We Love Mini Pigs Poos & Spoos 

Feeding Your New Piglet:

 

There are many options for feeding your mini pig a healthy diet, so be sure to do your research to learn what works best for your family.

 

At We Love Mini Pigs, our piglets are weaned to Mazuri Pig Pellets. This is a good brand that can easily be found at most feed and pet stores. We recommend following the directions that come with whatever type of food you choose to feed your mini pig, but it is still important to watch their weight. You should be able to feel your mini pigs shoulders, backbone, hips, and ribs, but you shouldn't be able to see them. If you can see them you piggy is probably underweight and if you can't feel them, then your piggy may need to lose some weight. You should adjust feed levels appropriate to the needs of your mini pig based on activity levels. 

 

Here are a few of the things we like to use for treats and snacks between meals:

 

Lettuce 

Carrots

Cucumber

Kale

Organic Cheerios

Grapes (we like to use as as treats)

 

Never feed your piggy Chocolate or Salted foods!! These things are very bad for their health!!

 

Bonding with Your New Piglet:

 

When you bring your new mini pig home, he (or she) will probably be very nervous and scared, since he has left everything familiar behind and has to adjust to all new people and surroundings. Be patient at first. You will want to keep him or her in a small confined area until he is more comfortable. Let the pig explore a bit and get comfortable with his new surroundings, and once he doesn't seem apprehensive, try to get him to approach you by tempting him with food. Sit on the floor with the pig, and offer a bit of food (for piglets, it is probably best to just use their regular food for most of the training - small bits of vegetable or fruit could be used for special treats). You may just need to put the food on the floor in front of you at first, and gradually work up to the piglet taking the food from you. Do this repeatedly over the course of the first few days at home and have everyone in the family have a turn so that the piglet can bond with all the family members.

 

Once your piglet is comfortable with being near you and taking food from your hand, you can reach out and try to scratch your piglet gently under the chin or along the sides. Move slowly, and speak calmly and gently to your pig. Remember to give treats as you do this, and the piglet will eventually realize this is a pleasant experience. Move at a pace that your piglet is comfortable with, though. If he resists being scratched or petted, back off a bit until he is more accepting. Piggies are very curious, and eventually the curiosity will win.

 

There is a fairly fine line between spending enough time with your piglet and spending too much time, though. While you want to take the time to get to know your pig and have him or her trust you, you also want to make sure you do not lavish too much attention on your baby, or he will come to expect attention all the time. This is also true of using food as a training tool - spend time with your pig without giving treats as well, or he will think of you as a food dispenser and may start to expect or demand food constantly. Keep the bonding and training sessions short and regular, with breaks to give the pig time to rest and develop the ability to entertain himself a bit too.

 

Litter Training Your New Piglet:

 

 

Mini pigs are very smart creatures and learn quickly, so they are easy to potty train. The most important thing to remember when training is to be consistent. 

 

Piglets will automatically choose a specific corner of their pen or room as the place to potty. You can pick the corner you would like your mini pig to use and set up a litter box there. You can discourage your piglet from using the other areas in his cage by placing the litter box in one corner, and filling the other corners with bedding, food and water. 

 

It is important to use a good litter for your mini pigs. Pine shavings and non-clumping kitty litter are good choices. It is also a good idea to use a heavy box for their litter or something that can be secured to prevent the little piggy from dumping it on the floor. One option is to take a deeper tupper and cut a hole in the side for baby to get n and out. This also prevents overspill from backing into a corner as your lil piggie grows up.

 

Never use Cedar shavings or clumping kitty litter for your piggy. They are allergic to Cedar and they can ingest the kitty litter which then clumps in their intestines. 

 

 

Be sure to keep the litter box spot cleaned daily and change the litter at least once a week. Most often if a piggie is not using its litter box properly, it human error from improper cleaning. Avoid using clorax to clean as this is an offense smell to babies nose and may confuse the issue of where to go.  Everytime you see your little piggy use it's litter box praise, praise praise him for doing a good job. Too much encouragement tho and you may end up teaching your baby to pretend to go potty. Lovie learned this little trick when she was off to college.

 

Training your mini pig to use the potty outside is just as easy as litter box training. Choose a phrase like, "go potty" or "do your business" and use it whenever you take them outside. Also, as soon as they go potty make sure to praise them. 

 

It will be easier to train your little mini pig to go potty outside if you take them out at the times they most naturally need to potty. 

 

So take your piggy out:

• As soon as it wakes up

• As soon as it finishes eating

• Every 2-3 hours during the day and

• in the evening before you put im to bed at night.