Orphaned pig tantrums.

Question
A young pig was brought to me a few days ago. Her mother was killed when she got loose and was hit by a car in front of her babies. and she was brought to me late last night, not fully weaned (she is 5 weeks) terrified, and mourning her mother.

I hurried up and set up a large dog crate with baby toys that can not be taken apart easily, and big soft fluffy blankets.

For the most part she is pretty quiet, but she shakes a lot and cringes when I touch her. I have found when i pick  her up she squeals but will calm down she i hold her to my chest and let he nuzzle under my neck.

I researched diet, toys, litter box, and all that, but she was so scared the first day. She is a pot belly, and i found if i cuddle her she calms down then i will give her a treat. She refuses to go in the house period, not even in the liter box i made with a low wall and pine shavings. she will start acting distressed and i will take her out  were she will go.

She seems to be calming down and even played with me a little. i picked up the toys and she started mouthing them and pushing them around and tugging on them in my hand.

She is also touching me with her nose frequently and making soft pitiful sounds. She is not shaking much any more, and seems to be warming up quickly. I am using small pieces of grapes as treats.

Apparently she was starting to eat solid food, and she still nursed some, up until her mother was hit by the car.

I took her to pet co and we tried some harnesses on her,and found one that is a no pull harness, that has a netting that comes up to the chest and if she pulls on it, it tightens just a little. she seemed unable to slip out of it. I got her a real soft collar as a second fail safe. She was NOT happy about it, but would deal with the harness calmly as long as she got to sit in my lap while i put it on and took it off. I also purchased some balls with hidden compartments that dispense veggie treats.

Oh man today has been a day for tantrums. She has gotten good about climbing in my lap, being picked up, and walking on  a leash.

But when she doesn't get what she wants, she has a melt down. She has had several melt downs today. She has bitten me numerous times, flailed and squealed, and so on, over little things like me not letting her in my lap while I was doing things or when she is on a leash and the dogs run past and she wants to run with them. She will reach the end of her line, stop pulling and instead hit the ground kicking and squealing, then after a few seconds of it, she gets up and starts rooting in the ground while grumbling.

I didn't give her a treat right away and she bit me, so i said no firmly and she ran off to sit in her crate, came back, crawled in my lap, nuzzled me, and bit me again.

So i gently pushed her off my lap and said "NO" and she ran off again. She came back later and started shoving me in the butt with  her nose while i was on the floor brushing my dog. I told her no, and gently pushed her away by the shoulder. She made the most indignant sound and ran off again, only to come back and start rubbing her nose against me gently. I gave her scratches then and she was fine for a while until the next little out burst. I own a lot of land so I have been taking her to the muscadine orchard and letting her root around in the leaves and  rich dark soil a lot.

It has just been several issues like biting and kicking screaming fits like that today. At least she is learning the word "No!"

When I leave the room she squeals and pitches a fit, but she is figuring out I won't come running so she is starting to stop that.

Please tell me she is just testing her boundaries and this will eventually ebb. Could she be mourning the loss of her mother and separation of her siblings? Her inability to handle even the smallest set back these past few days is wearing on my nerves.

I don't get angry, and usually i can just sit through the tantrum, refusing to give in, only giving her anything positive when she is calm again. But by tonight I am really starting to feel the constant upset. I'm worried I'm doing something wrong. I do not want to be dealing with tantrums like this when she reaches 150 pounds!

Answer
Being taken from their family and going to a new home is always traumatic for piglets, and even more so in situations like yours. Your piglet has gone through a lot in the last couple of days and it will take a few more days for her to fully adjust. Believe it or not, the temper tantrums are actually a good sign, it means she's feeling confident and comfortable enough to complain.

The dog crate set up is fine, just make sure she has a litterbox in the crate. Piglets need to go frequently. They can not hold their urine more than a couple of hours. Also, they don't realize they need to go until it's too late to reach a potty box, so they go anyplace handy.

It takes just five seconds for a piglet to assume the position, pee, then continue as if nothing happened (yes, people have timed it). Piglets have small bladders and pass small amount of urine, just a couple of tablespoonfuls (yes, people have measured it). So, it's very easy for a piglet to sneak in a quick pee in the wrong place.

So it's important to make sure she is pottying at least once every two hours, and make sure you know where that potty happens!

Piggy probably doesn't realize what the litter box is for. Show her by putting a piece of her poop in it. Or, if you can get her to pee on a puppy pad or old washcloth, you can put that in her box.

