can't possibly get worse!

Came home last night to see, through the dark window, a little pink piggy butt sticking out of the illuminated fridge! Piper, the little brat, got the door open and helped herself to every bit of food she could reach. She was sucking the tomatoes through the mesh bag when we finally stopped laughing long enough to get into the house to pull her out. I swear, everytime I start to think we have seen the limit of how bad this little girl can be...she surprises me. She's a hard pig to love, but even harder not to.

Now...off to the grocery store I go...

Piper's Rules of Possession

I thought this was cute. It describes my Piper pig better than anything I could have come up with myself. She's worse than any toddler I have ever known, but I gotta love her ('cuz if I don't...nobody else will!!! :o))

                                                                                                    

                                                
                                           (Except...if it's broken, it's still hers!)

So many questions...it keeps me up at night.

When will people realize that "responsible pot bellied pig breeder" is a contradiction in terms?

Why won't these same people who feel that they are so "responsible" take the time to look closely into the situation and become aware of the suffering they are contributing to by bringing more into the world, when the world has proven time and time again that they only have room for baby pigs? What do they think happens to the adults? Even when you tell them...they don't want to hear or know about it.

Why do these breeders feel it is their right to subject these innocent animals to very sad lives?

Every breeder I have ever spoken to ALWAYS says the same thing. They say that they LOVE their animals. They are VERY VERY careful about what homes they send their animals to. They are ALWAYS there for future support to anyone they sell a pig to...and are ALWAYS willing to take said animal back if things don't work out. They say that they keep in regular contact with all adoptive parents and monitor the care given to the animal throughout it's lifetime.

This is bull. If it were true...why are there so many unwanted pigs out there? I am not saying that they don't start out with the best of intentions...but I have yet to see even ONE breeder who follows through on these ideals. I have called many, pretending to be interested in buying a pig and my home has not once been checked to see if it is suitable for a pig. I have been offered pigs as young as 2.5 weeks old. I have been told absolute lies about pot bellied pigs/their care requirements and their personalities. I know of many pigs in rescues who came from breeders with the same promises. Many times the owners surrending the pig are too embarrassed or just don't care enough to contact the original breeders. Other times they have been passed through many homes by the time they finally end up in a rescue and the original breeder is unknown and unaware of the situation. That's what happens with the promises breeders hand out. The breeder in Camrose of my Piper had no way of knowing the fate of this pig...yet to speak to her, she assured me that she is VERY involved in what happens to ALL OF HER PIGS. Same lies...every single time.

Currently there are ads on Kijiji for piglets. I bet they all hand out the same line of crap. I know that one does for sure. They are NOT responsible...as there is no such thing as a responsible pot bellied pig breeder. These people won't take the time to look into the fact that the market is absolutely saturated with the ever UNpopular adult pot bellied pig. All they see is that people like the babies and are willing to fork out money for them. They leave the responsibility of caring for the unwanted, neglected and abandoned adult pigs that they create to people involved in rescue. People who spend their own time and their own money to try to control the mess that THEY (the "responsible" breeders) have created. Then, they assure everyone of how responsible they are.

Please, do not buy a pig from anyone who breeds. They are NOT responsible. They do NOT care...or they wouldn't be doing this and chances are very very good that they will NOT follow through on their promises. PLEASE do NOT support this!!!

I just received an email today from a girl who got a living, breathing, feeling pot bellied pig baby as a Birthday gift from someone she barely knew. She didn't want it and is not willing to keep it. THIS is what is happening to these pigs over and over and over again. This boy is 3 months old, not neutered, living inside and no longer wanted. I'm sure he came from a breeder with all the same promises...but those promises didn't do him a whole lot of good. HIs future does not look bright...through no fault of his own.

This is NOT ok.

Hope for Tucker??? I sure hope so.

