Pigs

I have collected pig figurines for a while. The whole thing started when I saw a brightly colored pottery piggy bank at a shop in Rehoboth Beach. For some reason I just had to have it. It was not expensive and I actually went back into the store and bought it after walking out initally. Since then I have gotten a few more pig related items, most of which I have at work. A co-worker did the same and while she was employed at the same company, we traded some items. I don’t know why because I don’t really like the animals themselves all that much. But pig figurines and stuffed animals really appeal to me.

Recently there has been some press about teacup pigs. They are all the rage in the UK and right now are just being introduced to the American market. I went online to find out more about it and found that teacups are really potbellied pigs that have been stunted by not feeding the animal enough. Essentially it is animal cruelty which shortens their lifespan and does not allow them to fully mature. In addition, underfed pigs can become aggressive because they are hungry all the time.

The piglets are really cute. I mean look at them. Can you really deny that they aren’t the cutest things you ever saw? They can be housetrained, are more intelligent than people think, and apparently need a lot of attention because they bore easily. I supposed since they don’t stay tiny and cute people don’t realize what they have. They can breed at the age of 3-4 months and so when the breeder shows the piglet’s parents to you they are small, so you get fooled thinking the piglet will not grow any larger. As a result, there are quite a few pig rescue centers in the UK where people have abandoned their pet pigs because the pig grew out of their cute piglet stage. As with other animals bred for being pets, adoption is encouraged rather than getting from a breeder to discourage over population.

Pigs can cost upward of $3000, shipping included. They range in price like other purebred animals based on their lineage and of course their size. But after they get out of their cute piglet size they can get big. A fully grown pig can get to be 65 pounds to over 100 pounds. They are about 1/10th the size of a farm pig (which can weigh over 1000 pounds) and live for about 15 -20 years. It does take a while for the pig to mature growing even past the age of four. If you go to the Southern California Association for Miniature Potbellied Pigs site they have pictures of cute, tiny piglets that have grown to over 100 pounds to show you that these cute little animals will not stay cute and tiny.

Right now, I think I will stick to my beautiful furry Maine Coon cats and continue to collect pig figurines. First of all I don’t have the time to devote to a pig and second we probably don’t have the zoning required for keeping a pig, even a pet.