As the year comes to an end I wanted to show off the newest member of our family..Priscilla…aka Prissy; Brat; Miss Attitude; Piggle Girl! Ever since a childhood boyfriend introduced me to pigs YEARS ago, I have been obsessed with them ever since! I got my first Piggle Boys almost 3 years ago! Their birthday is actually tomorrow! They are pot-bellied pigs & are quite big boys! I’ve always loved the smaller bred ones (only if bred correctly!) & decided to buy myself an early Christmas gift!

Prissy should mature at 12-14 inches tall & 30-ish pounds! She’s labeled as a micro-mini! My boys are a good 130-150 pounds…true pot-bellied size!

Whoever said pigs don’t fly has never met Prissy! She flew via Delta Airlines all the way from Florida! Yes, my piggy was shipped to me! I had been doing my research online looking for a perfect pig to add to the family! I got her from Angel Enterprise Farms! She was almost 2 months old when I got her & came spayed. One of my bestest friends Amanda went with me to go pick her up at the airport!

She’s been with us for 4 weeks tomorrow & is adjusting very nicely in her new home! It takes a looooong time sometimes to earn a pigs trust! They are not like dogs & just come to you & sit in your lap…you have to earn their trust. She was sitting in my lap after about 3 days. Eventually she’ll go out & about with me, but that is definitely quite a few months down the road..hopefully by summer time! We’ve still got a ways to go with our training before we go out in public! Her safety is most important! So I have to learn what spooks her, etc. so she doesn’t take off on her leash!

This was her first official photoshoot! I’ve taken a bunch of her with my iPhone but didn’t want to scare her with the big camera when I’ve worked so hard to earn her trust!

Now a few things about pigs that most people don’t realize. I’ve learned all of this over the past few years since having pigs!

1. They are not & should not EVER be impulse buys.  They are A LOT of work & are nothing like taking care of a dog. They live anywhere from 12-20 years when taken care of properly. So when you get one you are making a long term commitment! Too many pigs are bought on a whim because they’re little & cute. Well guess what..they grow up, they get big, they have special feed to eat. And because of that mistake they end up abandoned or in shelters which makes me sad or given away to other people who don’t know how to take care of them.

2. Pigs are SUPER SMART! Like a gazillion times smarter than a dog! Prissy learned to sit after 3 short training sessions! Took my puppies over 3 days to really get the hang of sitting & that was with a ton of treats! After she’s done something twice she’s got the hang of it!

3. They are SUPER CLEAN! When purchased from a good breeder they will come litter box trained. Prissy uses a box with PINE pellets only (can’t use clumping litter since they root with their nose & like to nibble on things, it might clump up & cause an obstruction). She prefers to actually go outside to do her business as most animals do. Pigs are corner animals as well, meaning they prefer to go in the same spot, typically a corner & DO NOT like to soil anywhere near where they sleep! My boys go in one corner in their pens & that’s it!

4. They get BORED EASILY! You have to constantly have something to entertain them or they will get into trouble! They are so smart they need stimulation for their brain all the time! This is where learning tricks comes into play! They love to play & learn new things! She has her own “room” which is gated & she sleeps in a dog crate with lots of fluffy blankets! Now we’ll work on moving her into a doggy playpen in the living room so she can sit with us at night when we watch TV. I don’t give her free reign of the house yet.

5. They DO NOT like to be picked up! For the most part, you can’t carry them around like dogs. They feel unsecured when their feet are not firmly on the ground as they are usually prey animals. So when their feet are up off the ground they feel threatened & can’t go anywhere…and then they SCREAM so you’ll be startled and let them go! Like ear piercing, brain shattering squeal..you can’t hear or think when they are screaming! I’m sure the neighbors half a mile down the road heard her screaming the other day when I had to pick her up outside!

5. They are NOT for people who have to work full time outside of the home where they are left alone for long periods of time. They get destructive in the house & will root up carpet, dry wall, floor molding, etc.

6. They DO NOT STINK! A pigs skin has NO ODOR! You may smell their litterbox/potty area but they themselves do not actually stink! My dogs smell worse than she does!

7. They DO NOT eat table scraps! Would they, absolutely! Should they, not if you want your pig to live long! My pigs eat the best mini-feed there is made specifically for them! You do not feed them hog grower as that will fatten them up! They get veggies for treats & peanuts for a special treat! Prissy gets Cheerios for her special treat!

8. They can be LEASHED trained! Prissy is working on that now! I’m waiting for her actual piggy harness to come in, which is the safest thing to have them on outdoors! She wears a dog collar right now, but it tends to pull a little tighter on the neck & I don’t like that…plus a wiggle of her head the right way & she can slip right out of it! Pigs are fast, slick lil buggers…especially when babies!

9. They do LOVE others animals but should NEVER be left unsupervised with a dog! More piggies die because the family pet suddenly turned on them. My puppies love her but they only get to be around each other supervised!

10. They get super attached to their owners! So that’s why it so important to commit to one once you get one! They can get depressed & die from depression if abandoned!

So now that you know a ton about piggies…meet Prissy! One of my most favorite things about her is how she does her “squishy face.” Most kids have one when they scrunch up their nose…well she sorta does it but her 2 front teeth come out…LOVE! She does it for Cheerios! And when she’s super excited outside she runs around me in a circle woofing like a dog…so cute!

Keep in mind..I had to hold a leash, a bowl of Cheerios AND my camera AND try to take her pics! OMG it was soooooooo hard! But I absolutely LOVE them! I see quite a few big canvas purchases in the future for my walls!

One of my personal goals is to take more personal pics in the New Year! I get so wrapped up documenting everyone else’s memories & milestones that it’s been too easy to forget about documenting my own!

 

Hope you love her as much as I do!

xoxo

amy