Not sure what to do from here - graphic story about my pot bellies...

[dwbonfire]

i have two female pot belly pigs that are probably 5-6 months old. they are very small still, but are fed plenty. we had them in a horse stall, which was plenty of room they looked lost in there. a little over a month ago we got 3 lambs from my uncle, they were about 3 months old when we got them, so they were decent sized. we decided to house them in with the pigs, and for the past month or so things have been just fine. 2 days ago i thought one of the lambs was acting a little more low key than the others, but i wasnt real alarmed since she was up and eating and whatnot. well yesterday morning, i got called off early so i didnt make it out to let them out until i got back, which i have been that late before, not the first time. i looked over the door and saw the back half of one of the lambs and thought she was just laying down, then i went into the stall after the pigs bombarded thier way out. i could not believe my eyes. there was my little ewe lamb laying there with her head and face covered in blood, and clearly bite marks and hair missing from her face. this poor thing was still breathing. i immediatly rushed the others out and closed the door and ran into call the vet. i knew there was nothing to be done other than put her down. i rushed her there, and they confirmed she was in shock and dehydrated so between the trauma to her face, the cost it would be to try getting her hydrated, back from shock and healed it was going to be a lot, plus there was no way to know she would pull thru. we decided to end her suffering and put her down. i am so sickened by all of this. i must say since thinking she was a little off, that she must have had something going on and went down over night or early morning, and when the pigs nudged her she must have not fought back or got up, and then they did what they did. i cannot, and do not believe they took her down or over powered her and she couldnt get up. they are much much smaller than her, even though i do know thier strength i still think she was down for another reason unknown, and they saw thier chance. i am so sick over it i dont know what to do. the pigs are just babies themselves. dh seems to think they will do this again and now be seeking out blood. im not sure if i need to get rid of them, or just keep them seperate. i would like to let them roam with everyone (this was my plan once they got a little bigger) but i have ducks, chickens, dogs and cats and horses, and the two sheep. i am worried about any of the animals that cannot seek flight and get away should one of the pigs try to go after them. they havent seemed to bother the other lambs (which are both bigger than the one that was attacked) but i have been keeping them seperate at night for piece of mind.
sorry so winded, i just wanted to be thorough in my story so anyone willing to give advice know everything. will the pigs do this again, or attack the ducks which cant fly? or the other animals? the woman i got them from told me she houses her pigs with her chickens and never had a problem, and another woman i know has a big pot belly in with sheep and goats and mini horses, and no problems. i dont know what to do..

 

[elevan]

DO NOT LET YOUR POT BELLIES ROAM THE YARD WITH YOUR OTHER ANIMALS. DO NOT LET YOUR POT BELLIES BE CONFINED WITH YOUR OTHER ANIMALS. PUT YOUR POT BELLIES IN A SECURE ENCLOSURE OF THEIR OWN WITH THEIR OWN HOUSING. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT THEY ARE PIGS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SMALLER AND STILL HAVE THE SAME DRIVES.

I am truly very sorry for your experience but unfortunately it is a hard lesson learned and if you don't learn from it and heed my advice you WILL lose more animals. Trust me I had the same grand plans you did...until I almost had to put down a full grown horse due to a pot belly attack. Yes, I said full grown horse!!! Heed my advice or get rid of the pots.

 

[PattySh]

I agree, no other animal should ever be housed in the same pen with any type of pig. Once a pig initiates a "kill" and tastes blood I would not consider them safe to be around.

 

[dwbonfire]

:/ ok i will not house them with anything else. the only thing i can think to do is make an outdoor pen for them so they can go from thier stall to outside. im not sure if this is a happy life for them or not.. wow a full grown horse.. i just dont understand how some people have them in with every kind of farm animal and have no troubles.. the woman i know has had hers for years and years, and she quite a big pig, but never caused any trouble to the other animals big or smaller than her. *sigh* can i get rid of them? if so i will need to tell the people what happened right? i mean i know no one will take them if i tell them the story bc they will think the pigs took her down, and i really strongly dont think that was the case. but i cant give them to someone without telling them to be careful..

if i made a pen out of 2x4 welded wire would that keep them in? i could put some kind of stakes to keep them from being able to get under..

