Piggy Starter Kit

Items to have ready before you bring home your first pet pig

So, you purchased a piglet and it's time to bring him or her home... Now What?  What should you have ready for your new piglet?  What's the best set-up?  Should you get everything now or wait til piggy comes home?  We hope the following piggy start kit helps you as you prepare for your baby.

Piggy Crate

A crate makes a great home for your piglet.  We prefer the large or extra large dog crates.  They can be shrunk with a panel that is included with the crate when they are small, and then you can expand once piggy starts to grow.
There are a lot of reasons to give your piggy a crate:

• It gives your pig a safe space that is his or hers

• It prevents your pig from becoming too possessive of your space (the rest of your house)

• It gives you a prime location for timeouts

• It's needed for proper potty training

• It's where piggy can stay when you are out so they don't get into trouble

Piggy Bowl
Your piggy will need a good bowl.  There are a few that we recommend.  If you want to help piggy slow down as he or she eats, you can get bowls that have obstacles.  This forces piggy to eat slower and savor dinner.
The type of bowls that mount on the cage are great, because pigs are infamous bowl flippers.  This prevents piggy from being about to flip over their water bowl and leave you a big wet mess.
The third bowl is a heavy double bowl for food and water.  It's not completely impervious to flipping, but it does seem to help some pigs not make as big of a mess.

Mini Pig Food

Make sure to purchase a food that is formulated for mini pigs.  Mazuri is the most common brand sold for Mini Pigs.  A proper diet for your mini pig is very important.  A pig fed the wrong food can become extremely obese and have a lot of health issues as they age.
NEVER FEED DOG FOOD!

Harness & Leash
We like to use step-in dog harnesses for young piglets.  As your pig grows, there are places online that sell harnesses made specifically for pigs.  Piggear.com sells pig harnesses.  Rossmillfarms.com also sells pig harnesses.
Any leash of your preference will work with a pig.  We suggest taking teaching your pig to wear a harness and walk on a leash at a young age.  You will be glad you did!

Rooting Box

An indoor rooting box is a great way to entertain your indoor pig especially in the winter when it's too cold to go and play.
A rooting box can be made out of a large plastic container, a wooden box, a small kiddie swimming pool or in a large dog cage.  Smooth large rocks, plastic balls, crumpled papers, etc. make great items for a rooting box.  You can sprinkle pig pellets, coconut oil, cheerios, etc. in the rooting box, and your pig will have an afternoon of rooting fun!

Litter Box
There are a variety of containers that can be used as a pig litter box.  When your piglet is a baby, a cat litter box works well.  However, as they grow you will need a larger litter box.  We like the under-the-bed sweater boxes you can find in most household departments.  There are also good boxes you can find at home depot or tractor supply.

Fresh Water

Fresh water is very important for you pig.  Your pig should have access to fresh water at all times.  Pigs that don't drink enough tend to get urinary tract infections.  If you think your pig doesn't drink enough water, you can add a little juice to entice your pig to drink more.

Litter
Pine pellets are our favorite type of litter for pigs.  We have found that pine shavings clog our vacuums, and the pellets seem to create less of a mess overall.  The equine pine pellets can be found at tractor supply or animal feed stores.  You can also get all natural pine pellets at your local pet stores.
NEVER USE CAT LITTER!  Your pig will eat it and it is toxic!!

Blankets

Pigs LOVE blankets!  Pigs love to root blankets and towels, the love to curl up underneath them and sleep.  The best investment you can make for you pet pig is a big fluffy, warm blanket.  Some people even like to get their piggies heating blankets for the winter.

Toys/ Enrichment
A bored pig can be a very destructive and irritable animal!  If you are not around during the day, you need to find your pig something to do with it's time. 
You can set up an area outside for your pig to play during the day.  An outside area should have an area that is shade covered, a dog house or igloo with hay, and a secure fence that is strong enough to hold your piglet.  Make sure that your pig will be safe from animals or predators in their outside play area.
There are a lot of things you can make or put together to enrich their days.  Most activities that will interest your pig will consist of food.  Try not to over treat them, but most toys without food do not usually interest a pig.
Things like balls are normally not interesting to a pig.  Puzzles with treats, however, are a big hit!