Tucker has gone downhill again the last few weeks. My poor guy. His skin condition has gotten worse. We took some skin samples in to the vet and found out that he is loaded with demodex mites. I think he's had them for some time and I am a little more than angry that this is the first (of many) vets who caught it (we've done this before...many times). This is something that is common in dogs, but very rare in pigs. It may be a blessing in disguise though, because from what I have been reading...these mites can cause the acne problems that he has experienced all his life, because the feces from the mites and the dead mites get absorbed into the skin...causing what he seems to have. If that is the case...maybe we are on to something here! I sure hope so. Ivermec is what you use to treat them...and he is starting to feel better already after one dose, but that is the same stuff we use regularly to deworm all of our pigs...so I don't know why he has this problem to begin with. None of the other pigs do. We are still waiting on results from other samples that our vet sent away to the lab...so we will see what they say, but I am feeling very hopeful that after all these years, we might actually be on the right track. I even read somewhere that this can be a bird mite as well...and for the first 5 weeks of his life, he lived in an unventilated, filthy shed with many birds. Maybe that's why the other pigs are fine and he's not?

I just hope that this vet will see this through and not throw his hands in the air and give up on Tucker like all the others have done. I am very serious when I tell people that finding a good vet in this area who knows how or is willing to deal with a pot bellied pig beyond just the very basic medical care is VERY DIFFICULT, very expensive and more than a little frustrating.

Now, to diligently bleach and re-bleach every surface and every piece of bedding that he has ever touched. Anything to get my best guy healthy again! Today is the first day in 2 weeks that he hasn't gone out into the trees and spent the day there in a little nest that he made. It's been so cold and it's been breaking my heart to see him out there all alone and miserable.

White pigs and skin cancer

I read something interesting and thought I would share it. It is from the Shepherd's Green Sanctuary newsletter and it talks about skin health in pigs.

It is talking about 2 of the pigs at the sanctuary...

" Mona and Sally Cream Cheese are 2 of some 30 white and silver pigs who have over the years gradually gotten more and more skin problems. A month of diagnostics and care at the University for Sally indicated no single approach was going to solve the problems. Each pig seemed a little different, but most were thin, had weeping sores and a generalized redness and "dirty" look.

The Cause.
The root cause is that white farm pigs get skin cancer and when introduced in 1989 into the pot bellied pig population as "Royal Whites", they brought their genetics with them. Because farm pigs are killed as juveniles in the meat industry, it doesn't matter, but now we have thousands of white and silver pigs of diminutive sizes in homes as well as a growing number of farm pigs as pets. When they get skin cancer or any of the other skin conditions, it matters!"

I was just saying in my last post about how hard it is to put sunscreen onto a pig covered in pig bristles. I have already started to notice the "generalized redness and dirty look" of Piper's skin. She's had many sores throughout the summer and has, at times, been very uncomfortable because of this problem. To me, this is just another consequence of irresponsible breeding to create more variety to make more money. There's really no way to help a white pig. You can try with the sunscreen...as I do, at least getting the ears, but other than making a cover for the entire pig (which none of mine would even allow), they will be exposed to the sun most of the the time.

Definitely something to think about. As I have said before, vet care for serious problems in pigs is very difficult to find in this area.

Another summer come and gone

Hard to believe it's that time of year once again. My pigs have decided that it is too cold in the mornings to go out early and they are screaming at the door to come in much earlier at night. It's almost time to bathe and deworm them, replace their carpet and buy new blankets. I buy them new ones every fall because they shred them so bad, but I figure they don't need big fluffy ones in the summer anyways. I could spend a fortune keeping them in fluffly blankets. (If anyone has any to donate...please let me know!)

It's been an eventful summer. Piper is getting along with her brothers now (mostly). I knew she would, it just took them being outside together to make it happen. I'm sure she got put in her place more than once while they were out there and Mom wasn't watching...but I'm happy for whatever fixed the problem. This winter won't be quite as bad as last winter...not having to keep them seperated. That wasn't fun. She's also over her drinking problem! ;o) I can keep water down for her at all times now and she only drinks when she's thirsty...which also means that she doesn't pee as much. I did also learn this summer that white pigs sunburn very easily and it's not easy to spread any type of sunscreen on pig bristles!!! She was a lot of work, but she has come a long way and I am so happy to see it. I wish people could stick it out and try harder instead of giving up so easily on their pigs. She's a good girl. Snotty at times...but a good girl.

