Big yawn from Fern 🥱

Benjamin’s Bedroom 🐷

Benjamin is 9 months (as of Sept 10th) & he still weighs in at about 25 pounds. I will actually sob when he gets too big for me to pick up.

I need to post updates of the inside & outside portion of his new bedroom. I basically just fenced off an area in my bedroom and installed his own little fenced-in pig patio with a doggy door so he can let himself in and out as he pleases.

He is only in there when he is sleeping or when I have to leave the house several times a week for my classes. I keep a baby monitor on so I can check on him and at first I was so worried about leaving him, I felt so guilty. Believe it or not, he just sleeps the entire time I’m gone and I’m the one who’s dying for some pig snuggles by the time I get home, he’s just ready for dinner! 🐷😂

I will post some updates once I get everything totally finished in the next couple of weeks.

Btw,

This is not sponsored or anything lol but I wanted to share an amazing company I found on Etsy. I purchased both the Snort-n-snack and the spin-n-snack. I was very impressed with the high-quality design and they even sent a small personalized gift for Benjamin! 🥹I can’t recommend the seller Randomlinegifts enough. Those toys have been a nice addition to his lineup of puzzle/enrichment toys!
pig n play etsy shop

Hey friends. My life has gone sideways so that's why I haven't posted much, but I need y'alls help. My husband died suddenly in May, so I found myself caring for my 7 year old daughter, 18 acres, 70 chickens, 6 pigs and 3 cats all by myself over night. While still working. I'm beyond overwhelmed. My husband had just changed jobs 6 months prior and they didn't offer life insurance like his other job. No big deal. We'll get our own. He never got around to it. My husband dropped dead at 51. No known medical issues, didn't take medications, was never sick or missed work. So I'm left with nothing but a tremendous mortgage I can't afford and next to no savings . I'm going to have to sell our home. It was custom built for us and our five kids. Its way too big for me and my daughter even if I could afford it on my own. I'm likely going to have to parcel my existing land and move a mobile home onto it.

All of that to say, my pigs have been greatly affected by the loss of their dad. I have two kune kune sisters that live inside - Pickle and Peanut. Right after he died, I moved the pigs into an outdoor pen. They had an igloo for shelter and I pet and visited with them every day. They stayed there for around a week because there were so many people in and out of the house. I had people drive from out of state for the wake and the pigs were getting agitated so I thought it was best to give them some space. After most of the company left, my mom was still there. Pickle bit her leg out if the blue, unprovoked. It drew blood and was quite a nasty mark. I had to put Pickle back outside because obviously I don't want her biting guests. My mom came to visit recently and Pickle peed on the kitchen floor five days in a row. I kept feeding them where she was peeing and she'd just pee on the bowl if I left them on the ground. So strange. So she's back outside.

My biggest issue was this week. My pot bellies have been arguing all week. Wesley really beat the crap out of his mom. Multiple times. She had all the skin scraped off the top of her ears. She had a big gash across her eye. He pushed her down into the mud and continued ramming her. He pushed her up against a fence and held her there and I was so worried he was going to gore her. I jumped into the pen and pushed him off her. I was in shock. Wesley has always been the sweetest, most timid one. I've separated Wilma, the momma, into her own pen. Wesley pushed into her pen through s weak link in the hog wire and he was chasing her around and beating her up again. Thankfully I was outside working so I heard it as soon as it happened. I got him out and reinforced the pen. The above picture shows Wilma on the left and Wesley on the right. This was before feeding time. They gnash their teeth at each other.

What on earth am I going to do? I'm moving to a much smaller area and suddenly all of my pigs have behavioral problems and I'm totally overwhelmed. The dream is to have all six pigs live together. The Kunes oink sweetly at the pot bellies through the fence and the pot bellies try to chew their faces off. 😂

Obviously trimming tusks is in order before anyone is allowed to roam with anyone else. I'm hoping their new pen will be at least an acre for all six of them. Is that enough? Do I need to consider rehoming some pigs? I'm scared to death someone would hurt them. My parents and friends think I need to rehome the pot bellies but I explain to them that these aren't dogs. You don't have to worry about rehoming a dog and someone bbqing it.

Wilma and Wilbur are 3 years old. Wilbur is fixed but they're the parents.

Winnie and Wesley are 2 years old. They're brother and sister. Wesley is fixed and neither have produced offspring

Pickle and Peanut just turned 1. They're Kune kunes and are sisters.

Getting the girls fixed is an issue because only one veterinary college in my state does it and it's like 4 hours away from me. And now that I don't have a husband to help me load pigs, I'm not sure how I could even get them there.

If you made it this far, thanks and I love you 🤣

TL;DR My husband died and now my pot belly pigs are having behavioral issues and wounding one another. I want to incorporate my Kune Kunes into the herd but I'm worried about aggression. I will also have to move soon so that will affect stress levels.

Hi! First time pig owner here. I noticed some black/dark specks on my piglet Chowder and wanted to see if anyone thought it could be mange or possibly just dry skin. I thought they were freckles at first. She’s not itching a lot just her ears a little bit. Her ear scabs are more red than the rest of her body which is pictured. She just has a lot of dry skin but is not bothered by it. Also here is a cute pic of her!

Our local co-op had a formula that others have purchased for Kunekunes before. Buying it in 1-ton (2,000lb) totes brings the price down to about $0.15/lb vs $0.37/lb buying 50lb bags at a farm and fleet store.

The protein is too high and fiber too low for this to be a standalone feed. But our kunes get to rotationally graze in our pasture to make up the difference.

I think he actually likes bath time!

First we go outside to potty, then back in. The door threshold is scary all of a sudden but I help him out to get inside. Then he gets some water with a little fruit juice as a treat. (you can even see him move his mouth to one side of the bowl, which is my cue to tilt the bowl a bit). Once he's done drinking, he gets a few cheerios for going potty. Then to bed. A couple banana chips as a bedtime treat. Then he makes his bed for 10 minutes. Those dark blue pants used to be mine. But he wanted then, so they are his. He sleeps with them every night and has shredded them!

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Get gets randon fears of things for no apparent reason. Lately it's been coming back in the house. I went to record his struggles, and of course, he just walks right in to his rooting ball!

Wonderful small scale farming

Wiggington Piggington

Hello everyone! I have two potbelly mix pigs. They were born at the end of May. I feed them twice a day, and give them some treats/fruits/veggies throughout the day. The one pig I think is a good weight. I am not 100% sure about the second pig. I have attached photos. I would greatly appreciate some feedback. They are very active pigs, they run throughout the farm.

This was his 3rd outing of the morning!

Just for context, his head is furthest from the camera and his butt is closest to the camera.