Okay the sight of pigs makes me want curl up in a ball & pray not to die. They scare me silly. DH likes them. He has been talking about maybe getting some one day. I am honstly afaird id get eaten. But I also need to get over this. I saw a ad for a kune kune with a toddler and it peaked my intrest. Im wondering if i got a pet pig would it eat me or my kids someday?
If i get a pig will it eat me?
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ohiofarmgirl
Overrun with beasties
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maybe.
i know - not the answer you were looking for. are you wanting pigs for food or friends?
pigs can be big, mean, and very very strong. personally i would never have one for a pet. ever. and i mean never ever. i dont recommend it to anyone if you have doubts - do some research on how many "cute little pigs" get turned into animal control b/c people find out they can be big, mean, and very very strong.
some folks will say that pigs are "just like dogs." i think this is ridiculous. the difference is, if i fall down in the yard my dogs will come and lay down by me until my husband gets home - then they will lead him to me. if i fell down in the pig yard they would start chewing on me.
we raise pigs for food and i do not get into the pen with them and only approach the fence with a couple of big dogs and a hickory stock cane. i do this because a couple years go one of our pigs tried to come over the fence at me - to get the feed bucket. other folks here will tell you of their injuries or folks they know who've been hurt by them.
old timers will tell you they wont let their kids around the hogs until they (kids) are older. those of us in the know would tell you that those people with their toddlers in with the pigs dont like they kids very much. sure its a cute picture - until someone gets hurt.
and just like any animal - if you are nervous around them they will know it... which kinda puts you at the loosing end of a fight.
so i guess if you arent in it 'whole hog' then maybe consider ducks!?
i know - not the answer you were looking for. are you wanting pigs for food or friends?
pigs can be big, mean, and very very strong. personally i would never have one for a pet. ever. and i mean never ever. i dont recommend it to anyone if you have doubts - do some research on how many "cute little pigs" get turned into animal control b/c people find out they can be big, mean, and very very strong.
some folks will say that pigs are "just like dogs." i think this is ridiculous. the difference is, if i fall down in the yard my dogs will come and lay down by me until my husband gets home - then they will lead him to me. if i fell down in the pig yard they would start chewing on me.
we raise pigs for food and i do not get into the pen with them and only approach the fence with a couple of big dogs and a hickory stock cane. i do this because a couple years go one of our pigs tried to come over the fence at me - to get the feed bucket. other folks here will tell you of their injuries or folks they know who've been hurt by them.
old timers will tell you they wont let their kids around the hogs until they (kids) are older. those of us in the know would tell you that those people with their toddlers in with the pigs dont like they kids very much. sure its a cute picture - until someone gets hurt.
and just like any animal - if you are nervous around them they will know it... which kinda puts you at the loosing end of a fight.
so i guess if you arent in it 'whole hog' then maybe consider ducks!?
patandchickens
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Yes, they will fly out of their pen and walk straight thru the solid walls of your house and eat you as you sleep on the sofa some evening. Run away!!! 
LOL, they are just animals. I mean, if you got a pig, how would you keep/confine it? If it's in a REALLY TRULY PIGPROOF enclosure (which is not, apparently, all that easy to do - but by no means impossible) and things are arranged so that if you have to be the one feeding/watering it you can do so from safely over the fence... then what's the problem?
OTOH if the plan would be to cheap out on the fencing and just hope it doesn't get loose, then it doesn't sound fair to get an animal that you would be afraid of if it were loose and unable to constructively deal with.
Pat
LOL, they are just animals. I mean, if you got a pig, how would you keep/confine it? If it's in a REALLY TRULY PIGPROOF enclosure (which is not, apparently, all that easy to do - but by no means impossible) and things are arranged so that if you have to be the one feeding/watering it you can do so from safely over the fence... then what's the problem?
OTOH if the plan would be to cheap out on the fencing and just hope it doesn't get loose, then it doesn't sound fair to get an animal that you would be afraid of if it were loose and unable to constructively deal with.
Pat
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TigerLilly
Loving the herd life
I've heard if a pig is starved that it will...but I've also read stories in the news about Granny croaking & having her starving cats start eating her!Ninny said:
freemotion
Self Sufficient Queen
Pigs will eat flesh. Absolutely. My dad tells of a time he had a dead rabbit and threw it into the pig pen just to see what would happen....and it didn't even hit the ground before it was gone.
