Playing

Question
Patricia,

We welcomed our first pet pig, Lulu, into our home in November.  She is now almost 8 months old, and we love her.  Our problem is keeping her entertained.  We do not have a permanent pen outside for her, so she needs to stay inside while we are at work.  (In hindsight, we would have purchased two pigs so that she would have a friend while we are not home.  But after reading about how difficult it can be to introduce a new pig, we think we are good to go with just one pig.)  

Once we are home from work, we will take her outside to her pen to let her root and play.  However, on rainy or cold days she will be inside most of the day.  We are finding it challenging to keep Lulu entertained.  It seems that she only likes toys that involve food, such as busy balls.  But we don't want to overfeed her.  After reading book and articles, we have tried many other things.  But, unless food is involved, she's not very interested.

Do you know of any other ways to keep her busy?  When she was younger, she slept more often, but now she is awake so much of the time when we are home.  Recently, she has started whining when she runs out of things to play with.  

It has gotten to the point where my husband and I are considering moving to a home where we could fence in the backyard and Lulu could have a piggy-door to go in and out as she pleases.  But, we would rather not do that if possible.  Any suggestions?

Thank you,
Jana

Answer
Hello,
I agree that busy balls are not the answer.  They just encourage pigs to each all day long and gain unwanted weight.
I would suggest another pet possibly.  A cat is easy to take care of and the cat and pig would get along very well.
Hope this helps.
Patty