unsure piggy.

Question
hey! i have read so much on your web site and i have learned sooo much! i recently purchased a 6 week old female miniature pot belly pig. her name is Mercy. i am in so much need of ANY help or information you can provide me with. as a newborn baby, she was the runt. her mother pushed her out of the litter and her owners had to bring her inside and bottle feed her. later after they were so busy and couldn't tend to her 24/7 they took her to another mother pig who had just birthed a litter and she took her right in. the lady said she brought her inside after she was 4 weeks and began feeding her dry dog food and said she was eating it just fine. so at 6 weeks and hopefully weaned, i brought her home. she is verrrrry verrrry skiddish. she jumps when i try and touch her and she screams bloody murder when i pick her up. i always hold her right next to me and she seems fine. she has been sleeping with me and does just fine. i don't know why she is so skiddish and it terrifies me that she doesn't like me...another problem is, she refuses to eat. i have tried EVERYTHING. dry dog food, wet dog food, fruit, and even french fries. and she just wont eat. i am so scared that she is going to starve herself because she just doesn't know what is going on or is unhappy. please help me. i just want her happy and healthy! ANY help is appreciated! -Josie.

Answer
Piggies are usually frightened and confused when they are moved to a new home. Give her a "safe space" with a litter box and bed, where she can go and no one (pets or people) can disturb her.

Try putting goat milk, at room temperature, in a shallow dish or pan, in her safe space, and leave her alone with it. Chances are as soon as she feels safe, she'll gobble down the milk. For her next meal, mix her pellets with more milk, then gradually reduce the amount of milk.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. There may be a few copies left on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel. If you can't find it, another great source of information is the Yahoo group PigInfoAndChat. There's lots of knowledgeable, experienced people there, it's a great place to ask a simple question or just talk about your piggy.