Pig Facts

Pig Facts 1

Piglets generally have a designated teat when born, first babies, are typically the strongest and they will occupy the teats closest to moms head, as they are fullest, the weakest piglet will end up to the rear

Pig Facts 2

golden rule for pregnant sows is 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days. the timing of the babies is important to watch, as baby moves down birth canal the umbilical cord can rupture, at that point the baby only has about 5 min of oxygen, typically 15-20 min inbetween is 👍🏻

Pig Facts 3

pigs are great escape artists, even when you think you have everything set up pigs have panoramic view of 310•. Allowing them to see an escape point behind them. When everything is going well and moving pigs seems easy, they have already plotted 18 escape routes!

Pig Facts 4

Pigs actually grow very quickly, in the first week they will about double their weight form 2 lbs to about 5. By the time they are weaned, at 6-8 weeks they are about 20-25 lbs… market weight is approx 220-260 ideally and this is reached by 6-8 months

Pig Facts 5

‘Sweating like a pig’ is another false term people use, pigs do not have sweat glands, to keep cool they bath and roll in mud, this also helps to prevent sunburns. If you have a kiddy pool, or even a hose some pigs will prefer to cool down that way while they play

Pig Facts 6

There is no such thing as Micro pigs or teacup pigs. To keep pigkets ‘small’ they can be inbred, early weaning, or under feeding.. there is also injections you can get that stunts growth, with the initial abuse they will live short lives

Pig Facts 7

Pigs are very social animals, the enjoy contact, and lots of belly rubs. They prefer to lay close to each other and usually can be found sleeping nose to nose or a piggy pile up, and with constant communication.

Pig Facts 8

Normal predators can make meals out of piglets but so can Eagles and large birds. They will swoop in, grab the back with talons and try and take flight, they can’t get far at one time due to the weight of the piglet, but that doesn’t stop them

Pig Facts 9

The first transplant from pig to human was done in jan 2022, where a modified pig heart was transplanted into a 57 yr old terminal heart disease patient, the patient lived for 61 days

Pig Facts 10

Pigs are ranked the 4th smartest animal to train, puts them ahead of dogs, they can be trained to hunt, pull things, push things, dance fetch and sniff out land mines ect. They are the second closest relative to man after the ape

Pig Facts 11

Pigs are usually butchered around 250 lbs, (6-8 months) very doable for spring farrowing and fall butchering. resulting in approx 155 lbs of meat cuts and ground pork for your freezer

Pig Facts 12

Pigs strongest sense is smell 🐽 , it is said that it’s better by 2000 times of that of a human, and can smell out something 25 ft below ground. They have been trained for use as drug sniffers as well as the best at finding truffles!

Pig Facts 13

Pigs are very social animals, and thrive better in groups, they are known to be the friendliest animals on a farm always waiting for scratches and interaction. ‘Winston Churchill Dogs look up to man. Cats look down to man. Pigs look us straight in the eye and see an equal.”

Pig Facts 14

Domestic and pot belly pigs are known to have a bite of 200-300 psi ( pounds of force per square inch) average human bite is 120-140 psi as a comparison.

Pig Facts 15

Tail docking is a common practice to reduce tail biting/ chewing in groups of pigs. It is much more common when pigs are left confined to small spaces, overly stressed or bored. They will indeed bite the entire tail off .

Pig Facts 16

People believe pigs will eat anything, while this is mostly true there are some plants that many over look… nightshade is one of the many that can kill your pigs, and fast. First loss of muscle use, paralysis, convulsions then a coma resulting in death.

Pig Facts 17

The Mangalitsa or Mangalica pig (means ‘pig with a lot of lard)has a wooly coat like a sheep, they almost went extinct in the 90’s when ‘fat’ was deemed bad, with only 200 registered left. They grow slow, withstand cold great, and the boar can reach up to 1000 lbs

Pig Facts 18

The Hereford Hog is an American breed of domestic pig. It is named for its color and pattern, which is similar to that of the Hereford breed of cattle: red with a white face. Mature males weigh at 800 lbs, sows 600, butcher weight of 250 lbs by 5-6 months old

Pig Facts 19

Tamworth pig aka ‘Irish grazer’, they can be raised in all climates as the red colour protects from sunburns and they have thick skin to protect from harsh winters. They do great in wooded type pastures as they are excellent foragers.. considered the best bacon producers

Pig Facts 20

Kune kune pigs (pronounced cooney cooney) which means short and round. they have upturned snouts that discourage rooting. They are a grazing pig, but generally a much smaller breed with females weighing 175 lbs and makes topping at around 250.