MacGyver has come leaps and bounds too. He's often the only one in the house...he asks to come in during the day for a nap while the others are outside. He's comfortable with me and my girls, but still a little unsure of Scott. I think he's had some pretty bad experiences with men and may never get over that. He's become a real sweetheart and is the most "Shrek-like" of all my pigs when he loses all his hair! You just can't help but love the guy.

Tucker is doing ok. The medication we got has stopped working and we can't find another vet who has any ideas what to do for him. He is still fine, but his nose is running again. I feel awful that we can't find anyone to solve that problem for him. It's not as bad as it use to be...so I guess that is a good thing. He's taken to sleeping on the floor in my bedroom during the day, instead of the living room where they all usually sleep. I have to remember to put some blankets down for him or he helps himself to the ones on my bed. :o)

Lukie and Tanner are Lukie and Tanner. Those two never change. Easy going, laid back, happy go lucky brothers. They have both put on a little too much weight over the summer from grazing and rooting all day every day, but they will slim down again over the winter. That can be a huge problem with pot bellied pigs (pardon the pun!), but I don't worry about the summer chubb. They work hard for it!

As for my yard...it has several more problem areas from a long summer of pig activities, but that is to be expected. It's just grass...or at least it use to be...ha ha.

Hope you all had a good summer, or at least enjoyed what little we had. I will hopefully be able to spend more time updating my blog now that it's over. I have been neglecting it a little lately.

Are people stupid?

Seriously...I have to ask myself this. I try to think that people are just uninformed, but that logic is getting harder and harder to swallow.

 There is ANOTHER pot bellied pig for sale on Kijiji...3 WEEKS OLD!!!! Come on...it doesn't take a genius to understand that this is wrong. This is a BABY for cryin' out loud who still needs to be with mom!!! Some people just don't care what they do to make a buck and these poor animals are the ones who continue to suffer.

I have a pig (Tucker) who is now 5. He was taken from his mother at 4 weeks old and suffers because of this irresponsibility every single day of his life...and I do too...both financially and just having to deal daily with a problem pig. I would need more hands to be able to count his problems...both physical and mental...on my fingers. Believe me...this is NOT what you want in a pet. They sure look sweet at that age...but look down my posts to see what they WILL become (times 10 if they are taken from mom too early.) Don't be fooled and don't be part of the exploitation of these animals. I ask every single person reading this to report (top right corner on ad) every ad you see where people are trying to sell pigs (or any animals for that matter) at this age. Please also write to Kijiji to let them know that you don't believe they should allow such irresponsibility on their site. PLEASE be part of the solution...not the problem. If you won't stand up for them...who will???

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who reported this ad. It has now been changed and they are selling the piglet at 6 weeks instead. Still too young, but apparently ok by Kijiji standards.

BUSTED!!!!!

Have you ever seen a more priceless expression in your life?!?! This was my lawn at one time. It's a good thing I love you Lukie!!! :o)

Gotta Love Pigs!

I love spring. My pigs love it too, when they can finally get out and do what they do best! Here are a few pictures of some of the damage they have done to my yard in the last couple of days. This is the rule with pigs...not the exception. Please honestly consider how important your yard is to you before you make the decision to bring a pig home. If you like grass and flowers and a neat, pretty yard, or if you hate mud...you will not be pleased with an adult pig. You may think that it's worse here because I have 5 and you are only considering 1, but you are wrong. 1 pig can do this too...in fact, several of these pictures are the work of MacGyver alone. This is just what they do and they don't care how hard you work on your yard to keep it nice, or who you have coming over on the weekend for a BBQ...they will do it. I still laugh (in an incredibly frustrated way) at the ad on Kijiji awhile back that claimed that pigs are "No worse than puppies when it comes to digging"!!! That is simply not true. Pigs root all day and it's something they never outgrow.  If a breeder tells you otherwise...THEY ARE LYING!!!!

Keep in mind that all of this damage happened in just a few days... 

 

 

Another pig attack

Well, it happened again. Tucker attacked our dalmatian Freckles this morning. The last time this happened, Freckles ended up with almost $700 worth of stitches. We were lucky this time because I was right there, but I have no doubts when this happens that Tucker is trying to kill her. I don't get it...it was totally unprovoked again - she wasn't even looking at him.

