Pot Belly Pig Hoof Trimming

Question
I have a pot belly pig born 12/29/09 and he needs his back hoofs trimmed and I cant find anyone who can help me. I am a first time piggy owner and he needs back feet done as he is walking funny and I dont want him to get hurt. I need to find someone to help me in the Temecula/Menifee are of Calif and I'm on a fixed encome. Can you please help me so my little guy can stay happy and healthy. Thank you

Answer
Your piggy is not yet a year old, so there's still plenty of time to teach him to let you trim his hooves, and the hooves should still be soft enough to file down with an ordinary nail file or emery board.

Start by playing with his feet as he eats his meals. After a couple of days, just start filing the hoof as he eats his meal. If he fusses and pulls away, take away the food for a minute, then start again. The first time you try this, it might take awhile for him to finish his meal! But, keep at it, at every meal, and pretty soon he'll decide that he'd rather eat than struggle.

Also, take him for walks on rough surfaces like concrete and gravel. For young pigs with good legs, extra time walking on concrete or gravel surfaces may be all that's needed to keep the hooves trim. Pigs that spend a great deal of time indoors don't get to wear their hoofies down as far or fast as pigs that get plenty of outdoor exercise time.

But, not all pigs have strong, healthy legs. You might want to have a vet check his legs and hips, he may have a mild hip problem that prevents his feet from wearing down properly. The vet might want to take steps to prevent arthritis, or be careful with piggy's weight. A healthy piglet should gain about 1 lb per week, so your piglet should weigh something near 32 lb.

There's information on how to determine your pig's weight by measurements, a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs, and a number of other piggy resources here www.farec.org

I'm located far from California, so here's a list of California based resources and organizations that may be able to help you.
California Pot-Bellied Pig Association   www.cppa4pigs.org
Southern California Association for Pot-Bellied Pigs   www.scampp.com
Belly Draggers Ranch   www.bellydraggersranch.com
Lil Orphan Hammies   www.lilorphanhammies.com

Finally, although Peggy is not in CA, her Helping Hoof program may be able to help you    http://www.9sites.org/outreach/outreach.htm