a probably 3 month old pig walked into my yard..now what?

[heckerdy]

About six years ago a dear friend and member (I believe of this board) let me know a piglet walked in her yard and she was going to raise it he was so cute and little and I thought she was telling fibs and had snuck it in and said it walked in LOL (you know us animal folks are always trying to sneak another animal in ) ….we laughed and laughed and he grew and grew..I teased her so much about a pig wandering in the yard….but it was true and well he ended up feeding a lot of us the most amazing meat ..she fed him so very well

so fast forward to coffee in the yard and a baby pig wandering up 3 days ago then into the live trap and ..he now is happy in a pile of straw on my deck and I have no idea where to begin?! I tried to find his home and will continue hoping for the "ideal outcome"..I worry someone is missing him ..but if not I am going to go ahead and feed him …just like my friend and hopefully can reciprocate the massive gift she gave us

I am open to all help and direction ..this year we have just started beekeeping and have way more chickens and ducks than we planned on half an acre but everyone is happy and healthy ..can he go in the chicken yard ? can we train him to poop in one area ?

is it realistic to think I can add this pig to my craziness ? he is very stinky how do I bath him if he wants to take my hands off? ..he has been thriving on windfall apples and eating from my garden for a week at least … super chubby and healthy and proven as an escape artist …and I am worried about lice? ..we are going to the feed store tomorrow first thing ..I am not thinking the chicken food is that good for him but it is all I have should I make him something else? he is also getting corn from the garden he looks about 12-15 weeks old maybe? brown with white streaks like bacon so we have named him "Bacon"

I am going to read the boards but am in "shock" if you want to direct me or give me advice or just pat me on the shoulder ?

I always wanted to raise a pig ..but my house is torn up for a remodel and my garden a disaster this is not the best timing for one to just walk in the yard..but whatever

I would love to have this work out well

thanks in advance for anything

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Welcome to BYH!

Don't know anything about pigs so I'm no help with your questions, sorry.

Call around to your local feed stores, check craigslist, etc. and see if anyone is missing a pig. I know a breeder who just brought a young breeding boar and he escaped his pen and in less then 24hrs he was 2 miles away. They put flyers all over including the local BBQ and grill (where most of the folks eat). Someone saw the flyer (@ the grill) and the pig was returned, thank goodness!

 

[heckerdy]

I have alerted everyone and have msgs everywhere I can put them thanks. Either way but I have a feeling he is staying and I need to figure this out ..i do have a space for him so I will reenforce it and then go talk to my vet tomorrow

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Sounds like a good plan

 

[babsbag]

I am not a pro at pig raising but have raised two, once. They are escape artists, but we raised ours in a 10x16 chain link dog kennel. They never dug out, but they did dig a lot. You can put a piece of stock panel flat on the ground around the inside of the pen and put dirt on top, that will keep them from digging near the edge, but they do like to dig and root so I would leave the middle of the pen with dirt and not wire, they will be happier. Get him a big horse trough to play in with some water and he will bathe himself. I suspended a sprinkler above the trough and had it on a timer, it would come on for a minute or so every few hours, but is was summer and they liked the shower, and the mud it would make.

I used a nipple waterer for swine and didn't have to worry about them getting their water dirty. I fed them in a big plastic trough tied to the fence. Lots of kitchen scraps and pig feed from the feed store.

With boy pigs you need to get them cut and their tusks removed when they are very little (I think). That is about all I know about pigs.

Oh, they will poop in one corner of the pen, smelly, nasty stuff so the farther from your house the better.

They are very smart and usually very friendly, I didn't attempt to make pets out of mine, but many people do and I guess they like belly rubs and back scratches. Not sure about raising with chickens, but not something I personally would do, pigs will eat ANYTHING and I would worry about him eating the chickens.

Good luck.

 

[heckerdy]

thanks so much Babsbag I appreciate all the tips …he is a am feeling better after talking to the guy at the feed store ..i always read all the horror stories first with every animal …but this little guy was very unexpected
he is going to be a very large pig the guy I spoke with thinks he is "for sure a duroc and less than 8 weeks" OMG.

 

[goatgurl]

@heckerdy I'm by no means a pig expert but have raised several over the years. i kept mine in a 16x32 pen made of cattle panels. the panels are strong enough to keep a pig from stretching and rooting them up. but be aware that they will fit thru the holes in the panels till they are a little bit bigger. as far as housing them with the chickens, i would not be doing that. I've had pigs that were fine with chickens and pigs that would eat every chicken that they could catch and they worked hard at catching them. i have dairy goats and I've fed the pigs extra milk, extra eggs, garden produce and "store bought" food. some of them were sweet and friendly and some of them i wouldn't even go in the pen with. if its boy be sure and have him castrated, that will help keep him from getting more aggressive. have fun with him and good luck

 

[babsbag]

For some reason I was told to never feed raw eggs, have no idea why, never asked. Also never raw meat. But I raise chickens so I had lots of eggs...I would hard boil them and then just smash them shell and all and toss it in whatever feed I was giving them that day.

I worked at a school and had access to lunch room scraps and that saved me a bunch on feed. If their is a school near you you might ask if you can take a 5 gallon bucket to the lunch room and ask the kids to contribute. I was bringing home two buckets full every day.

 

[heckerdy]

great info thanks you guys! I have been texting my girlfriend relentlessly and she has a chain going with local pig folks and on and on …

no prob on no raw eggs I am the only one who will eat raw eggs in my house and I put one in a smoothie every day the animals do get my leftover smoothies …oh well ..for the most part no raw meat or eggs for anyone here so that is ok ..but great because I boil a bunch of eggs to feed back to the ducks an chickens anyway ..this time of year I can double that much for sure and give some to the pig..so how many eggs a day can a pig have?

…there you go one question leads to the next and next and lots of good folks have posted some amazing info her ..I feel like a great big pig sponge now

I joined BYC ages ago and it was so brilliant and fun! …now I have this crazy little farm going with a massive number of garden beds 13 chickens now running rogue as well as 6 KC ducks and a pair of Muscovy, parrots ..and a very confused dog..on just a half acre on the side of a hill

it all works out and it is very good that there is an old orchard right behind me LOL..going up at sunrise with a bucket this time of year they are full of worms and the ducks/chickens dig the really bad bad apples the most

i have learned so much about feeding pigs and housing them just from this forum so far

now my brain hurts!

the pig is fine happy and hiding in his cage in a straw den he built in there ..still on my deck …

my gazebo is on hold and the remodel work we were doing has ground to a halt ..we keep hoping someone will claim him but for now are happy with the "gift" and as each day goes by it looks like we need to put the pen where the gazebo is now and get that electric fence going NOW he is getting bigger each day and from what I read …wow ..they grow fast and HUGE

oh and then there is the castration debate…holy crap there is a lot of dialog ..I brought up the subject at the feed store and I guess boar meat is on trend right now? because everyone yelled "don't neuter him you want boar bacon" and then went on and on about how good it is for what ..

one question leads to another …LOL thanks so much you guys for being here how wonderful!

 

[goatgurl]

oh honey girl you don't want boar bacon. they may have just been feeding you a line of poo. boar meat is strong flavored and nasty for the most part. any one else have an opinion?