I had an incident with my pigs....still quite small, like a medium dog....when I got scratched by a raspberry thorn while walking in their pasture. They INSTANTLY zero'd in on the blood on my leg and after that, they would "taste" me at every opportunity. It creeped me out. I KNEW they were tasting me. I stopped going into their pasture. One day, while reaching in to dump the water tub to add fresh water, one came over quickly and I pulled my hand out just in time...I felt teeth on my hand.
By the time they were 40 lbs they were dumping their big water tub with one quick and effortless move. It is a 20 gallon tub, filled it weighs over 160 lbs.
When I started telling this story, I was horrified at all the stories that came back to me....so many people had someone in their lives with a missing finger or a close call with a pig. I'm not talking about stories that start with, "I have a friend who's husband's college roommate's grandmother's cousin....." Rather, the stories start with, "My Aunt Mary lost her finger when...."
My pigs were cute and nice and quite friendly at first. One drop of blood on my leg and I was suddenly the food rather than the bearer of food.
Just animals? Nope. Like alligators and apes and tigers, they do not make good pets. It is a rare one that does. Be realistic and smart. Pigs are for eating. I mean, us eating them.
I had an incident with my pigs....still quite small, like a medium dog....when I got scratched by a raspberry thorn while walking in their pasture. They INSTANTLY zero'd in on the blood on my leg and after that, they would "taste" me at every opportunity. It creeped me out. I KNEW they were tasting me. I stopped going into their pasture. One day, while reaching in to dump the water tub to add fresh water, one came over quickly and I pulled my hand out just in time...I felt teeth on my hand.
By the time they were 40 lbs they were dumping their big water tub with one quick and effortless move. It is a 20 gallon tub, filled it weighs over 160 lbs.
When I started telling this story, I was horrified at all the stories that came back to me....so many people had someone in their lives with a missing finger or a close call with a pig. I'm not talking about stories that start with, "I have a friend who's husband's college roommate's grandmother's cousin....." Rather, the stories start with, "My Aunt Mary lost her finger when...."
My pigs were cute and nice and quite friendly at first. One drop of blood on my leg and I was suddenly the food rather than the bearer of food.
Just animals? Nope. Like alligators and apes and tigers, they do not make good pets. It is a rare one that does. Be realistic and smart. Pigs are for eating. I mean, us eating them.
My cousins' dad was a police investigator at the time that the mob was infamous. More than once he investigated , but not proven, the disappearance of cops that were supposedly hit and never found. Most clues led to pig farms where not a shred of a body part or bone evidence was ever found.
jhm47
True BYH Addict
I got 30+ stitches from a boar that tusked me in my right leg. It happened in the blink of an eye. They are not pets. Took most of the summer to heal. Pig teeth/mouths are full of nasty bacteria, and I got a horrible infection.
elevan
Critter Addict ♥
My uncle has a titanium knee for the same reason.jhm47 said:
And we just had to put down a pot belly pig for seriously injuring one of our horses. He took a huge chunk out of his leg. He was a 150 pound adult. And most of you are talking about full size pigs which weigh a whole lot more.
country freedom
Chillin' with the herd
Pigs are food animals - NOT PETS!
I've seen two pigs tear a live hen into two pieces - one got ahold of her wing, another got her leg and just tore her apart - alive!
At feeding time, you really have to be aware of them - they are hungry, and they will go after you - feed pigs while you are on the opposite side of the fence-line.
When I was younger (around 10 yrs old), I had to defend myself with a tobacco stick from our family's hungry pigs, when I fell from the rafters into the pig-sty, in our barn - I was a tomboy. I guess it was getting close to slop-time.
IMO - pigs are beautiful, but, dangerous.
I would rank them under bulls as being just that dangerous.
Pigs and bulls are not pets, only food on the hoof.
I've seen two pigs tear a live hen into two pieces - one got ahold of her wing, another got her leg and just tore her apart - alive!
At feeding time, you really have to be aware of them - they are hungry, and they will go after you - feed pigs while you are on the opposite side of the fence-line.
When I was younger (around 10 yrs old), I had to defend myself with a tobacco stick from our family's hungry pigs, when I fell from the rafters into the pig-sty, in our barn - I was a tomboy. I guess it was getting close to slop-time.
IMO - pigs are beautiful, but, dangerous.
I would rank them under bulls as being just that dangerous.
Pigs and bulls are not pets, only food on the hoof.
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