6 Week Old Juliana Pig Rooting

What I've Learned About Mini Pigs (Juliana Pigs)

As of today, I've had my Lil' Pig for 24 days. He is 6 weeks old. He is litter box trained and completely weaned off milk. So today, I'm going to post some things I've learned about mini pigs.

• First: Pigs make noise all day! I didn't know this, and I was thinking that he was hungry all the time. I did some reading and it's normal... thank goodness! My pig makes all different kinds of noises. It's hard to describe them. He makes happy noises. Hungry noises. Playing noises. Little short barking type noise when running. When I get better at understanding his noises, I'll post more about them. 

• Second: My pig LOVES attention. You can't give him too much attention. He'd let you scratch his belly literally all day long if you'd let him. 

• Third: Pigs don't naturally love to take a bath. I thought my pig would love taking a bath. He didn't. Giving a mini-pig a bath is just like giving a new puppy a bath. They don't like it at first. Hopefully, my pig will get used to it.

• Fourth: Pigs can run fast. Most people don't think of pigs as runners, but they can book it on them stubby, little legs! My Lil' Pig can run fast, and he loves to run! I walk my pig around the yard daily and he runs and plays. He has our walking path memorized. I haven't started working on leash training. My yard is big enough to let him walk freely while supervised. I plan on leash training soon so that I can take him to parks and on nature walks with me.

Hanging With the Bunnies

• Fifth: Pigs are stubborn and sassy. I decided to start some basic training with my pig. I want to teach him to sit. I got him to do it one time so far. When he decides he doesn't want to do it, he'll give me this sassy look and just walk off shaky his booty! Pigs listen when they want to unlike a dog. 

• Sixth: Pigs are smart. I litter box trained my pig in under two weeks. He memorized our walking path. He knows his name. He'll come inside when I tell him to after play time. 

• Seventh: Pigs are playful. My Lil' Pig reminds me of a puppy in many ways. Like a puppy, my pig will try to play and bite gently. And like you'd stop a puppy from biting, you tell the pig no. He will push toys around. He even bit the nose off of a cheap toy I got him just like a puppy. Unlike a puppy, a pig tends to push or drag his toys around with his nose. I got a cat tent for my pig and he likes to shove a stuffed rabbit into the cat tent for some reason. 

Soaking Up Some Sun

 Well, that's all I'm going to post for now. Enjoy your weekend!

Lil' Pig is Litter Box Trained

Lil' Pig is now officially litter box trained! It took around 15 days to completely train him. I had to stay on it. I watched him closely and when I saw him peeing on the floor, I would pick him up and put in the box. I also put him in the box every time he woke up from a nap. I also weaned him off of milk which really helped because he don't have to pee as much any more. He has free access to water, but doesn't drink it like he was drinking milk. Litter box training is not as easy as some people say, but I would say it is faster than trying to train a little dog like a Chihuahua.

When I first started training Lil' Pig, one woman had wrote to just leave the box out and the pig will just start using it. Not true. If you expect this, then you might be disappointed. Not all pigs are the same, so some might start doing it that quickly, but some will not. If you stay on it and are patient, then your pig will learn to use the box however.

Lil' Pig Hanging With Baby Girl

Lil Pig Has Been Here 10 Days

     I got my Lil' Pig 10 days ago. When I first brought him home, he'd squeal like crazy when I picked him up. Now, he might squeal just slightly at first, but nowhere near like it was. He is getting used to me. I thought I got a defective pig when I first heard him squeal! I was thinking no wonder he's the last one left! Then, I learned that most all do that!

    I wouldn't say that Lil' Pig is completely litter box trained. I still have to coax him in the box basically every time he has to use it. I catch him when he first wakes up, then I coax him to use the box. He rarely uses the box on his own. He has, and he knows how, but I still have to coax him. I put a pee pad under the litter box, and he usually will pee on the pad at night while I'm sleeping.

     He eats pellets now. When I first brought him home, he was drinking milk only. I started mixing pellets with his milk which he would drink the milk and ignore the pellet paste. So, I just put out a small kitten bowl with some pellets in it and changed his milk times. Changing the milk times is what encouraged him to start eating his pellets. I changed it from him getting milk every 3-4 hours to him getting milk 4 times per day, and now we are down to 3 times per day. In between, he can root and eat pellets. He has started drinking water some too. Not much, but he don't need to because he has milk still. Soon, I will be dropping the milk to twice a day until completely weaned.

     He loves going outside with me and my husband. My husband and I are very outdoorsy people, so he gets outside a lot. I haven't leashed trained yet. He follows us around on his own. He doesn't want to be alone, so if we get out of site, he comes running to find us.

     I plan on starting some basic training in the next week or two. I was wanting to wait until he started using the litter box on his own before I moved on to the the next thing. Plus, he is just a little over 4 weeks. He hasn't had any treats yet....just pellets and milk. I'm saving treats and goodies for training!

    Overall, I'm so happy to have this lil' fellow in my life. It's like having a little toddler around. My son is grown and my daughter will be 18 next year, so I really enjoy his company. I can tell my husband loves him too. Lil' Pig just fit right in with our family. He is a blessing!
    

