weaning

Question
I have a 61/2 week old piglet and i got pig feed at the feed store because they told me i could wean him off goats milk as he was abandoned by mom, they told me to just stop giving him the milk and put food out for him as we keep him on back screened in patio because we are treating him for mange mite. It's been 1/2 day and he cries everytime we go out because hes used to having a bottle by now, they said he would get hungry enough that he will eat the feed but i feel so bad. Am i doing it the right way???

Answer
A 6-1/2 week old piglet is old enough to eat and drink on his own, but he probably does not know how.

To teach him how to eat, first put his milk in a pan and let him drink it up that way. Then, start mixing a few smashed pellets into his milk. At each meal, add more pellets and less milk, until finally after a week or so it's just pellets. The grower/starter pellets are much tastier, so you might try those.

Bottle feeding is cute, but it can be dangerous with very tiny pigs, because they can accidentally inhale the milk causing pneumonia. But  your piglet is past that stage. It's both cute and convenient when a pig knows how to drink from a bottle, because you can carry a bottle of water where ever you take him, and he can always drink from that.