Pets: Mini Pigs Craze

Society | February 9, 2007, Friday // 00:00

Mini pigs are normal pigs bred down from a fully-grown size of about 500kg to a manageable 50-70kg. They are great pets and workers, easy to train, affectionate companions and bond quickly to their new family, including other pets. They love walks and can be trained with a dog harness. Mini pet pigs love cuddling and being scratched grunting away happily during the process. But you do need a minimum of one acre to keep one.

Mini pigs will eat all your household food scraps (excluding meat, as this is illegal) and will happily graze your lawn or paddock.

For housing they require shade areas, shelter from the rain and wind and dry bedding off damp ground. A large dog kennel is ideal. Just like a dog, mini pigs need a run, at least as big as a tennis court with additional access to grass ideally a paddock.

First miniature Vietnamese pigs were imported to the USA from Japan. They became quite popular in America. Then exotic animals were brought to Europe and Russia. Unconfirmed reports say that originally the pigs were developed for laboratory purposes.

The first dwarf pigs were produced back in the 1960s in Sweden and Canada. There are more than 30 varieties of the miniature pig, one of them is called "Siberian miniature pig."

The Siberian pig was bred in the 1970s by researchers at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Affiliate of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The miniature pigs differ from the common pigs by their size and a few peculiarities with regard to the structure of their skulls. They also have fewer teats, only 3 pairs as opposed to the common pigs which have twice as many. A minipig normally has short legs, a slightly deflecting back, a sagging belly, and a snout that can be either short or long.

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