baby pigs are so cute. a good friend in tucson had a few 'potbellies' that grew up and were immense. we'd be drinking on the porch and get nuzzled with a wirey pig snout :D
what's up with the deleted posts? did anyone say something offensive. i have several questions:
1. pigs can live where there is snow? somehow i pictured them in tropical places. that pic of them outside is quite disconcerting. 2. would you guys get pigs as pets or as food? or both! 3. the ear thing - are they born that way or did someone go at their ears with special scissors?
and finally i like them small and cute. not big and dirty.
1. Pigs will live wherever you keep them. There are wild boar in New Hampshire these days.*
2. I am against it. No smart, dangerous, destructive 700 lb. animals for me thanks.
3. The ear notching is done to identify different individuals. I think they use some kind of hole punch.
* Of all members of the pig family, Sus scrofa[this is the wild boar and the domestic pig] occupies the largest range. They originally occurred in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Malay Archipelago. Included in this native range were a number of island populations, including the British Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Japan, Sri Lanka, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Hainan, Sumatra, Java, and smaller islands of the East Indies. Sus scrofa was later introduced throughout the world as domesticated animals by humans. Currently, Sus scrofa can be found nearly everywhere, from homes to barns to boggy marshes and mountainous terrain.
Although Sus scrofa is found in a wide variety of habitats as a result of domestication and introduction to new areas, the typical wild habitat is generally moist forests and shrublands, especially oak forests and areas where reeds are abundant. They are thought to be mainly limited by maximum winter snowfall, deep snow decreases their ability to travel and find food. They are sensitive to severe temperature changes. Sus scrofa has developed the technique of wallowing in mud or water to maintain a comfortable temperature. Wallowing also protects against sunburn and insect bites. Sus scrofa has even been known to wallow in their own urine to keep cool. Temperatures dropping below 50 degrees will cause discomfort. Conversely, Sus scrofa is prone to sunstroke in unusually warm temperature.
Cute potbelly pigs generally grow to be 100-125 lbs, about the size of an extremely large dog. That is small, as pigs go. But I bet it's larger than you were thinking of!
Cute. We had fun visiting the potbellied pigs sanctuary in Shepherdstown, WV, a couple months ago. Lots of piggies there because people bought baby potbellies with the expectation that they were "small" pigs, not realizing that for pigs, "small" merely means "under 150 pounds," not small as in small dog size.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
1. pigs can live where there is snow? somehow i pictured them in tropical places. that pic of them outside is quite disconcerting.
2. would you guys get pigs as pets or as food? or both!
3. the ear thing - are they born that way or did someone go at their ears with special scissors?
and finally i like them small and cute. not big and dirty.
no subject
2. I am against it. No smart, dangerous, destructive 700 lb. animals for me thanks.
3. The ear notching is done to identify different individuals. I think they use some kind of hole punch.
* Of all members of the pig family, Sus scrofa[this is the wild boar and the domestic pig] occupies the largest range. They originally occurred in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Malay Archipelago. Included in this native range were a number of island populations, including the British Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Japan, Sri Lanka, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Hainan, Sumatra, Java, and smaller islands of the East Indies. Sus scrofa was later introduced throughout the world as domesticated animals by humans. Currently, Sus scrofa can be found nearly everywhere, from homes to barns to boggy marshes and mountainous terrain.
no subject
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sus_scrofa.html
Pigs in snow
Although Sus scrofa is found in a wide variety of habitats as a result of domestication and introduction to new areas, the typical wild habitat is generally moist forests and shrublands, especially oak forests and areas where reeds are abundant. They are thought to be mainly limited by maximum winter snowfall, deep snow decreases their ability to travel and find food. They are sensitive to severe temperature changes. Sus scrofa has developed the technique of wallowing in mud or water to maintain a comfortable temperature. Wallowing also protects against sunburn and insect bites. Sus scrofa has even been known to wallow in their own urine to keep cool. Temperatures dropping below 50 degrees will cause discomfort. Conversely, Sus scrofa is prone to sunstroke in unusually warm temperature.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
We had fun visiting the potbellied pigs sanctuary in Shepherdstown, WV, a couple months ago. Lots of piggies there because people bought baby potbellies with the expectation that they were "small" pigs, not realizing that for pigs, "small" merely means "under 150 pounds," not small as in small dog size.
no subject