Yes, we now have pigs! They’re Kuni-Kuni pigs, which originated in New Zealand and then subsequently became popular over here. Peppa is in the first picture, she has the more splodgy coloured markings, Pugwash is darker. They are approx. 8months old so just about fully grown. They have very short legs but can certainly move fast when they want to – especially when food is around.
Kuni Kuni’s have sweet little faces with a slightly squashy nose, this one is Peppa. They are difficult to photograph because, like most pigs, all they think about is food and they spend a lot of time snuffling around to see if they’ve missed anything. These two love carrots as a titbits, but they will eat almost anything. Peppa and Pugwash are brother and sister (Pugwash has been neutered) and they are best friends as well, although Pugwash is a bit more dominant and tries to get more than his fair share of food. They are friendly and companiable and love having their backs scratched. Pigs have quite bristly hair, the markings on these two are very attractive.
Peppa and Pugwash were saved from slaughter and we are looking for a good home for them. To be able to keep pigs you need sufficient room for them to go outdoors and get exercise, we don’t like to see them cramped up in a small space, they need to roam about and they love to root in the mud – pigs are excellent ground clearing gardeners. They will live in quite a small shed and it’s easy to make one for them, they don’t need a lot of height but it does need to be warm and cosy.
Pigs are, contrary to popular belief, very clean creatures and if they are given the opportunity to go outdoors, will always make their own toilet arrangements and never soil their bed. So if you put a couple of bales of straw in their shed it will stay clean. They are only messy if they are kept in too small an area, once a pig has decided where the toilet is, they will not go in any other place. It’s said that pigs are the creatures most like humans in their make up, their blood and organs are similar to ours. They are nowhere near as destructive, aggressive or polluting as humans though!
We’d like to find a home for these two great Kuni Kuni’s – or have enough funds to make them a really large outdoor paddock. Donations anyone?
If you would like to adopt them please be aware that you need a holding number before you can keep pigs and this is obtained from Defra. These are farm animals and there are regulations regarding their transportation also. It isn’t difficult to get either a holding number or a movement license but these rules have to be complied with. We call pigs farm animals but of course that is just how we keep this species. In reality they are creatures who should be living in freedom and pigs love woodland areas most of all. Isn’t it sad that most humans want to keep them in cramped captivity and then eat them. [donate]