Pig help please

Question
Hi, I recently purchased a potbelly pig... BTW he was 4wks and 5days old when we bought him and he just turned 7wks old today... we bought him some mini pig chow (even though he is not mini) because the breeder said it keeps them from getting so big but he will not eat it! I even tried regular pig feed and it won't work... so we started feeding him bread, cat food  (which the vet said is not recommended for all the salt and also can cause stones) and grass is all he will eat... we have also tried canned veggies but he wont eat it... what do you recommend?

Answer
Pot-bellied pig pellets are the best thing for your piggy to eat. Grass is fine, too, as long as it has not been treated with pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Regular pig pellets are ok in a pinch. Your pig is happily eating cat chow and grass, so he's old enough to eat a healthy diet.

Overweight house pigs are a problem, the culprit is not the main meal or food but all the treats along the way. Remember to count every single piggy treat when figuring out how much piggy is eating.

The rule of thumb is 1/2 cup food per 15 lb of piglet. Always give piggy a minimum of 1/2 c, even though younger, smaller pigs may not finish the whole thing. Divide the pellets into at least 2 meals per day.

Start by mixing the correct amount of pellets with warm (NOT hot) water and a little bit of fruit juice or milk or both. Chances are the scent of fruit or milk and the warm soft texture will be enough to tempt piggy to try his new diet.

If piggy refuses to eat, wait a few minutes and take the meal away. Do not give piggy anything else to eat. A few minutes later, if piggy is still hungry, give him the food again. Repeat this several times, until piggy eats. You might also try putting a bit of bread or a few chunks of cat food in the mix.

Sometimes a very stubborn, very spoiled pig will actually skip a meal before accepting piggy pellets. Don't worry, by the second meal piggy will for sure eat the pellets, IF he does not get ANY other meal or treats (except training treats or grass) in between the rejected meal and the second meal.

After a few meals, you can eliminate fruit juice, milk, bread, and cat food. Just pellets and water. At that point, you can begin to reduce the amount of water in each meal until piggy is eating dry pellets.

Some people prefer to feed moistened pellets all the time, especially for pigs that are reluctant to drink enough water, older pigs, and pigs with dental or tummy troubles.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understood how pigs think and why they do the things they do. Her book is currently in between printings, but you might be able to find a used copy at a reasonable price. If you prefer DVDs, I highly recommend the TOP HOG videos, "There's a Pig in the House" and "Amazing Pig Tricks", from www.tophogs.com

The food tasting/eating urge develops along with the piglet. The youngest piglets are not interested in any food, except Momma pig's milk. By the time they are about 4 weeks old, they will taste food that Mom is eating, but often spit it out. By 8 weeks or so, they should be very curious about food and very eager to sample anything, because this is the age when they are weaned and ready to actually start eating real food. Unfortunately, it isn't unusual for breeders to claim that piglets are weeks older than they really are to make them appear smaller and cuter, and the piglets eating ability (or lack of it) is often a big clue to their real age.