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i just dont understand how some people have them in with every kind of farm animal and have no troubles.

they were lucky and that is that. don't beat yourself up too bad. it IS a hard lesson learned and i'm very sorry for your loss.

but you arent alone - i think someone else not too long about had a similar problem.

if i were you i'd put those pigs in the freezer. yes they will go after your other animals and and your birds -- and it wont be long until they can go after you/your kids.

and really - once they get to be a couple hundred pounds they will be able to do some serious damage to your dog if they get it cornered.

if you cant bring yourself to have them slaughtered, sell them for meat. whatever you do, don't sell them to someone as pets. i know you wouldnt want someone to be injured. and dont give them to a rescue where a kind hearted person may try to "rehab" them and be put in danger.

the hard truth is that pigs can be big, mean, and dangerous - even the pot bellied ones.

sorry
:-(

 

[elevan]

i just dont understand how some people have them in with every kind of farm animal and have no troubles.

they were lucky and that is that. don't beat yourself up too bad. it IS a hard lesson learned and i'm very sorry for your loss.

but you arent alone - i think someone else not too long about had a similar problem.

if i were you i'd put those pigs in the freezer. yes they will go after your other animals and and your birds -- and it wont be long until they can go after you/your kids.

and really - once they get to be a couple hundred pounds they will be able to do some serious damage to your dog if they get it cornered.

if you cant bring yourself to have them slaughtered, sell them for meat. whatever you do, don't sell them to someone as pets. i know you wouldnt want someone to be injured. and dont give them to a rescue where a kind hearted person may try to "rehab" them and be put in danger.

the hard truth is that pigs can be big, mean, and dangerous - even the pot bellied ones.

sorry
:-(

I agree. They need to be put down. You would be irresponsible to sell them to someone without telling them. And at this point they cannot be pets. Either put them into your freezer or sell them to someone to butcher.

I gave mine to a needy family to butcher because he "was our pet - he had a name and we could not eat him ourselves".

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Pigs - The only animals I am not allowed to have here.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I may be the odd one out here, but I disagree about having to put them down. They're young, pigs are smart, and they are able to be trained. Just because they happened to bite the lamb that was down doesn't mean they'll attack and eat you and your family. That's the same as saying, "Well, my dog killed a (rabbit, fox, etc) and now it'll go after me and the kids because he tasted blood!" Sorry, I'm not buying it.

Pigs CAN be dangerous, but so can every other animal we raise. Pigs are smart, and can be taught how to act, just like your pet dogs. If you work with them and teach them what's acceptable, they'll learn. If you keep them locked away and treat them badly or don't give them attention, they'll be wild. Potbellies are owned by people all over, and they live in many different circumstances. If they didn't make good pets people wouldn't own them.

 

[elevan]

I may be the odd one out here, but I disagree about having to put them down. They're young, pigs are smart, and they are able to be trained. Just because they happened to bite the lamb that was down doesn't mean they'll attack and eat you and your family. That's the same as saying, "Well, my dog killed a (rabbit, fox, etc) and now it'll go after me and the kids because he tasted blood!" Sorry, I'm not buying it.

Pigs CAN be dangerous, but so can every other animal we raise. Pigs are smart, and can be taught how to act, just like your pet dogs. If you work with them and teach them what's acceptable, they'll learn. If you keep them locked away and treat them badly or don't give them attention, they'll be wild. Potbellies are owned by people all over, and they live in many different circumstances. If they didn't make good pets people wouldn't own them.

Not at all what I'm saying (in bold). If a pot belly is put in the barn / field then it is being raised as livestock.

People who purchase pot bellies as pets tend to do so because they are small and cute and believe that they will stay that way. Most don't take the time to learn about pigs - and pot bellies are pigs regardless. They are NOT dogs and should not be confused as just another type of "dog" as many believe - they are pigs.

The OP's DH is concerned about these pigs and concern often times presents as fear...not good. If the OP is willing to take the time to train then fine. But the OP suggested selling them to become someone else's problem...they shouldn't be sold...if the OP wants them gone then they should go to the freezer.

 

[dwbonfire]

neither of us are affraid of the pigs, they are still so tiny i dont fear them over powering me, and i dont think these ones are going to get very big, the parent pigs were quite small also so i think mine will be about 80 pounds. they do grab at my shoes when i go in to feed them but they always have done this it doesnt intimidate me, although i would rather them not do it. i would not sell them to become someone else's problem, i am trying to figure out how to house them so they do live a happy life, but my other animals and my child stay safe. they are not mean pigs, i just have a hard time looking at them knowing what they did to my poor defenseless little lamb. maybe i am at fault but i'd rather not be told so because its hard enough seeing the image in my head all the time, and knowing if they were kept seperate the lamb may have gone down, but at least the pigs would not have done that to her. im still sick over it. its hard to look at the pigs and not want to kill them with my bare hands, but nature is nature, so to be responsible i will either put an ad for them to be sold for meat or whatever and tell what happened, or i will house them out back in a pen with a shelter and thats where they will live. i knew they would get big, i have seen a lot of pot bellies, but i did not think of them as dangerous. i never imagined one would bite a horses leg badly, or try to eat my lamb when she was down, or ever kill a chicken. like i said, everyone i have known that has them keeps them housed with thier other animals and never had a problem.
at this point, can anyone tell me how they do house thier pot bellies? how big of a pen for them to be happy? what kind of fencing? i thought some 2x4 welded wire with some wooden boards for support around the bottom for support against them pushing into it..