| Feeding Your Miniature Pig |
| Feeding Your Miniature Pig Miniature pigs love to eat so leaving food down like you may for your other pets is not an option. They will eat until it is all gone. It is best to break your miniature pig’s daily food intake into two feedings and possibly a snack time; however, one large feeding is an option. Of course during training additional treats for reward will be required. Miniature pigs should eat grains, vegetables and fruit only. They thrive on high fiber diets with adequate protein. First, a heavy food and water bowl is a must for a miniature pig. They should also have fresh water left out at all times with access to it. We recommend Mazuri miniature pig food for feeding as it has a lower fat content, high protein, and is a well-balanced nutrition feed. Nutrition - Mazuri makes 3 different kinds of miniature PIG FOOD: Mini Pig Youth; Mini Pig ACTIVE Adult; Mini Pig Elder. As the names of each of these products imply, according to the age of your pig, you should choose which of the 3 pig foods are right for your pig. Mazuri mini pig food has all the nutrition that your miniature pig will need for its proper development and health needs. Please be careful not to over-feed your miniature pig. (Never feed your miniature pig any feed with growth hormones) You should supplement your miniature pig food with fresh fruits and vegetables to insure a happy healthy miniature pig. As your pig grows you should increase the amount of food he receives. We recommend that you give your pig what can be referred to as a “pig salad” daily. A salad in pig nutrition would be 2/3 vegetables and 1/3 fruit. Miniature pigs should be allowed to yard graze at least one hour daily to obtain the roughage needed for optimal health. If this is not possible the “pig salad” will serve as the roughage. However, even pigs that are allowed to graze can still enjoy and reap the benefits of a “pig salad” just reduce the serving size. Youth can have ½ cup daily and you can increase this as your pig grows. You can choose a few fruits and vegetables and offer a variety in your rotation of salad preparations. Miniature pigs love fruits and vegetables. We feed ours lots of carrots, tomatoes, greens, cabbage, oranges, raisons and grapes to name a few. There are numerous fruits and vegetables at your local market in season that your miniature pig will enjoy. We recommend that you use fresh whenever possible, but frozen vegetables are an option. Watch out for the fruits like bananas that have a higher calorie intake as you need to be mindful of your miniature pig’s weight at all times. However, they love bananas even the peel. Lower calorie vegetables can be given in larger servings as your miniature pig ages. We recommend a serving daily of fresh fruits or vegetables. This is also another great reward for training your miniature pig. As you experiment with the different options you will discover that your miniature pig will have his or her favorites and this differs from one pig to another. A few of ours are crazy for cabbage while others may prefer carrots or green beans. Our full grown pigs generally have at least one cup of fresh fruits or vegetables daily. See fruit and vegetable option list at the end of this article. Miniature pigs need protein in their diets which is included in the Mazuri miniature pig food. However they also enjoy nuts, sparingly of course due to higher fat content but this is an option for treats or training. Always be mindful of your miniature pigs weight, if they accumulate a lot of fat under the neck or on their hips, they are overeating. Finally, refrain from giving your miniature pig table scraps. If you feed your miniature pig when you eat, then your miniature pig will associate your dinner time with his own. If this happens you can create a miniature pig that begs each time you are eating and you may no longer be able to enjoy your own meal time; because your miniature pig is trying to get his or her meal. It is best to disassociate you meal time from that of your miniature pig. It is best to have a dedicated feeding time for your miniature pig. By doing this your miniature pig will have expectations of when to eat and not be a constant beggar throughout the day. Your miniature pig will eat as much as you give it. It is up to you to monitor, how much you feed your miniature pig and when you feed your miniature pig. Treats should be the exception and not the rule. If you are training your miniature pig, or rewarding your miniature pig for an accomplishment, then treats are appropriate. Everyday treats could give your miniature pig the expectation that if he or she begs you enough you will feed them. This is a slippery slope that you do not want to go down. It is hard to overcome a miniature pigs constant begging because they have been spoiled with food, or food issued as a method of quieting them down. This is probably a great time to mention as well that you should never feed your miniature pig directly from your refrigerator. Miniature pigs are very smart and in no time at all they will learn how to open the refrigerator on their own and eat everything that is within their reach. The same rule applies to your pantry or any other food source within your miniature pigs reach. Child safety locks are ideal for lower cabinets that food is stored in. Fruits, vegetables, and snack options for your miniature pig are just a few suggestions there are too many to list, Cheerios are a great treat, snack and training reward. The following can be given in larger quantities: (Wash all before serving) lettuce (no nutritional value but low calorie and a great filler), cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, cabbage (can cause gas, but miniature pigs love it) green beans, kale, squash, carrots Smaller quantity options: Bananas, banana peels (no citrus peels) peaches (no pits), pears, melons, eggplant, corn, peeled oranges, peeled tangerines, apples, grapes, peas *** Just so you are aware, miniature pigs should never consume acorns over a long period of time or in large quantities as this will have a toxic effect on them. If your yard is full of them and you allow your pig to yard graze please remove them as your pig will eat them non-stop |
