Feral pig + first time owner

[JeepGirl]

I ended up with a very young (-24hrs old) wild hog after someone shot the mom.
Wet umbilical cord, still working on walking efficiently, too weak to scream when I picked her up.
She's super smart, super sweet, and super lucky that I keep colostrum on hand.

Fast forward to 3 weeks later...I feel like we are just about out of the woods health wise.
She is eating, gaining weight, no scours or constipation..
Still drinking milk {fresh goats milk + half and half+ pumpkin puree} but is transitioning to softened pig youth pellets.

I have no clue what to expect.
Can anyone give me pointers as far as toys, behaviors, training, positive/negative reinforcement techniques, etc.?
Anything is appreciated - although I do have toileting under control.

The only issue I've had is that she is starting to use her teeth when she is frustrated.
I say "no" very clearly and push her away/end any interaction for a couple of minutes.
I do understand the commitment and potential destruction that comes along with her, I also understand the encouragement to shoot any and all wild hogs.

Pictures included of miss Tallulah

 

[Baymule]

She is sweet and cute now, but I don't think she will stay that way. The "wild" in feral hogs is strong, nature versus nurture. I honestly don't know if you can nurture her out of wild behavior. Please understand that I am not knocking you for taking her in and raising her, I just don't know what to tell you to expect. I've know an lot of people that trapped them very young and raised them, but they were wild and turned mean. Nobody I've ever known has had a newborn like yours.

Pigs are brilliant smart. She will like toys. For bigger pigs, a bowling ball is recommended. I've looked at garage sales for one, but haven't found one yet. For a little pig, maybe she would cuddle to a stuffed toy, maybe she would shred it. LOL A ball made of a hard substance?

Please be ready for her to turn to her wild ways. Watch carefully, so that you don't get hurt. Even domestic pigs can be dangerous.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

From my experience (got piglet from wild about a week to a month old no ideal) we got three (originally 4) pigs that were wild. The female sow that was with them was tamer and a domestic that had gone wild. That being said mine have known me since December 16 and still are wild. They do come when called and also will greet me but will stay far back. At one point i did have them eating a large item from my hand but haven't had more time with them. That being said you could take her atleast partially however that instict is still there and will remain. I have three currently and they all are different. One will come with in a few inches of me another a foot or 2 from me and the third won't even eat with in five feet from me. It depends on her and i would say if you end up unable to work with her regularly she will go back. And I would be worried if there are small kids near her or anyone she could injure. (Coming from mom of 4) Be very careful with the way you raise her. I would make sure to treat her like a pig and with a health respect of how big she will get. She might be fun to snuggle now but won't be later. I had a duroc sow who thought she was a house pig. Her previous owner allowed her to sleep in her bed, she sang to her allowed her to swim with her kids in a kiddy pool act. When I got her she was 350 lbs of crazy. She met her boy friend and freaked out the first week or more because she didn't know or really realize that she was a pig or what the heck had happened to her pampered life style. She wanted to sit on me and would run up to me or run up behind me and knock me down not to be mean but out of excitement and not understanding that she was huge and needed to repect my space. I wish you luck but keep in mind what feral pigs look and thier size and behaviors they for the most part are also known to dislike dogs greatly around here. Do as much research as you can. I wish you luck.

 

[Mini Horses]

Like most all feral, they are often mixed with domestics than have escaped. The interesting thing I see is stripes. Only Mangalista are striped -- as far as I know. Whatever elements she may have, wild is there and even many domestic breeds are unfriendly.

What do you actually want/plan/hope to do with her? It doesn't sound like porkchops but, that would be my goal. While my AGH
pigs were friendly, they were always planned as freezer campers.

Hope it works as you would like.

 

[Baymule]

The stripes are the mark of a true feral rooter hog. Mangalista hogs are striped as piglets because they are not an “improved” breed, but closer to their feral hog origins. They are an old breed, @luvmypets could give us a better history of Mangalista hogs than I can.

 

[JeepGirl]

I am hoping she will stay a bit on the tamer side...but I'm preparing for the worst just to be safe.
I've never seen an adult wild hog in real life but from pictures I know they are quite ugly and large lol
I don't have kids or I don't think I'd chance it!

I think our plan is to fence in a couple of areas that we can't put our goats in because of all the rhododendron and just let her have that space when she's older.
Maybe let her root my garden area up really well for me cause I know I'll never do it myself lol
We don't really deal with pigs so we won't ever breed her, just let her have a good life, whether she turns into a nutjob or not lol
Most importantly we want to make sure she can't escape.

@Baymule love the bowling ball idea, I'll definitely try that.

She is insanely smart.
She learned her name in less than a day, and has learned a few other commands within the last couple of days. You Can Tell She's stubborn though.

 

[Baymule]

Even tame domestic hogs can be dangerous. We have raised feeder pigs for the last 5 years and the only breed that didn’t give me that creepy feeling up my back were Red Wattles. Now we have a nice grow out pen with shelter, water barrel on the outside with a hog nipple that sticks into the pen. No more knocking their water tub over, no more me going in to get it, fending off pigs with a pipe. They will circle behind you for a “taste”. Creepy. The shelter has a opening that we can feed them through. DEFINITELY not going in a pen of hungry pigs with feed! The two we have now are insanely hungry-with a Feed bin kept full. They go nuts over treats, no way I would walk in there with food.

One batch of feeder pigs we had were in the garden space. I wouldn’t go in there if I was by myself and I took a pipe length with me to whack them on the snout. They were Berkshire and Large Black cross, good eating but sneaky devils. I love my Pig Palace, it is much safer for me.

 

[Shellymay]

I recommend you contact someone who raises piglets or a vet to get her fangs clipped/trimmed, they do this on most piglets you purchase for raising as feeder pigs/pets ect…… I am not sure what age they do the first trimming but necessary I believe....

With that being said, we raise one pig a year and we call it our annual pet pig, we always have it slaughter it in or around 10-11 months of age, because we only raise ONE pig I get them young and tame them, they love belly scratches and will roll over just like a dog for them, once pig is tame and big enough we run ours with some of our sheep in pasture, the pig grows up thinking it is a sheep and will graze like a sheep (kid you not) pigs are really really social animals, mine will make friends with my LGD'S my sheep anything that will allow it to hang out with them, we raise ours to come when called for feeding, always make sure when your pigs is older that you give it access to a mudd hole or small pond (not to deep) pigs can't cool off without water to soak in and mudd….I have never had a bad experience to this day yet and have been doing this for around 6-7 years now, the only meds we give our pig is a pelleted wormer twice in the time frame they are on the farm before they become freezer meat...

Now if you have MORE then one pig (also should say we only do female pigs) if more then one then they know they are pigs and they compete with each other and tare everything up, but one pig raised with another animal doesn't know its a pig as long as you raise it from a young (6-7 weeks) average age, tame and release with other animals....

 

[Baymule]

@Shellymay it is good to see you here.

 

[luvmypets]

Hi, yes I raise Manga’s. They basically came about when hungarian nobility bred normal pigs with wild boar over many generations to create the ideal pig they wanted at that time.

As Bay has mentioned you can never fully 100% trust a pig. I am closely bonded to all my breeding animals and they are all very calm, friendly pigs. I love my pigs, pet them, snuggle them, even lay in the dirt with them. But that sweet demeanor can change in an instant and I always have multiple escape plans if needed. 9/10 they bicker amoungst eachother for my attention but every now and then one may be in a mood or I could get caught in the crossfire so I need to be ready to move. They each have their own personalities so certain pigs require more caution than others(cough* prissy). Teaching your gal boundaries is a good place to start.