Post by mollymoo on Mar 11, 2013 13:54:36 GMT -5
We picked up two piglets on Saturday morning! They are berkshire/duroc crosses and one is much bigger than the other - but I understand they are both about 7-8 weeks old - and was told they were weaned - had been eating pelleted food for three days. They are both boars (ugh - so now I have to make a decision on the question of cutting them or not - it's so much easier with calves, sheep and goats where I can band! Walter - I am probably going to trust your word and leave them be...).
So we put them in one of our stalls in the barn - it has an dirt floor - which we covered with a layer of fresh straw - but I have to admit I didn't do an excellent job of cleaning out the old hay/poop from cows, sheep and goats that had been in there before. They immediately started rooting and I think eating the cow/goat/sheep poop they found! I put some fresh milk in a dish - and some dry pelleted food (pig starter - they call it "zipper"!) - and of course gave them water too. They have drunk the water - and I have seen them drink some milk - not sure if they drank all of it - or spilled some - but they don't seem in the least interested in the pig feed! I tried moistening some with some milk - but they ignored that too...
I am not too worried about them, because they don't seem in any way distressed: they were fairly subdued the first day compared with yesterday - but now when we go in the stall with them they come up and investigate our boots and seem to enjoy being scratched on their backs and behind their ears (one of them lifted and shook his rear leg in pleasure when I found just that right spot yesterday!). However, I wanted to ask if you think they are ignoring the feed because they are finding too much yummy stuff under their straw - and if I should be worried that they aren't touching it yet.
I also don't know anything about pig behavior - apart from that they are incredibly engaging and funnier than I ever expected. I LOVE their grunts and head-on-one-side curious expressions. But, I wondered - as they were exploring our boots with their snouts - not biting yet - but how do we prevent that? They are entirely manageable as little as they are right now, but I know they won't stay that way - so do you have any tips on how best to handle them so that they are well-behaved when they grow up?! (e.g. I know not to pet my ram lambs on the head or play butting games with my goats or calves!)
So many random questions - feels like another steep learning curve here - but wouldn't have it any other way
So we put them in one of our stalls in the barn - it has an dirt floor - which we covered with a layer of fresh straw - but I have to admit I didn't do an excellent job of cleaning out the old hay/poop from cows, sheep and goats that had been in there before. They immediately started rooting and I think eating the cow/goat/sheep poop they found! I put some fresh milk in a dish - and some dry pelleted food (pig starter - they call it "zipper"!) - and of course gave them water too. They have drunk the water - and I have seen them drink some milk - not sure if they drank all of it - or spilled some - but they don't seem in the least interested in the pig feed! I tried moistening some with some milk - but they ignored that too...
I am not too worried about them, because they don't seem in any way distressed: they were fairly subdued the first day compared with yesterday - but now when we go in the stall with them they come up and investigate our boots and seem to enjoy being scratched on their backs and behind their ears (one of them lifted and shook his rear leg in pleasure when I found just that right spot yesterday!). However, I wanted to ask if you think they are ignoring the feed because they are finding too much yummy stuff under their straw - and if I should be worried that they aren't touching it yet.
I also don't know anything about pig behavior - apart from that they are incredibly engaging and funnier than I ever expected. I LOVE their grunts and head-on-one-side curious expressions. But, I wondered - as they were exploring our boots with their snouts - not biting yet - but how do we prevent that? They are entirely manageable as little as they are right now, but I know they won't stay that way - so do you have any tips on how best to handle them so that they are well-behaved when they grow up?! (e.g. I know not to pet my ram lambs on the head or play butting games with my goats or calves!)
So many random questions - feels like another steep learning curve here - but wouldn't have it any other way