Although this isn't something that happens every day, it's something that people need to be aware of...especially if you have other pets or small children (or friends with small children). Those adorable little piglets that are advertised almost daily on Kijiji DO GROW UP. They can be called whatever tiny sounding "name of the month" that breeders can come up with, but they DO grow up to be pot bellied pigs. If you are not familiar with adult pigs, you should IN NO WAY be considering getting a baby pig. As I've said before, even the non existant breed of "micro" or "teacup" can grow to be 200 pounds. Even at 100 pounds (Tucker is 110)...they are solid and built like a brick you-know-what. They have tusks and a STRONG will of their own. The ONLY way I could get Tucker off of Freckles this morning (and there were 3 of us) was to kick him several times and push him down 3 stairs. Had I not been wearing shoes at the time, even this would not have been effective, my dog would be dead, and I'm sure I would have been back into the ER for more stitches myself (I had stitches a few months ago from another pig while trying to keep him from eating the other's food).

Just so you know, Freckles is ok. A few cuts and pretty sore, but ok. We had been doing pretty good about not letting the 2 of them out together, but we will have to be even more careful from now on. Poor girl. I am so glad we were right there.

Tucker is also ok. He's sleeping on the floor at my feet now like nothing happened. People who know Tucker would never believe he's capable of something like that. The truth is...he's a pig...and all pigs are more than capable of somthing like that. This is something that breeders don't tell you.

The new ad today on Kijiji is for MORE "micro/teacup" piglets. Please be advised that these pigs are pot bellied pigs...just like Tucker. Same instincts, same strength, SAME BREED!!!!!! Don't be fooled by the pictures of baby pigs...they grow up fast.

Spitting fire

I was just on Facebook when I looked over at the "People You Might Know" sidebar only to see a picture of 3 of my pigs (the picture at the bottom of this page actually) as the profile picture for someone with a FB page for the NON EXISTANT "Micro-mini" pigs!!! Once I weeded my way through the absolute rage, it hit me how ironic it was...and how I am in no way lying when I continue to say how hard it is to get the truth about pigs out to the public...when MY OWN RESCUED PIGS are the ones representing the pretend breed I am trying so hard to put an end to!

I've asked politely to have it removed. If not, I will have to contact FB.

When does common sense fit in???

The newest ad on Kijiji for piglets states...

"it is true They make GREAT pets!"

...yes they do. What is not mentioned is the fact that they are extremely destructive, and can also be very dangerous if not trained properly (and this training must be maintained throughout their lives)

"they are on a solid diet at just 2.5 weeks old they are ready to come home to play with you."

GOOD GRIEF!!! This is absolutely FALSE!!!! Taken from mom at that age is WRONG in every way. They do not develop properly socially when this happens. A pig should stay a minimum of 3 months with mom. Selling them too soon is a marketing tactic used to feed the lie of "tiny" pigs. Yes...babies are tiny. Adults are not. 

"Did you know you can litter train these amazing friendly pets?"

Yes, it can be done, but let me tell you how gross this would be. Pig poop stinks BAD (sorry to add more common sense into the equation). If a pig poops in your house...even in a litter box...that smell will be overwhelming. Pigs need to be allowed outside to potty and to root and to wander and to just be pigs. The reason most people want to litter train a pig is to keep them out of the yard so they won't root it up. Your house will not stand up to this logic. Pigs root a LOT and if you prevent them from doing it...they WILL use that excess energy and strength (and they have a lot of both) to destroy your home.

Please also be aware that the city bylaw in Grande Prairie is being written to include pot bellied pigs in the list of animals NOT ALLOWED within city limits.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use your common sense when dealing with breeders. Like I've said many times before...a pig is a pig is a pig is a pig. If it sounds too good to be true...IT IS!!! If you buy from someone who is lying to you...you will have problems. Please don't support this. If you are serious about getting a pig...PLEASE contact a rescue. They have no reson to lie to you, so you will get the truth and be able to make an informed decision.

Piper Update

Well, she's STILL in the kitchen. I am lost as to what to do to cure her mean streak towards my other pigs. I am hoping once spring finally comes and they can be outside more that they will work things out between them in the yard rather than in the house where things get destroyed in a pig fight. This worries me a little because she's much younger and still quite a bit smaller than they are and she has no tusks yet...but she just might need a good lesson to get her to stop. Nothing else seems to be working.

