Bedding, Tusks

Question
I have read on this website that straw is good for insulation of a pbp's house. What do you do if your pig eats the straw? (like mine is doing) Is there anything i can do to make him stop or another easy option? I had a house built for him like a dog house just bigger. Also, my pig is 5 years old and I have had his tusks trimmed once already. They are almost to the point of trimming again, but currently I am unemployed and can not afford the vet bill. Is this something I can do and how? Thank you
Cindy

Answer
Hay is dried grass blades. Straw is the hollow stems leftover from harvesting grains like oats and wheat. Good, fresh straw often contains bits of leftover grain and that's what your piggy is enjoying. It's ok to let him do that, the grain has few calories and lots of fiber. Just give him a little extra straw to make up for it.

There's two ways to trim a pig tusk at home. One is difficult and quick, but requires more than one person. The other is easy and very, very slow.

The first way is to get some cutting wire or ob wire (available from valleyvet.com), and a few strong, brave, good friends. One person holds piggy's head, and wearing heavy leather gloves, holds the lip away from the tusk. Another uses the cutting wire to cut the tusk off. The others hold piggy down an immobile on his back. The tusk will get hot as the cutting wire saws through, so you'll probably have to stop once or twice to let it cool down. Be very careful to cut the tusk OUTSIDE the lip, so there is no danger of piggy accidentally inhaling it.

The second way is to get piggy down for a belly rub. Then, using a small narrow wood rasp, the smallest and narrowest you can find, start sawing a bit at the tusk. Take a few swipes, then stop to rub the belly and soothe the piggy. Then a few more swipes. When you get a nice deep groove, try snapping the tusk. If it doesn't snap off, saw some more. I don't know how your pig will react. Some settle down after a bit and will let you saw for quite a while. Others just hate the whole process and won't let you do more than a few swipes at a time. It will take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks to get a deep enough groove to snap the tusk off, but if you have plenty of patience and keep at it, it will eventually break off.