Breed bigger boar to a smaller sow?

HomesteaderLexi

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I have 3 potbelly pigs, one is a boar who is smaller than my sows I have now. He weighs around 60 lbs and I have an oppertunity to get 2 more females BUT they are smaller than he is and are around a year old. The lady says they are Julianna/Potbelly crosses and weigh about 10-20 lbs, she never saw the parents. Would it be ok to breed them to my boar or would the babies be to big for them to carry? I understand the weight of the boar could sometimes be an issue as well. Fairly new to breeding pigs
 

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Greetings and welcome to BYH. So glad you joined us. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

I don't know enough to answer your Q but I believe it would NOT be a good idea. I'll tag a few folks who may be able to better answer you. @misfitmorgan @Farmer Connie @Mini Horses @Ferguson K @mysunwolf I'm sure there are others, but my mind is dozing thanks to a very large lunch not too long ago...

Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. Old folks like me will never remember from this thread. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
 
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luvmypets

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Welcome to BYH! First off I would refrain from breeding those pigs. From my observation the whole mini pig thing is most often a big scam. Basically you are buying a potbelly which in itself is much smaller than standard farm hogs, that has been labeled mini and most breeders give you improper feed rations so the pig stays within that "small dog size". I recently saw an add in my local craigslist for a "micro pig" that was "creamsicle" colored(isn't a real thing) for $1600. And the sad part is not many people have the education to understand otherwise. I have seen adds for a "micro" boar that was obviously a potbelly but the poor thing was emaciated. I see adds for "mini potbellies" "micro teacup" anything "small" really but at the end of the day these pigs when fed correctly will be about 100-300 lbs. Breeders will also choose stunted pigs, or animals that are naturally small to breed, but this can be a problem as these genes come with other issues.

Here it says they don't grow when these pigs are obviously babies
https://lancaster.craigslist.org/grd/d/mini-pigs/6435454616.html

Here is an article that goes more in depth https://modernfarmer.com/2014/03/never-buy-teacup-pig/
 
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misfitmorgan

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Welcome to BYH! First off I would refrain from breeding those pigs. From my observation the whole mini pig thing is most often a big scam. Basically you are buying a potbelly which in itself is much smaller than standard farm hogs, that has been labeled mini and most breeders give you improper feed rations so the pig stays within that "small dog size". I recently saw an add in my local craigslist for a "micro pig" that was "creamsicle" colored(isn't a real thing) for $1600. And the sad part is not many people have the education to understand otherwise. I have seen adds for a "micro" boar that was obviously a potbelly but the poor thing was emaciated. I see adds for "mini potbellies" "micro teacup" anything "small" really but at the end of the day these pigs when fed correctly will be about 100-300 lbs. Breeders will also choose stunted pigs, or animals that are naturally small to breed, but this can be a problem as these genes come with other issues.

Here it says they don't grow when these pigs are obviously babies
https://lancaster.craigslist.org/grd/d/mini-pigs/6435454616.html

Here is an article that goes more in depth https://modernfarmer.com/2014/03/never-buy-teacup-pig/

That may often be the case but you are misinformed.

Potbellies pigs can become pretty stinking big if feed incorrectly and be kept small if feed incorrectly. However the weight range on a potbelly pig should be around 100lbs if your potbelly weighs more one of two things has happened. They were cross bred with a full size pig or your grossly overfeeding it or improperly feeding it.

Full size pigs aka meat pigs(berkshire, hereford, landrace, etc) can be huge and are bred to be huge, like up to 1,000lbs.

Juliana pigs are a small pig that should be under 19inches tall and weigh around 40-60lbs when fully grown(read as over 2yrs old).

These are separate distinct breeds not pigs who were breed down or starved. Juliana pigs are a real pig and they are their own breed, they should not look anything like a potbelly other then both being pigs.

We own meat pigs, we have owned potbellies and we own julianna pigs, there is a huge difference between the three. Our julianna pigs are not starved and have never been starved. We own one sow and one boar, between them they eat 8lbs of feed a day and weigh around 50lbs as 3yr old pigs. They have held the same weight for about a year now, despite being given all the feed they can eat. Pigs are indeterminate meaning they never stop growing but the growth does slow down extremely after about 2yrs old.

The only litter we have had come from the julianna sow was a potbelly boar(she came unknowingly bred) and she had 13 babies without a problem and raised them well. She is now bred to our julianna boar and should have piglets soon.

Are we some scammers who raise "tiny" pigs and sell them to unsuspecting people? No. We have a pair of unregistered julianna pigs that we will bred a few times because people want pet pigs and we can guarantee they will stay smaller then a potbelly. Do we give them ridiculous color names, no. Do we charge a fortune for them, no. We sell our julianna piglets for $25 each to pet homes.