I still can't give her access to water at all times either. She will drink until she convulses. I wonder if she wasn't denied water as a house training technique...as she was very difficult to house train and still will go in the house if you don't watch her closely. That might explain why she feels the need to drink whatever water she can when she has the chance. I don't know. Not sure what I will do in the hot summer when there has to be water down at all times.

She is destroying the walls in my kitchen. I think she has chewed every corner in there and ripped of any trim she can reach. We are seriously thinking of putting puck board (???) up the bottom 3 ft of our walls! She digs in my cupboards constantly, has chewed most of my Tupperware lids so they no longer fit and her new favorite game is opening the drawer on my stove and standing in it (I have to admit...that one is kind of cute!)

She's also grown quite a bit. She was sold as a "mini" who was suppose to be much smaller (40-60 pounds) than a "normal" pot bellied pig (110-200+ pounds), but is showing no signs of being any smaller than my other 4 "normal" males. For anyone thinking that there are such things as a teacup, micro mini, royal dandy, juliana, etc, etc, etc... that grow to be any smaller than a regular pot bellied pig, please be aware that there is not. They are ALL pot bellied pigs. The pictures you see of tiny pigs are BABIES. If the parents are small, it's because they were bred too young and are STILL babies. Breeders take these young pigs, breed them and then don't feed them properly to keep them small. This does not make for a healthy pig or a long life. Piper (who was assured to weigh between 40-60 pounds full grown) is already 50 pounds and she is only 8 months old. Pot bellied pigs grow until they are 3 years old! She's got a LOT of growing to do yet and is right on par with the growth of my other boys (110-200+ pounds). THERE IS NO DIFERENCE!!! Please don't fall for what breeders tell you. It's a business and nothing more. Who WOULDN'T want a cute little piglet that stayed the size of a cat? They are very easy to market that way because that idea is so sweet...but it is just an idea. Please don't fall for it and find yourself with the almost impossible task of trying to rehome a large adult pig once you learn this truth the hard way. There is NO MARKET for an adult pet pig. :o(

Please also be aware that the Animal Control bylaw in Grande Praire has been rewritten to include pigs (and goats) in the list of animals NOT LEGAL in Grande Prairie, AB. 

Teacup Pigs All the Rage, But Animal Welfare Group Urges People to do Homework Before Taking One Home

http://www.prweb.com/releases/teacup_pigs/Animal_Welfare/prweb3119874.htm

YAY! New by-law says Pot Bellied Pigs are NO LONGER allowed in Grande Prairie!!!!

YAY!!!!!! I couldn't be happier. Pigs don't belong in the city...and this new by-law will keep them out. Although I know the problem isn't only with city pigs,  I hope this will have a huge impact on pigs being abandoned once they out grow city living.

Please be aware...and tell your friends...

:o)

Don't always believe what people tell you when getting a pig!

What continues to amaze me is that I am still shocked by what some people will do and say when it comes to pot bellied pigs. I KNOW BETTER...SHAME ON ME!!! We found out a couple of weeks ago that MacGyver, my rescue pig who was being sold as a butcher pig because he was neutered and therefor of no use to the owners who wanted to breed MORE pigs into this area...is NOT neutered. I've had my doubts all along because he just looks (slightly...which is what threw me) different from my neutered boys, but because I have not had any experience with adult boars, I didn't know what I was looking for...and he was not displaying any of the normal boar traits. Over the last few weeks...maybe because spring is in the air, or maybe it has something to do with my other little rescue female...he has been showing me his true colors. For those of you who have not had any experience with boars, believe me when I say...it's NOT something you want to have to deal with (and it starts very young). Needless to say, tomorrow afternoon, after months of building trust with him, we have to load him up and take him to be neutered. :o(

Once again, I will send my husband to do the dirty work. He trusts me now and I don't want to damage that trust. He's a bit of a man hater anyway (no doubt he has good reasons) and still doesn't quite trust Scott. If Scott moves into MacGyver's space, he will bark at him and back away. He doesn't do that for me. Scott will have to start from square one with him again I am sure. Maybe that's not fair of me...but it's the way it's going to be. I spend more time with them so I win the discussion! Besides, I tend to cry during these things. There's not much out there that breaks my heart like the cry of a terrified pig. :o(

