Before your pig comes home make sure you have proper fencing, fresh water, shade, shelter and an outdoor pen. Pigs need to be de-sexed and depending Pigs need to be de-sexed and depending on where you live, they may need to be micro-chipped or ear tagged. They need to be wormed regularly and you’ll need to find a vet that specialises in farm animals, not just domestic pets.Pigs need a comfortable dry bed, away Pigs need a comfortable dry bed, away from drafts, dampness and rain. A small garden shed or large dog kennel with blan-kets or straw will work. If it’s winter and you have a new pig, you might need to bring it inside to keep it warm or put a hot water bottle in its outdoor enclosure. Pigs also love an old sleeping bag to burrow down love an old sleeping bag to burrow down into for warmth. Pigs must be kept cool in summer and warm in winter. They need help to cool down on a hot day with a shallow pool or mud hole to wade in, a squirt with the hose and a tree to stand under. Shade alone is not enough.

Pigs love digging, eating grass and exploring. If possible, you’ll need at least one acre of land – or a backyard the size of a tennis court to keep it happy and amused. They love going for walks and can be trained to wear a harness. If you have a small garden or enclosure, keep your pig amused with a variety of toys and daily walks.Because they are so cleveBecause they are so clever, pigs need company! Good com-pany could be a medium-sized dog or another pig of the same age. If they are locked up all day in a small backyard they will become lonely, destructive and get up to mischief. Pigs can be very helpful in your garden, digging up roots, removing weeds and fertilizing the garden bed with enthusiasm and joy!

Check with your local council to find out if they

will allow you to keep a pet mini pig. Some coun-

cils won’t allow it and each state and territory

has different rules and regulations. You might

also want to check that your neighbours are

happy about it too.

Buy your pig from a well-known mini pig breeder

and ask to see the parents of your pig to know

exactly how big it will grow. A lot of mini pigs

that are sold end up growing much larger than

you’d expect.

Before your mini pig arrives home you need to Before your mini pig arrives home you need to

register it with the Department of Primary Indus-

try. They need to know where your pig is living

so they can contact you in case there is a dis-

ease it might catch.

Pigs are smart, fun, friendly and curious. They will bond with your family fast!

They are highly intelligent and if you teach them one thing they will remember it. This goes for bad habits too! Having a pig that opens your cupboards or lies on your couch watch-ing TV might not make mum very happy!

You can teach them how to sit, roll over, shake hooves and fetch, which they love to do.

Pigs are very sociable and will live quite happily with any other pets you might have like horses, dogs, sheep and alpacas.

Having a miniature pig pet sounds pretty cool, but you’ll need to give it serious thought and preparation before bringing your little ‘oinker home’. Mini pigs can live for up to fteen years and grow to the size of a large fat labrador!

Pigs are very intelligent and rank closely behind Pigs are very intelligent and rank closely behind chimpanzees, orang-utans, dolphins, crows and elephants!

Pigs have no sweat glands so they can't sweat! This is why they roll in the mud - to cool their skin. Because pigs are famous for their sense of smell Because pigs are famous for their sense of smell and digging up food from under the ground, some of them have been used in war to smell and detect mines.