Pig Facts 21

Pigs are mostly know for their production of pork but there is more to these bacon makers

Pig Facts 22

duroc pigs have large drooping ears, are known for their fast growing ability and can reach butcher weight in as little as 5 months. Sows quality of litters makes them a great investment, but the boars are known for aggressiveness, they need to be properly socialized.

Pig Facts 23

Piglets are born with slippers . These are meant to prevent injury to the sow while the piglets are in utero. They will fall off within min of being born once they start moving around. Can’t find a pic, so I’ll just use a pic of this wee thing

Pig Facts 24

the ‘Gentlemen that pays the rent’ in Ireland referred to the families pig, a pig was means for a farmer to pay rent for a small piece of land (1/4 acre) big enough to grow potatoes for food for their families, most pigs shared the quarters with their keepers,

Pig Facts 25

a congenital condition called Anal atresia, its when piglets are born without buttholes. It is difficult to repair and therefore these piglets must be euthanized. We seen it in a first time sow, most likely due to inbreeding from the farm we purchased her from .

Pig Facts 26

American Yorkshire Pig (AKA English Large White) A breed that originated in England. The American Yorkshire is a good meat producer. Also considered a bacon breed, Yorkshires produce a high percentage of lean meat on the carcass and low amount of backfat.

Pig Facts 27

simple equation to weigh pig with out a scale… ( girth x girth x length divide by 400) for heart girth measure around chest right behind the front legs… for length start at between ears and measure down back to base of tail.

Pig Facts 28

Piglets are born with 8 razor sharp teeth, some call them milk teeth, needle teeth, 4 canine and 4 incisors they are recommended to be cut as early as as possible to prevent injury to moms teats as well as injuries to other piglets causing infections.

Pig Facts 29

Another uncommon/endangered breed of pig is called a Mulefoot, they are the only domestic breed I can think of that has hooves similar to a mule/horse. Breed was in demand as it was said they are immune to swine diseases, demand died out once vax were available

Pig Facts 30

Pigs small intestine is used to repair many things in the human body, it is used as a graph in tissues, ulcers, hernias and organs ect . It prompts the human body to build new material, it will dismantle the graph as it creates and repairs new growth/cells

Pig Facts 31

There is many myths and tales of pigs, across all different beliefs and religions… the legend is pretty good read if you have time , here’s a summary of one take

Pig Facts 32

Hampshire pigs are claimed to be possibly the oldest domesticated pig, has a white belt around tummy and front legs, great mothering, large litters and a calm pig. They are known for heavier muscles and lean meat. Very commonly taking 1st in competitions.

Pig Facts 33

Thanks to @SteveOO6969 todays fact is brought to you by the movie jackass. 😂 Pigs are number 1 with highest sperm count at 60-80 billion

Pig Facts 34

along with the use of pigs in surgery’s, they are used for so many more every day items, of which a true vegan shouldn’t have or use as that would be considered a by product. Will include other animals in comments.

Pig Facts 35

One of a pigs defences is their ear piercing squeals, measured in decibels at 115db, in comparison; a jet is 130db and a tractor about 85db, in large commercial pig barns, ear perfection is recommended as constant exposure to 85 db can result in hearing loss.

Pig Facts 36

as garden season begins many people will need to correct nitrogen levels in the soils, dried blood meal is sold at garden centres and it’s made from dried pork blood (and/or cow) fyi also helps to deter deer out of garden

Pig Facts 37

Pig fat has many uses, leaf fat(near kidneys) is a bakers dream once rendered. It doesn’t carry a flavour of pork and used in baking, back fat is the thick solid fat surrounding most of the animal, used for sausage making, or lard like tenderflake

Pig Facts 38

All pigs grow tusks, usually visible around 18+ months but how fast is based largely on wild vs domesticated, as well as testosterone levels. An intact male will grow faster then a casterated male, as well as a spayed female will grow slower then an intact.