The frustrating part is, we would have taken him even if he wasn't neutered. We would have had him fixed right away and it would be over and done with now. It wasn't necessary to lie. So often this happens with pot bellied pigs. The truth of who and what they are and will become is hidden and people often do not realize what they are getting into. If the truth were told, there would be much fewer people rushing out to get one of those adorable little pigs on Kijiji. We were also told that he was 1 and a half years old. It was obvious just looking at him that he is at least 5. We knew this as soon as we saw him, so what was the point in lying?

Just be aware that ALL pot bellied pig breeders are in it for the money. If they weren't, they would be aware of what is happening and they would not be breeding anymore. They will tell you whatever you want or need to hear to get you to reach into your wallet and pull out the cash. They don't care that you will not be prepared for what is to come, and they don't care what becomes of the pig they sell you. They don't care that adult pigs are almost impossible to rehome and that is what you will be faced with if and when things don't work out for you (because of their lies). I have 5 pigs here now and know of hundreds of others who prove this is true. When I contacted Piper's breeder, she offered nothing. The pig...that SHE brought into this world...was no longer her concern. This is a breeder from Camrose who often advertises her pigs on Kijiji. Her website "looks" very good. Unfortunately, her ethics are not.

PLEASE don't buy from a breeder just because the pictures they post are adorable. Bear cubs are adorable too, but they are not the pet for the average person. Pigs are no different. Those babies grow up fast and don't look like that for very long. Buy from a  pig rescue if you are sure a pot bellied pig is for you. A pig rescue won't lie because they truly care about their pigs, even though they are not the ones responsible for bringing them into the world. You will get the truth, be able to make an informed decision, help the under funded rescues and save a life in the process. What could be better?

Remember...a pig is a pig is a pig is a pig. If you bring a pig into your home, you are getting a pig in your home. Don't expect anything different or let anyone tell you that is not the case! Spend some time observing pigs in the wild doing what pigs do. Don't expect that these things will change once you bring them into your home.

Not so pint sized pigs

This is what breeders don't want you to know.

http://www.five.tv/shows/five-news-2/clips/the-not-so-pint-sized-pig

http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/rural-life/country-view/public-warned-over-‘micro-pigs’-ahead-of-christmas/35754.article

Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - Gary Yourofsky

Thank you Gary!!! Every person on the planet should listen to this. He's a passionate and gifted speaker who really cuts through the crap and points out that wrong is ALWAYS wrong and it can't be reasoned or justified away. BRAVO!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4&sns=fb

Sigh..........Feeling alone in the world right now

Another pig on Kijiji. He's being sold as "a proven breeder" (Grrrrrrr!!!!!) who has outlived his usefulness to his owners. He's probably made them some money and now they are done with him, his needs and how ever many piglets they added to the world. He's "not friendly"...so chances are even slimmer for him to find a good home. He will be sold as food or as a breeder to pump more unwanted pigs into this area. I want so badly to go get him, but I can't. I'm not set up to properly house an outside piggy in this climate (-40C yesterday with a wind chill) and I can't have more indoor pigs. It's killing me to leave him there to face whatever fate awaits him. :o( As badly as I want to have a PBP rescue, I don't think I can. The need is endless and it's impossible to do it alone. I would have 100 pigs within no time...and then what? There will always be "the next one" after that. The feeling that I am having right now will never end. The stories of the rescues that are shutting their doors due to financial need are overwhelming to me. What do these people do with all of their pigs when this happens? The gassing trucks get brought in and they are killed...that's what happens. The best intentions in the world cannot accomplish the impossible. I wish breeders would open their eyes to this. When a market is saturated and animals are being abused, neglected and abandoned and pets are being slaughtered...IT'S TIME TO STOP BREEDING!!!!!!! It's not rocket science. The selfishness and coldheartedness of people will never cease to amaze me.

All it would take to stop it is for you to stand up for them...

...please don't look and walk away without doing something. They need you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W94PG1XR5UM

Life Changing Question

I will never understand how people see this any other way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1q3gvVLCBE&feature=player_embedded#!