Piggy cohabitation - can they roam the field with other critters?

[wishin4horses]

How do I find out what abbreviations mean. They almost always stump me--stupid newby :/

Anyways, I am not really sure what I have, He's a cross of tamershire??? and something else.
He's black with a white patch on his face and his front legs. He's about 6 months old. The chickens are always in his pen and trying to eat his food. Now that he's bigger, they don't stand a chance of getting his food but they used to get right in his feeder while he was eating.
I am getting less eggs now. I'm assuming they are laying in the hay in his pig house (a large dog house) and he's eating them. the eggs not the chickens.

He is more like a dog than a pig but is getting very strong and we are getting a bit nervous of him. He's getting pushy and after hearing stories of how mean pigs are, I am just waiting for him to turn from playful to aggressive.
He does love to be scratched on the belly and his chest and will roll over for his lovings!

When we went to pick him up, I saw the adults (at least 10 of them) all in the pen and they were pushing and biting each other.
I was so nervous to bring a pig home!! I thought "what am I getting myself into!!" But he's turned out to be a lot of fun and I am not looking forward to taking him to the butcher.

 

[Alice Acres]

He could be eating them (the eggs), but be aware that egg production is linked to day length. So unless you have lights on to keep your daylength long enough, your egg production will drop. When the day are short enough, egg production stops.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

When I feed him there are also a ton of chicks/chickens piled in his feed dish pilfering

Yes our chickens eat with the large Blacks each day as do the turkeys & the geese. The pigs do not snap at them/ Everyone has plenty of space so boredom is not an issue either which I think can make a difference.

Our chickens are all free range so if they decide to lay where a pig has access the pig will eat the egg - only natural. Someone just provided them with a free treat.

Liz

 

[PinkFox]

i think alot of folks also forget tht breed plays a prt...Comercial meat breeds have been bred for one thing, to grow big, fast...
like with ANY othe rbreeding practice, when you favor one specific trait you often loose others...
so many of these comercial breeds are bred with absolulty NO goals for personality/temperment, as long a they get bit enough to butcher in the shortest time on the least amount of feed who cares what thier personalities are like...

(same goes for breding dogs, cats, cow, rabbits)

so if your looking for a breed that can share pastures space with others, look for a breeder whos got pigs sharing pasture space with others...
id suggest going for smaller or heritidge breeds that are known for their pleasant personalities and doile tempemrnets, in large breds the large black, and the GOS pigs come imediatly to mind, and in small breeds th AGH and Kune stand out...

i mean every animal is individual and sometimes no amount of selective breeding will give you exactly what your looking for (ive met mean animals in breeds supposedly super docile and visa versa) but at least reaserching and choosing specifically baed on some desired traits and finding a breeder who also works with those desired traits gives you a much better chanc of getting an animal you ENJOY!

 

[secuono]

You only have half an acre fenced? Where do you keep everyone?