Adopted 2yr Neutered M. P.B. Agression/care

Question
Hello, I adopted a neutered male Pot-bellied pig last February. The adoption center said he was aproximately 1.5-2ys and around 50-75 lbs ( I think he could weigh much more now: 100 ish) It seems he spent most of his "childhood"on their farm. I did not see how he was kept as they delivered him to me. I am not sure if some of the problems he/I is having is due to lack of quality interaction with people because he was treated more like farm animal than a pet.
Here are the issues and problems I am expierencing with him. I welcome any and all suggestions. Thank You.. Very Sincerely!!
- He has not warmed up (become friendly) to us. He does not like to be touched. When I do he grunts, squeals and moves away. He also does not like you standing next to him. I have worked with him on this and he is more comfortable with me standing next to him. When Becasue of this it is hard to groom and care for him. I do love animals and love grooming and massasging them. He is the toughest I have encountered.
The best way I can describe his behavior is "very rough around the edges" with no manners as opposed to a "gentleman".
He does'nt lunge o open his mouth at me as much unless he "really" does'nt like something I am doing. But with everyone else he does. I am a bit nervous about him nipping a child as I have young teens who bring friends. My kids are actually scared of him because he does open his mouth to them even casually walking by him.
What can I do about this and is any of this normal behavior.
We live on an acre where he roams at will within the fenced back 1/2 acre. We have 3 dogs (1 will try an play with him when I am spreading treats around the yard and the other two pay no attention to him). He only likes to come inside when it rains. He preferrs to sleep outside.He has a pool for him that is refreshed daily( he has just recently let me put water on his back with my hand while in the pool).
I have probably been over feeding him. Bad me. To help him roam and keep him busy, I was putting cut apples and popcorn around the yard. In the begining he was rooting a lot, so it also helped me to get him to root in areas I wanted him to and not in the middle of the yard.
He preferrs to be solitary so I don't know if he would be better off back at a farm or if it is something I am doing wrong.
Thank you again!

Answer
Pigs are very smart animals. Dogs will trust anybody, pigs are much more cautious. I don't know what has happened to this pig in the past, or how much or how little socialization he got during his formative stage.

Pigs see the world as a ladder, with each person, pet and pig having their own rung. Naturally, piggy wants to be as high on the ladder as possible. Young piglets know they are small and are content to be at the bottom of the ladder. When pigs reach adulthood at about age 2, they instinctively try to move up the ladder and claim a better spot.

Your pig has been with you long enough to get settled and comfortable. He is no longer a visitor or intruder, and he thinks he needs to establish his place on the social ladder. He respects you because you are the Bringer of Food.

You can easily earn more of his trust and respect. It will be a little bit harder to teach him good manners around strangers, but, at his age, it can still be done. The bad news is he may always need to be in a controlled situation with strangers, and he may never appreciate strangers in "his" territory. He may never be a "snuggle pig". Pigs are very intelligent and each one has a unique personality.

Start off with him at square one as if he was an unsocialized baby. All food must come from your hands, and only from your hands. No food in the dish or treats on the ground. You can do this in a room for him inside or in his outdoor pen. Sit quietly on the ground, and let him come to you, if he feels inclined. Because he's older and he knows you, he may not be too interested in playing with you. Sit there anyway, talk to him, maybe read a magazine out loud.

When it's mealtime, do this again, but this time, hold his food in your hands. If he wants to eat, he MUST come to you and he MUST eat out of your hand. If you are nervous about this, you can wear heavy leather gloves or put the food in a small dish or cup, but keep that dish or cup in your hand. Talk to him as he eats. Tell him you're going to touch him, then do it. For example, "touch piggy belly" and try giving him a little tummy rub.

When it's bed time or afternoon nap time, talking softly, go to his bed, and try giving him gentle belly rubs. At first he may be disturbed, but after a few times he'll relax.

During the day, make time for training. Training is about pig and person learning to understand each other's language and body language. It helps the pig learn to trust the person, and to listen and comply.

Start with simple tricks like "spin" or "sit" (some pigs are not comfortable sitting due to their body shape and structure, if that's the case, save "sit" for later). Piggy may be a little confused the first couple of times. But when piggy figures out that training time means treats, you'll have his full attention, especially because the only food he's getting is his meals from your hand, and training treats.

Harness training is going to be harder still, but is really very important. Start by feeding piggy in the dish, and putting the harness on while piggy eats. The first time you attach a lead piggy might freak out when he realizes he's being restrained. Be prepared for this.

When he's comfortable around you and performing tricks for you, you can let your kids make him do the tricks for them at training time, under your supervision.

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. I also highly recommend the dvds There's a Pig in the House and Amazing Pig Tricks from tophogs.com The Yahoo group PigInfoAndChat is another good resource.