Owning a PBP in Alaska

Question
I'm about to be the proud owner of a four-month-old potbellied pig. I live in Alaska where it's about 45-75 degrees outside in the summertime and -12-30 degrees in the winter. Right now she is living in a large, grassy kennel area in our back yard with a big cozy doghouse. But come wintertime, should we keep her indoors? Should she go outside to play in the winter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
I know there are pot-bellied pigs in Alaska, but the extreme climate makes your situation unique. Pigs are quite adaptable, but extended temps below zero are too much for them.

In the continental US, some people keep their pigs in an unheated building, with a piggy house and plenty of straw. The keys to a good outdoor shelter are dry and windproof. So if you have a large building that's dry, windproof, and is mostly above 10 F, that might work. Heat lamps + straw is a very, very dangerous combination, and I am always hesitant to recommend heat lamps. But if the building is big enough to keep a heat lamp far far away from anything potentially burnable, a heat lamp could add just enough warmth to make this work.

Pigs adapt to the environment where they spend most of their time. In other words, a pig kept indoors is used to indoor temperatures, and can develop hypothermia pretty quickly when they go outside in cold temps. A piggy coat and boots might be necessary even for brief moments outdoors.

There's a couple of Yahoo mail groups dedicated to pot-bellied pigs. One is PigInfoAndChat, the other is PotSpot. People from all over join these groups, there might be other pig owners from Alaska who can give you specific information about your unique situation from their own experience.

Some websites that might help you find other Alaskan pig owners are NAPPA (North American Pot-bellied Pig Association) http://www.webfoot.net/nappa/ , pigs4ever.com, and farec.org (Forgotten Angels Rescue and Education Center).