Horrible Urine Smell

Question
QUESTION: We got our 8 wk old Juliana pig last night. Well his urine smell is overwhelming! Even if I wash a blanket, the smell won't come out. I bathed Duke as soon as we got home because he stunk and had been outside. He's eating and drinking ok, acting normal but his pee smell is horrible. Even though he pees outside its still extremely strong. The color is light yellow and he pees a good bit every few hours. I want him inside but this smell is so strong it makes my husband sick. Please help! Also they said he's a Juliana but he's solid black but mama was spotted. All babies were black or white

ANSWER: Urine from a healthy pig should have a faint odor. Intact male pigs secrete an odor that female pigs adore, but most humans dislike. If your pig is not neutered, that may be what you are smelling. Intact male pigs also hump constantly and foam at the mouth. Male pigs can impregnate females when they are as young as 8 weeks old, and it is not uncommon for breeders to misrepresent the age of a piglet.

You mentioned that he was kept outside until you got him, so there is also the possibility that he was kept in unsanitary conditions and the odor is clinging to him. If that's the case, then a few days in fresh air and clean bedding will help alot. If he's social enough, sponge baths with damp or dry towels can help too.

Most miniature pigs in the US are a mix of several different strains of small Asian pigs. The US has strict import laws, the first "mini" Asian pigs were brought from Vietnam to Canada to the US in the mid 80s, and named after the importers, Connell. Other people soon imported other strains from other places with names like "Sweedish White". Only the Gold Star registry tracked Julianis as a separate strain, they closed in the 90s, when the mini pig fad ended. Starting about 5 years ago, people started trying to revive the pig craze using names like "Juliani", setting up their own web pages and "registries". I know there are breeders who have pigs that can be traced all the way back to the original imported pigs, but they are not selling Julianis.

The primary difference between Juliani pigs and other strains is that Julianis are often a deep chocolate red color. Many were spotted, like Sweedish whites, and some were solid black as well.

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Duke   QUESTION: He peed in the floor last night and we realized its not the pee that smells so it must be the other thing. He is not neutered yet. When he gets scared we smell it but there is no liquid. In his cage where he sleeps, his blankets are dry but smell HORRIBLE. Its almost impossible for me to get it out of his blankets. When we have him neutered the smell will stop??

Also, here is the best picture I can get of him. He's so dark you can hardly see him.

Answer
Yes, the smell will stop after he is neutered. It may take a couple of weeks for everything to work it's way out of his system. You can speed up the process a bit by washing his belly area a couple of times a day with a damp, soapy cloth. He will enjoy it.

Yes, male pigs can smell when they are stressed or frightened. As he gets older it will happen less and less. He will be able to handle stress better, and the gland that causes the smell will gradually shrink and shrivel.

Some tricks that can help reduce the odor in his bedding is washing them with vinegar in the washer, then putting them out to dry on a sunny day, then tossing the dry bedding into the dryer with some scented dryer sheets.