Feral pig + first time owner

[High Desert Cowboy]

Generally they clip the needle teeth when they process the piglets in the first couple of days. Commercially we really don’t do it anymore. At 3-4 weeks they’re still small enough you can nip them off with a set of dykes. She’ll scream bloody murder but she’s a pig, that’s what they do. Once you put her down she’ll forget all about it. At three weeks she can be on mostly solid food. If you want to supplement by soaking in milk it’s fine, but I don’t think she needs a bottle anymore. I wean at 28 days but I’ve weaned them as young as 17 days (not by choice) with no troubles.
Remember, this isn’t a puppy dog and cute little quirks grow into dangerous habits. A nip from a piglet hurts and can bleed like a son of a gun, but I can tell you a nip from a big angry sow feels a lot worse, and she’ll throw her weight behind it.
For toys I like the bowling ball. they like to explore with their nose so an area that she can root around in will keep her plenty busy. Raising her from a baby should really throttle down the “wild” tendencies. She won’t have ever had to scrounge for food, run from predators, or fight with other sows for limited supplies so I’d say she’ll just grow up like any other domesticated pig. But as had been said I never trust a domesticated sow and I deal with a lot of them.

 

[Ridgetop]

Everyone has said pretty much the same thing. Pigs can be domesticated but don't trust them not to hurt you. We have raised a number and they are smart but powerful. You have all heard the old joke -
"Where does a 500 lb. pig go?"
"Anywhere it wants!"
Pigs do not always stop growing and can reach 800-1000 lbs.

Personally, I would have fun raising this pig to about 200 lbs. then take her to freezer camp. By then she won't be as cute or fun, will be capable of damage to you, your children, and your property, BUT if you feed her corn soaked in goat milk am and pm, will be super tasty. No need to keep her as a pet since she will not be much of a pet in a field far off. Personally, no need to keep a large breed pet pig if you are not going to breed her anyway. I would not breed a wild hog since there are other breeds that produce a better carcass.

In Europe farmers do graze their pigs with cattle and sheep in the fields.

Our first pig was an orphan pig too. She was a lot of fun, learned her name, and would follow us around as we did our chores when she was little. When she reached 250 lbs. she caused damage our fences, chased the goats (not in a nice way) and rooted where we did not want her rooting. We had to pen her up. Her name was Ham Hocks and she was a Duroc. She loved her back scratches too. She was at her best though in the freezer and tasted delicious!

If you decide to keep her as a forever pig, make sure to have the vet (if you don't want to clip them yourself) clip her tusks.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I know this is old but....she could potentially become huge.

I mean I tell people all the time how big our pigs are and everyone goes yeah that sounds big. Then said people meet our breeder pigs and are shocked. When you walk into our barn the first pig to "greet" you is Sara, by standing up on her back legs. Oh how cute...when they are little. Sarah on her back legs is over 7ft tall. Sara is duroc and around 750-800lbs.

We also have our herefords who are a little smaller but still 6ft tall on their back legs and over 600lbs. Wild hogs can get up to 400lbs...in the wild, though not common due to being in the wild. So I imagine a wild hog kept in a pen would get to the 400lbs range at least.

I'm bringing this up because, she will require quite a lot of food and at these sizes a fence/pen is a SUGGESTION of where you would like them to stay. Kind of like a full grown Bull, the fence is a suggestion. So keeping her penned up or in a fence for her life might not be possible. Our pigs dig under our fence, break our fences, walk over our fences, etc. It is not really un-common to get home from work and find 600-800lb hogs in the front yard.

 

[Ridgetop]

You know the old joke?
"Where does a 1000 lb pig go?" "Anywhere it wants!"

Pigs keep growing and get huge. Since a lot of feral hogs have cross bred with escaped domestic pigs, only the poor feeding in the wild keeps them small. People seeing pigs at the Fair marvel at their size but most of those 250 lb. hogs are only about 4 months old!

Javelinas are much smaller but they are a different breed found in southern desert areas.

Any pig needs strong fencing. Most commercial hog farms are constructed of block walls - this also allows them to be hosed off and sanitized easily. I spent a number of years living in Europe and all pig houses there were built of rock. The hog house on the school farm in Ireland was built of rocks (probably concreted together) as were all the farrowing pens inside. Large, heavy rocks with heavy wooden gates. And there was evidence of repairs made to those gates as well - broken boards reinforced, etc.

Using concrete block and concrete floors helps to keep hogs contained since they can't dig out, but they are massively strong, devious, and often still find a way out. There is nothing on a hog that gives you a grip to catch it either. If it wants to go somewhere, just move aside! The largest pig we ever raised was 350 lbs. and was very tame. she still went where she wanted until we got her to the butcher. My youngest son always wanted a brood sow, but after dealing with a number of 4-H Fair pigs, we decided we did not have pens strong enough to hold one. He did raise a couple of replacement heifers.

 

[Baymule]

And that’s why Baymule only raises feeder pigs. 6 months and I’m done!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Yes pigs get huge but Sara is also around 4yrs old, so lots of time to grow.

We could keep smaller breeder, just breed them for 3 cycles and then send them off to the butcher. The only problem is we have registered herefords So that would be an expensive way to go since we only have one Boar.

And that’s why Baymule only raises feeder pigs. 6 months and I’m done!

It's a good thing you do, I dunno how you guys would eat that much Pork! DH said Sara is going this winter, we shall see, she is his baby.

 

[Baymule]

Not Sara!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Not Sara!

I know, she is getting grumpy though.

 

[Baymule]

I know, she is getting grumpy though.

So, what? We should take that as a warning? Don’t get grumpy ladies or it’s off with your head! LOL LOL

 

[misfitmorgan]

So, what? We should take that as a warning? Don’t get grumpy ladies or it’s off with your head! LOL LOL

No she snapped at our friend when he walked by her stall and wasnt paying attention. She is also back to catching and killing our free range chickens. She is very smart, she leaves her food and waits for the chickens to come in for it then eats the chicken and her food.