Pig Facts 39

No matter how domesticated a pig is, if it’s found it’s self lose in the wild it will take on habits of that of wild boars, almost instantly and within the first litter the babies will lose most of the traits and even appearance of the domesticated pigs we are used to

Pig Facts 40

todays fact is more useless information you didn’t really need to know 😂 ….in 1859 canada and USA, almost went to war, later called the pig war, when an American farmer shot and killed a Canadian pig that was eating his potatoes

Pig Facts 41

Just before labour, sows begin making a nest to welcome her babies.. this is one of our old stubborn and saucy sows that didn’t approve of our farrowing pen, so she broke out, collected her own beddings, and made a 3.5 ft high pile, 2 ft from where we put her.

Pig Facts 42

Pigs don’t have to many defensive characteristics when it comes to being prey, but they can run. Domestic pigs average is about 17 km/h or 11 m/h. Wild pigs average 24 km/h or 15 m/h. They will run in a zig zag pattern to escape predators

Pig Facts 43

Big bill the pig as he was named was the largest pig in history, at his death he weighed 2550lbs, stood 5 ft at shoulders, and was 9 ft long. Here’s a little story I found on him.

Pig Facts 44

Pork is a great source for vitamin B12, thiamin (B1), vitamin B6, niacin (B3), phosphorus, and pantothenic acid (B5). All which help to protect/improve immune systems, fight cancers, heart disease, energy, blood pressure ect so many reasons to bbq some tonight 😉

Pig Facts 45

For decades ham has become a staple for Easter dinner. Traditionally hogs were sent to market in October, meat was then salted and cured in the cooler temperatures, minimal ozone spoilage, the curing process took about 6 months, so timing was perfect to enjoy at Easter

Pig Facts 46

As much as pigs love their typical routines,feedings, rolling in mud,napping and laying in the sun,they are also playful and do enjoy toys, balls, any tug of war toy you would find in a dog section will do,

Pig Facts 47

Pigs are social animals that form matriarchal herds (lead by females) typically comprised of 2-6 sows and their offspring. Boars don’t have any permanent association with such groups. They’re either solitary or be among ‘bachelor groups’.

Pig Facts 48

Theres no actual proof as to how the pigs took up residence on an isolated island in bahamas,big major cay, aka pig beach,some say it was pirates that dropped them off but never returned,another tale is that the pigs survived a ship wreck and made their way there

Pig Facts 49

pigs can breath through their butts… early on when Covid started, there was a worry of running out of ventilator. Research began, studies were done on pigs, and evidence that suggests, pigs can absorb oxygen thru their intestines.

Pig Facts 50

Pigs will eat almost anything, vegetation to meat , but they do not hunt, if a smaller animal has become lunch, it was purely wrong place at the wrong time. They will take advantage of an animal that is injured, or stuck and won’t hesitate in an easy snack.

Pig Facts 51

1914-1915 German gov capped the value of potatoes so pig farmers fed potato to pigs instead of market, gov then ordered the slaughter of 9 mil pigs, not realizing that with out the manure from pig farms the crops yield was low, and potatoes became sparse

Pig Facts 52

The landrace pig is a danish pig breed, they have a longer snout, huge droopy ears and are known for their length, producing high weights for loins and hams. But pure breds are knows for weak hind ends, splay legs.

Pig Facts 53

An article written in 2016, that they have been able to trap methane from pig manure and convert that into ‘green energy’ , Notth Carolina has a unique law that requires electric companies to use hog manure as a fuel source.

Pig Facts 54

Another practice by some pig farms (not all…relax karen) is that Pigs’ ears are sometimes used for identification. The left ear identifies the pig number within its litter and the right ear signals the litter number.

Pig Facts 55

Dippity Pig Syndrome The onset of symptoms is often quite sudden. The weakness and sensitivity in the back legs can occur in a matter of hours. A perfectly normal pig can be incapacitated three hours later. Any skin eruptions or lesions can occur in a matter of minutes.

Pig Facts 56

Anemia in piglets . Piglets are born with low iron levels which can lead to severe ill health or death. Naturally sows iron is low during farrowing so piglets will get additional iron from soil, feed ect…kept indoors they will likely require a iron shot to supplement

Pig Facts 57

Boar taint is from a male pig that’s reached puberty, as early as 3-9 months depending on breed, will make the meat have an odour and off taste of sweat/urine. This is why we castrate male piglets raised for meat as soon as possible.