Minis or micros..who’s weighing in?

Duckfarmerpa1

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So I e already got two pots...and they are great! But...they are quite old. Arthritic, and overweight...but they came to us obese Nd we’ve managed to work it wayyyy down with healthy diet and exercise...and LOVE!

So, I know I want at least two more pigs this spring. Minis or micros..or even two more pots.

my hubby wants one feeder Pig Here’s the thing...he’s a retired contractor. He builds everything. I’m the farmer. I work the animals..all the chores..all day, every day. So, what’s one more pig? As long as it’s manageable for ME! So anyways...can you please tell me your thought on these breeds? We are in NW PA they will be outside in a nice warm barn... but, not house pets. I hope to breed them. Just for fun. I love the idea of a small pig...less feed...etc. but they handle our climate? Is micro just a fancier name so they can charge more?

any thoughts or info would be great! :)
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Baymule

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There is not a lot of demand for pot bellied pigs anymore. If you breed them, you might find it hard to sell them, maybe not, but look around before you start breeding them. The micros and minis I know nothing about.

A feeder pig is more up my alley. Hmmm...… let me open another tab and do a search for my pig threads. BRB.






That is my pig experience. LOL LOL it's hard to beat home grown pork.
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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There is not a lot of demand for pot bellied pigs anymore. If you breed them, you might find it hard to sell them, maybe not, but look around before you start breeding them. The micros and minis I know nothing about.

A feeder pig is more up my alley. Hmmm...… let me open another tab and do a search for my pig threads. BRB.






That is my pig experience. LOL LOL it's hard to beat home grown pork.
Oh, well..these are for my new pets...lol..except the one feeder we’ll buy!
 

misfitmorgan

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Hello we breed meat pigs now but we did breed/raise mini's and potbelly crosses. Firstly I would to say that micro pigs are not real. As you guessed micro pigs are just a name for mini pigs that people use to sell them for more money same as teacup pigs. The only true mini pigs are Julianna pigs.

Be very careful buying pigs from someone who is not a well known local breeder because many many people have bought a "mini" pig only to find out later that their new pet was really a meat pig and got to 450lbs. Potbelly pigs are a lot bigger then mini pigs, our full grown mini julianna boar at 3yrs old only weighed about 40lbs, our full grown potbelly easily weighed 100lbs or more.

As Bay mentioned breeding them is a bad idea. The demand for potbelly pigs does not exist pretty much and the demand for minis is almost non-existent at this point. We stopped breeding the little pigs because we could even give them away. We ended up giving 35 piglets away for butcher for free. Our friend wanted some mini pigs to breed so we gave him 6 piglets. He has sense bred and raised 50+ piglets, made them super friendly and nice...he managed to give away 2 piglets the others he had to butcher. He ended up butchering the parents and being done with minis after putting $100s into feed and 100s of hours of time in.

If you want a mini or potbelly pig for a pet go for it but breeding them as cute as they are it can be really really hard to even give away the babies let alone sell them. All the mini pigs and potbelly pigs we got given for free except our 5 two boar piglets we paid $25 for 2 of them at 16 weeks old back in 2014.

I have not mentioned it yet but DH has a new mini piglet coming as a house pet....so he has told me. I told him no about 100 times but that doesnt mean much :lol: This piglet was free too and at the moment only 3 weeks old.
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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Hello we breed meat pigs now but we did breed/raise mini's and potbelly crosses. Firstly I would to say that micro pigs are not real. As you guessed micro pigs are just a name for mini pigs that people use to sell them for more money same as teacup pigs. The only true mini pigs are Julianna pigs.

Be very careful buying pigs from someone who is not a well known local breeder because many many people have bought a "mini" pig only to find out later that their new pet was really a meat pig and got to 450lbs. Potbelly pigs are a lot bigger then mini pigs, our full grown mini julianna boar at 3yrs old only weighed about 40lbs, our full grown potbelly easily weighed 100lbs or more.

As Bay mentioned breeding them is a bad idea. The demand for potbelly pigs does not exist pretty much and the demand for minis is almost non-existent at this point. We stopped breeding the little pigs because we could even give them away. We ended up giving 35 piglets away for butcher for free. Our friend wanted some mini pigs to breed so we gave him 6 piglets. He has sense bred and raised 50+ piglets, made them super friendly and nice...he managed to give away 2 piglets the others he had to butcher. He ended up butchering the parents and being done with minis after putting $100s into feed and 100s of hours of time in.

If you want a mini or potbelly pig for a pet go for it but breeding them as cute as they are it can be really really hard to even give away the babies let alone sell them. All the mini pigs and potbelly pigs we got given for free except our 5 two boar piglets we paid $25 for 2 of them at 16 weeks old back in 2014.

I have not mentioned it yet but DH has a new mini piglet coming as a house pet....so he has told me. I told him no about 100 times but that doesnt mean much :lol: This piglet was free too and at the moment only 3 weeks old.
Well we have two pots and they are very very big! So, anything sMiller would be a win! I’d even take two more pots, but I just thought that trying a different kind would be fun. My pots are old and arthritic, so i don’t want them exposed to anything big. Plus, keeping feed bills down would be nice. Selling piglets would be a bonus...but if it’s not in the cards...then, we’ll..I breed rabbits and have only sold two. The rest I give away. So, it wouldn’t be a shock. But, I was starting to catch on that micro and mini were just different names for the same thing. They are still rather expensive up here...and, we are wayyy behind the rest of the world..so... I sure wish I could get two free ones! Last month a guy wanted $125, now another ad says $150.

i will def make sure we go to a real breeder now though so I don’t get stuck with two huge pigs that I can’t handle. I’m the one in charge here..which means I do all the hands on work..so I definitely need to be able to handle my animals!, thanks for the ti!
 

misfitmorgan

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We were actually breeding down mini's to make them smaller and our friend continued his last adult boar at 1.5yrs old was 26lbs and about 10inches tall.

Ironically the piglet DH wants is the great grandson of our mini pigs. and shouldnt get over 15lbs if fed correctly. The nice thing about minis is that they are much more lean then pots.

If you just make sure you see the parents of the mini's that is re-assuring and you will know the minis adult size more or less depending on the parents age.
 

Baymule

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Also if you want them for your own pets, neuter and spay, they will be much more friendly.

I know you want pets, but you mentioned a feeder pig, so I included my feeder pig threads. I would never try to influence you in either direction. Your animals are for your enjoyment and I fully support that.
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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Also if you want them for your own pets, neuter and spay, they will be much more friendly.

I know you want pets, but you mentioned a feeder pig, so I included my feeder pig threads. I would never try to influence you in either direction. Your animals are for your enjoyment and I fully support that.
Oh, no, I need all the help I can get! The feeder would be raised..for meat...the others for my pets, as this is my farm..my true love. But, as my husband has explained several times, it only works, if something you raise gets eaten, to offset the costs. Hmmm. So, anyways...yes, I appreciate allll the help I can get, since he builds I run... thanks!
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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We were actually breeding down mini's to make them smaller and our friend continued his last adult boar at 1.5yrs old was 26lbs and about 10inches tall.

Ironically the piglet DH wants is the great grandson of our mini pigs. and shouldnt get over 15lbs if fed correctly. The nice thing about minis is that they are much more lean then pots.

If you just make sure you see the parents of the mini's that is re-assuring and you will know the minis adult size more or less depending on the parents age.
Can they stay outside in a barn?
 

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