HELP my 1st Pig

[CrealCritter]

Well I found a pig on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. It's was in a big mud hole. One to not overlook a opportunity. I pulled over and called my FIL and he showed up about 10 mins later. I took a strap out of the back of the truck but he wouldn't have nothing to do with it.

Another guy pulled up and got out of the truck. I said would you like to help me wrangle this pig? He said sure... So all three of us managed to get him cornered and I grabbed it around the belly and picked it up. All while he was screaming bloody murder. I got him in the back of my truck and my father in law held him in the back of the truck while I drove it him home.

i picked it up and carried it into the chicken yard nursery pen. He's a good 90 lbs I know I carried him twice.

Now I need help raising him to butcher. What do I need to do, what breed is it? I'm so full of questions...

It's hot to day so I made a mud hole for him and he seems happy for now.

 

[sumi]

Wow, well done! It's a nice looking pig.

Some tips… For starters put that water bucket in the ground, or you are going to have a VERY muddy pen and refills needed 10x a day

Go to your co-op/feed store/farm store and ask them for some commercial pig food. You can supplement that with just about anything kitchen scrap wise, vegetables, fruit, even meat and weeds from the garden. Pigs will eat nearly anything. Feed it twice a day, as much as it will eat in 20 minutes. You can give it snacks like weeds etc in-between.

Make sure it has some shade, even if it's not hot by you, pigs are prone to sunburn, which is why they love mud bathing so much, it protects their skins and keeps them cool.

I see it's tail is not curly, which is a sign of good health, but it could just be stressed. Get some dewormers into it asap, just in case. Check if it's skin is o.k. Not too dry, no skin ailments. In South Africa we used to rub used car engine oil all over the pigs if they were mangy or scabby. This would eventually get rubbed off, or fall off, leaving their skins beautiful and healthy underneath.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment...

 

[NH Homesteader]

My phone is being lame and will only download one picture... In that one picture he kinda looks like a potbelly .

Regardless of what breed, is he neutered? You'll need to get a 16% protein grain (hog food is good, I actually don't use pig specific food because it's more expensive, I use Blue Seal Milk Maker, not sure what you have there), and you can mix in cracked corn and anything and everything from the garden. I would buy a hog dewormer, if you don't know where he came from I would deworm to be safe

If he is a potbelly, he probably won't be a great meat hog I'm afraid. But edible. They're very fatty and don't get very big. Potbellies only need about a cup of feed a day, as pets. Don't overfeed him or he'll be super fatty. Try 2 cups a day to start and see how he does

 

[CrealCritter]

It's a she, her nipples are slightly swollen and I think it might be pregnant.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Agree that it looks potbelly-ish and straight tails are normal for that breed.

People eat 'em all the time, but as NHH said, it will probably be a little fatty. But, meat is meat! My guinea hog was a bit fatty - but I got lots of nice lard outta the deal! Hey - you were talking about making soap on another thread, right?

If nothing else - it'll probably be a good 'starter' pig!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Yep got the first set of pics to load. Pot belly for sure. Swollen belly could be pregnant or wormy. Swollen teats is likely pregnant though for sure. Poor girl, someone probably dumped her.

 

[CrealCritter]

Yep got the first set of pics to load. Pot belly for sure. Swollen belly could be pregnant or wormy. Swollen teats is likely pregnant though for sure. Poor girl, someone probably dumped her.

Yep... That's my thoughts also. Being out there in the middle of nowhere. Well we'll have to wait and see if she has piglets. Still plan on eating her eventually though.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Hey you could eat the piglets too! She looks like she needs to gain some weight. She's all belly, thin in the hips, but she'll do well with someone taking good care of her.

 

[Beekissed]

If she's preggers, you will need a lot more room soon...gotta raise them piglets up to butchering age.

If potbellies are like other breeds of pigs, you'll also want to either ring her nose or put some hot wire along the base of your enclosure.... she'll be rooting out of there in no time.

Good score, free pig!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Please don't ring her nose. Hot wire and/or hog panels. We don't use hot wire, our full size pigs stay in hog panels from TSC just fine.