Pigs in the wild are never lifted or held by their mother. The only time they are picked up is when a predator is about to eat them! So, piglets need to learn to be cuddled and held.

To teach her to be held, start by feeding her only from your hand. The only food she gets comes from your hand or from the dish in your hand. Set up a small, quiet place with her crate, like a laundry room, bathroom or bedroom. Sit on the floor and let her come to you. Tell her what you are going to do before you do it, for example, "touch piggy ear" and gently touch her ears. Pigs especially love belly rubs so it helps to start there. After a few meals she should feel comfortable climbing into your lap to eat, and being held. At that point you can start holding her while your standing on your knees, then later standing upright.

Harness training is really important because a pig that's learned to walk on a harness as a baby will never forget and always be easier to handle. Collars rarely work because pigs have fat necks. The best kind of harness is a figure 8 that slips under the pig then fastens over the back, because pigs don't like to stick their heads through things like harnesses and collars.

Make harness wearing part of everyday life. Put the harness on while you're sitting on the floor and piggy is sitting in your lap eating breakfast, later when she's comfortable being held and lifted and you're feeding her on the floor again, just slip the harness on while she's eating. Leave it on most of the day, ideally attached to a lead. The lead becomes a communication wire between you and piggy.

The first few times a pig reaches the end of the lead they do freak out. Momma piggies never restrain their babies, so it feels like a predator has them! This is another reason why harness training young is so very important. It' not too hard to hold onto a lead when a 8 pound piglet throws a fit, it's tough to hang on to an 80 lb pig doing the same thing!

The general rule of thumb is 1/2 c pet pig pellets per 15 lb of piglet, with a minimum of 1/2 cup per day, divided into at least 2 meals. Right now your piglet is pretty young and probably will not be able to eat that much. In just a few short weeks, that will change completely. As you already know, right now she's at the age where she's just starting to explore real food. In a few weeks, her mother would be weaning her, and her interest in food and treats will explode exponentially, and she will become a food obsessed piglet. That's not necessarily a bad thing because that food obsession can be used as a training tool.

Because your baby is young, you might want to mix the pellets with some room temperature goat milk to an oatmeal like consistency. As baby gets older, you can gradually reduce the amount of milk on the pellets.

Supplement the pellets with fresh veggies, fruit, grazing time and training treats. Remember all these extras add calories. When piggies start to gain too much weight the culprit is usually unearned treats and tidbits. One way to control treats is to measure them out in a dish in the morning for use throughout the day.

Pigs see the world as a ladder, with each pig, pet and person having his or her own rung. Your baby has realized she is staying with you, so now she needs to figure out where she fits in your households ladder. She is testing her boundaries with you. Pigs are very easily spoiled!

Do NOT give her any sort of reward or treat while she is screaming. Wait until the screaming stops, even if it's just for a second while she catches her breath, then reward the silence.

She is rooting on you because she would root on her mom or siblings. Pigs root from the moment they are born, it helps them nurse. Later, rooting in the dirt is how they find tasty roots and other foods. It's ok to tell her no and push her away. You can also redirect her to root on a stuffed animal or old pillow. The biting might also be hunger, if you offer her soaked pellets they are easier to eat and she may be able to eat more.

When pigs in a herd interact, they establish dominance over each other by making each other move. For example, a lower pig will be sleeping under a tree. A higher pig will make the lower pig get up and move away from the spot. Then, the higher pig may or may not take that spot. The point wasn't who gets the spot, the point was that the higher pig was in charge and can make the lower pig move if he feels like doing it. So that's the best way to teach your piglet where her rung is.

Never step over or around her. If she's in the way, make her get up and move. When she acts aggressively towards you, make her take a few steps back.

Pigs don't really understand time outs, but sometimes angry pigs can get so worked up they loose control. In this sort of situation it's ok to put piggy in her crate or safe space for a minute or two at the most, while piggy calms down and people catch their breath. Then let her out again.

At random times throughout the day, make your piglet move. For example, piggy is sleeping in the corner of a room, just go over, wake her up, and make her take a few steps away. You can let her go right back, but the idea is to make her move at your whim, the same way a higher pig would in a pig herd.

I recommend trick training not to show off tricks, but for pig and person to learn to communicate. The person learns the pigs body language, the pig learns to listen to, trust and obey the person.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understands how pigs think and why they do the things they do. Two excellent dvds, There's a Pig in the House and Amazing Pig Tricks are available from tophogs.com  Some good webites are www.pigs4ever.com  www.farec.org  www.petpigs.com