Baby pot belly pigs require a lot of tender love and care.
Baby pot belly pigs generally do not get weaned away from their mother until they are about 6-8 weeks old. However, sometimes things may happen and you could end up with a baby pot belly pig that’s only a few weeks old. Whether you had to rescue the piglet from a bad situation or an irresponsible breeder sold you the piglet too early, caring for a very young piglet can be tough. They require a lot of attention and many pot belly piglets don’t survive their first weeks of life if the mother is not present. Follow these tips to care for a pot belly piglet provided by Pigs4Ever.com and your piggy will have a greater chance of living a long healthy life.
Keep the baby pot belly pig in a playpen where they are confined and safe from picking up anything that could hurt them.
Baby pigs do not generate their own body heat for about the first two weeks of life. Usually their mother provides them with warmth. If you have a baby pot belly pig that’s away from it’s mother, make sure to put a heating pad on low and wrap it in a towel in the playpen. Also make sure your pig has soft blankets and a soft stuffed toy to sleep with. If you don’t want to use an electric heating pad, tie 2 pounds of dry beans in a pillow case and tie the top in a knot. This can then be warmed in the microwave and hold heat for about 2 hours.
Feeding a baby pig that is only a few weeks old is a tough battle. Try feeding it goat’s milk or formula with baby rice cereal. When the piglet is about 3 weeks old, begin adding pig pellets to its diet. If they aren’t eating the pellets, powder them and add them to the milk or formula. Also cottage cheese and yogurt is a good thing to try to feed the baby up until it is about 6 months old because it stops E-coli from forming. E-coli can give your pot belly pig diarrhea, which at a young age can be fatal. To feed your pot belly piglet, try putting the formula in a pan and putting the pig’s nose in it. Try feeding it a spoonful of formula every four hours until you teach it how to eat on its own.
Give your pot belly piglet liquid vitamins with iron that you can get from the vet. They’re made for puppies but safe to give to pot belly pigs. Also you can give your piglet a flat pan of dirt in a cookie sheet so they can root around in it. Pigs usually get their iron from dirt so this will be natural for the piglet.
The bottom line is, if you can avoid it, do not get a pot belly piglet younger than 8 weeks old. Although they are very cute and tiny, they are extremely hard to care for and their chances of survival away from their mother are not good. However, if you do get a piglet at a very young age, following these tips will increase its chances of living a healthy life. For more details and information, read the full article on Pigs4Ever.com.
The Blog of Potbellied Pigs Tender Loving Care 