QuestionHi there: I have 2 piggies, Moo and Jemima. Moo is 2 and Jemima is 3. They are spayed females, and quite heavy with Moo weighing in at 179 and Jemima somewhat heavier. I want to walk them, but I do live in town and the streets can be busy. I'm afraid that traffic, etc, may spook them. What I'm wondering is, do they have a tendency to try and bolt or run off under such circumstances, and how can I make a walk safe and pleasurable for them? I certainly couldn't lift either of them, nor hold them if they took off. Any suggestions? I look forward to hearing from you.
AnswerIt's never too late to teach a pig, but it is considerably harder with adult pigs, and both of yours are adults.
When young piglets are socialized by traveling in the car or going for walks or to the park, they learn to adapt to strange sounds and noises. Adult pigs that didn't get this kind of early training are going to be harder to work with. Their size complicates the issue. A 20 lb piglet can be picked up or restrained with a lead, a 200 lb pig can not.
Pigs sometimes bolt when startled, other times they "freeze" and refuse to budge. Either action is potentially dangerous when it happens along a busy street.
Teaching them at this stage of life is going to require more time and effort than for a young pig, and done in a little different way. To get piggies more exercise right now, start by scattering their pellets around rather than piling them in a bowl. If you can break two meals down into four, and scatter the pellets for each meal, it's even more piggy exercise.
Also, make sure they are eating the right amount of food. Adult pigs should get about 1 cup of food per 50 lb of pig to maintain weight. If piggy needs to loose weight, piggy needs to eat less and move around more. Do not feed piggy less than what is needed to maintain ideal weight. In other words, if piggy's goal weight is 150, do not feed less than 3 cups of food per day. Use pellets or thin slices of carrot as training treats, and encourage them to do tricks.
Trick training helps with harness training and socialization, and gives piggy some exercise. Sit is an important trick to learn.
You're going to have to get the piggies used to loud, active environments in a safe way. I suggest crafting a wagon with a secure but see-thru cover. Teach the piggies to go in the wagon, to stay their with the cover shut, and to ride around the yard like that. Then, begin taking them out. As long as they are in the wagon, they should be safe.
In the meantime, begin working on harness training and walking on a lead in a safe place like a fairly pig proof room or small outdoor pen. The small part is important, because the first time a pig realizes they are restrained by a lead they tend to flip out. Literally, little piglets will actually do flips trying to get free from the end of a lead. Your pigs will probably not leap into the air, but they may take off and try to run. So the less room they have to run, the safer for everyone.
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. She goes into training in a lot more detail than I can here.
Teaching your pigs at their age is going to take some time so I also recommend joining the Yahoo chat group PigInfoAndChat. There's a number of people there who are amazing pig trainers and they are always willing to offer help or suggestions. You'll get lots of help and support as you progress along this piggy training project.