Do i agree with people passing off potbelly pigs or julianna pigs as "stays tiny forever" pigs, no of course not. A true julianna pig will be no bigger in size or weight then a bulldog though.

I have 3 potbelly pigs, one is a boar who is smaller than my sows I have now. He weighs around 60 lbs and I have an oppertunity to get 2 more females BUT they are smaller than he is and are around a year old. The lady says they are Julianna/Potbelly crosses and weigh about 10-20 lbs, she never saw the parents. Would it be ok to breed them to my boar or would the babies be to big for them to carry? I understand the weight of the boar could sometimes be an issue as well. Fairly new to breeding pigs

I can guarantee you that those julianna/potbelly crosses are either not a year old or not 10-20lbs. Our friend owns one of the potbelly/julianna crosses from our litter who is now almost a year old and is around 35lbs. I definitely would not breed those pigs, the new females if they are that small are not old enough to breed and breeding them would probly kill them.
 

HomesteaderLexi

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I had figured that it wouldn't be a good idea, the lady kept saying it would be just fine but I think she just wanted to get rid of them more than giving correct information. She had no background information on them and knew nothing of their parents. She said they were a year old, I know pigs grow for 3 years but with them possibly reaching a max weight of around 50 pounds my boar is at a year so he will always be bigger than them bc he is still growing as well. I don't like taking an animal if the person can't tell me anything about it. I knew with other animals its always beat to breed a female to a smaller male but with all the mixed answers from that lady and google, I wasn't exactly sure if that applied to pigs or not. I have seen and do understand the misinformation and misunderstanding of tiny pigs and Juliannas. Seems most not all people care more about making a sale, then the health and wellbeing of the piglets. I've seen to many stories of people having to get rid of their pig bc they were supposed to stay small but ended up being large. Thank you all for the information, it is much appreciated
 

luvmypets

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Thank you @misfitmorgan . I always love a good teaching lesson, learning new things is so important and essential. I guess after all the BS with people trying to make a quick buck, and seeing I assumed that this is how it was and I sincerely apologize if I offended you. I actually quite enjoyed reading about your operation and I will continue reading into the Julianna breed and educating myself.
 

misfitmorgan

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Thank you @misfitmorgan . I always love a good teaching lesson, learning new things is so important and essential. I guess after all the BS with people trying to make a quick buck, and seeing I assumed that this is how it was and I sincerely apologize if I offended you. I actually quite enjoyed reading about your operation and I will continue reading into the Julianna breed and educating myself.

I may have come off a little gruff, i was not offended @luvmypets . I have seen this type of misinformation many times. I do know where it comes from and a lot of low lifes are trying to pass off potbelly pigs as julianna pigs and giving julianna pigs a bad name. Many people are also trying to pass off julianna pigs as teacups or staying tiny forever which is also not the case. If you want a small pig that will only get about the size of a full grown bulldog, get a true julianna. If you want a pig that will be smaller then a bulldog when full grown, get a stuffed animal.

I dislike people trying to scam others in any fashion, that said people dont use common sense. Why would you buy any high dollar animal without seeing the parents or proof that they are what they claim to be? Locally a lady bought a $5,000 horse from kentucky and had it shipped up here, built it a new pasture and a barn. Horse was trained well to ride, had excellent ground manners, etc, etc....she never saw the horse in person and ended up with a very expensive pasture ornament. It's a perfect example of making stupid decisions based on how something looks, because that horse is beautiful but it is crazy and tries to attack people.

Always see the parents, if they dont have the parents dont buy the animal unless they have papers or proof that animal is what they are saying it is. We have gambled on livestock before sometimes it works out sometimes it doesnt but we never threw any large sums of money at the gamble. Anyone who is interested in any of our julianna pigs, we highly encourage them to come to the farm and see the parents. They can see exactly how big the parents are and decide if that is the size pig they want or not.
 

misfitmorgan

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I had figured that it wouldn't be a good idea, the lady kept saying it would be just fine but I think she just wanted to get rid of them more than giving correct information. She had no background information on them and knew nothing of their parents. She said they were a year old, I know pigs grow for 3 years but with them possibly reaching a max weight of around 50 pounds my boar is at a year so he will always be bigger than them bc he is still growing as well. I don't like taking an animal if the person can't tell me anything about it. I knew with other animals its always beat to breed a female to a smaller male but with all the mixed answers from that lady and google, I wasn't exactly sure if that applied to pigs or not. I have seen and do understand the misinformation and misunderstanding of tiny pigs and Juliannas. Seems most not all people care more about making a sale, then the health and wellbeing of the piglets. I've seen to many stories of people having to get rid of their pig bc they were supposed to stay small but ended up being large. Thank you all for the information, it is much appreciated

Glad you found some help and more info on BYH....and i forgot to :welcome
 

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