* cough *cough*
in a past lifetime, I bred potbelly pigs for fun and profit.
YES they CAN get big if you over feed it, think of it this way, when you look at the pig, if it were a dog is it fat?> a pigs metabolism is VERY efficient which means that it gets fat VERY easily, and take a very small amount of food to accomplish this, even grass and hay will fatten a pig. keep it as fit as you would a dog, you shouldbe able to FEEL the ribs but not see them, you should also be able to FEEL the hip bones but not see dips in the tissue on the top of the butt. An adult spayed pig weighing 70lbs will be maintained at a healthy weight by feeding 12% percent protein pellet diet of ONE CUP A DAY!
Rossmill Farms in Rushland Pa makes an awesome pet pig food, they also ship it's called "champion".... DOn't follow the feeding instructions on the bag.
and make sure you keep other foods limited, fruit will put weight on them VERY quickly.
YES they make great pets.
YES they are very smart, I would adopt my babies out at 8weeks, and they would have been potty, harness and clicker trained a few basic commands and tricks.
They can be TOO smart, learning to open the fridge or whinning for treats or food, and generally learning to manipulate their owners.
For size comparisons
a 65 lb pig will be about the size of a longer cocker spaniel dog.
a 130lb pig will be 17-19inches tall.
Have your pet spayed or neutered, it will prolong their life and make YOUR life much easier. sows/gilts ( sows have had babies gilts have not) in heat are a bitch and intact boars can be aggressive and at the very least reak to high heaven with their musk, OH and htey like to hump things AND it usually results in a really nasty ejaculate!!! Not something your scotch guard furniture will survive I assure you.
Pot belly pigs are considered exotics so be prepared if you need one vetted.
They are also becoming more popular in smaller areas because of their size and are accepted by zoning more and more
A few things you NEED to know about your pig.
They root, ALOT and it can be destructive, make sure you give them stuff to root in. lots of blankets are good.
They WILL scream/sqeal if they are being manhandled so get your baby used to being held and manhandled while it's young so when you need to do a hoof or tusk trim it won't kill your ears.
YES they get tusks, altered pigs less so but some girls will and ALL boys do the boars just grow MUCh faster than the barrows (neutered boys)
They are active when they are babies, but once they reach about 2 they become like lazy old dogs, content to watch tv with you or just get a belly rub or sun bathe.
Main points here:
Strict diet will ensure it doesn't get obese.
Spay/neuter
give plenty of rooting places/items
make yourself "top hog" or else the pig can become aggressive if it thinks
you are "beneath" them in the social pecking order. Kinda like a dog pack, you need to be at the top and they need to listen to YOU.
Don't let your pig on the couch, this helps with the dominance factor and also helps preserve their short short legs and joints that are VERY prone to arthritics. Jumping off a couch is easy for a baby, but becomes dangerous when they reach adult size. Same for stairs, easy up, dangerous down.
Any other questions please feel free to ask.
OH YEAH, pigs can jump and VERY HIGH!!!! be careful with baby gates.