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 5

     I watched Lil' Pig use his litter box yesterday all by himself. So, he knows to use it. He still doesn't use it every time however. Yesterday, I took him outside to use the bathroom too. He loves our trips outside. I'm also starting to let him venture more around the house, but only while supervised since he still pees on the floor.

     I've been laying a lid out with some pellets on it for the last couple days. At first, he wasn't interested in pellets at all, but yesterday, I saw him finally start eating some. I've been soaking the pellets in his milk at feeding time to start weaning him off the milk. When I first brought him home, he was eating 4 oz of milk every 2-3 hours. The bag of Nurse All says he should be eating 6-8 oz three times a day at 3 weeks old to weaning. So now, I feed him 6 oz milk mixed with pellets (completely dissolved) at 7am, 12pm, 5pm, 10pm. In the next week, I plan on making the pellet mixture thicker, paste like, and change his feeding to 3 times per day, plus he can root in the yard on our visits out there. I'll keep him on the paste mixture for about a week or so, and hopefully, he will be ready to move to pellets and vegetables, plus treats.

     I'm waiting to get him weaned and litter box trained before I start on other training. I want to teach him sit, come, and stay first. I also want to leash train. Right now, we just walk freely in my yard. He follows me everywhere. I want to leash train so I can take him to the river and the park. I want to start that pretty early because I imagine it's not going to be easy!

     Until next time.....

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 4

Lil' Pig Soaking in the Sun

Yesterday went slightly better than the day before. Lil' Pig still peed on the floor, but he used the box some too. I used to have to pick up Lil' Pig to take him outside, but now he will following me outside. I say, "Come on Lil' Pig. Let's go pee-pee," and he follows me right out the door! That is so cool! So most of last night I took him outside to pee, until it started raining. Once he felt the rain, he ran straight back to the door...LoL Overnight, he pooped outside of box, but I was able to get him to go into it this morning. Strangely enough, I think he is starting to understand the box is for using the bathroom. I didn't have to as much coaxing this morning. I think he might get it in a few more days. I'm feeling more optimistic today than I was yesterday!

My Best Friend Lil' Pig

Lil' Pig Goes Outside

Li'l Pals Latex Soccer Ball, Perfect for Puppies and Toy Breeds, Green (2-Pack)

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 3

    Day 2 went worst than Day 1. He just seemed to use the floor and not the box. Last night, I decided to leave vinegar under paper on the spots where he peed to deter him. So now, I have 6 pieces of vinegar paper on the floor. He does not use the same spot. He chooses a different spot and not the box! I did manage to get him to poop in the box this morning. It is definitely not as easy as some suggest. I'm thinking about just picking him up and putting outside every time he wakes up, and just forget about litter box training all together.

Lil' Pig's Adventure Outside

Lil' Pig Strutting his stuff

     Yesterday, we took Lil' Pig outside. We put a board at my backdoor so he'd be able to get over the step to walk outside. He wouldn't walk outside, so I picked him up and put him out there. He loves rooting in the dirt. And, this Lil' pig can run! We walked him around to get exercise and he can really book it with them little legs! He follows us everywhere. He never ran off, and he'd never let us get too far out of his site. He also walked back into the house by himself! Yay!!

     We took him to meet the chickens. The chickens were like, "What in the world is that thing?" They kept their distance and crackled when he was near. The rooster gave him the side eye. This is gross, but apparently, Lil' Pig likes to poop at the coop. I was thankful it was outside and not inside!

Lil' Pig Meeting the Chickens

Here is my lil' fellow following my husband. He loves running with my honey! Don't he look so tiny!

Tony Walking Lil' Pig

Taking a break for some luvin'. Pigs love to be scratched!

Luvin' Time

Pigs love them some mud! And lucky for my pig, it has been raining like crazy here lately leaving the yard muddy so he can easily root in the mud!

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 2

   

    Lil' Pig only had one accident during the night, and I was able to coax him into the box this morning before his breakfast. Yesterday, he was still trying to pee outside of the box, and I would pick him up and put him in the box every time I caught him. Boy, did he get mad when I put him in box! I think he is learning the word pee-pee though as I say it when he is in the box. This morning, I said let's go pee-pee, and I sat near the box and pointed my finger to show him how to get in. He went in and used it, so I'm really hoping he gets the concept soon!

     When he does use the bathroom on the floor, I clean it with a paper towel, then put the paper towel in his box. This is to help with the scent. I clean the pee spot with vinegar afterwards hoping to deter him from using it there again. It is not easy like I read on sooooo many sites. But, the week ain't over yet! One lady said they could be trained in a week. That is my goal!

Litter Box Training Mini-Pig Day 1 continued....

It is now 1:10 pm. In my last post I told you that I took the wood chips out and put a pad in the litter box. Lil' Pig used the litter box several times before he started peeing outside the box again.

He eventually ended up like this.....

So, I decided to put just wood chips back in the box and watch him like a hawk. If he wakes up, I coax him in the box. If he moves trying to pee outside of box, I move the box towards him. If I catch him peeing in the floor, I pick him up and put in the box. I also started giving him a spoonful of his Manna Pro NurseAll Non-Medicated Milk Replacer when he uses the box. My plan for the rest of the day is to keep him close and try to make sure he uses the box.

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 1 1/2

     Yesterday, I went and got the largest litter box (Petmate Litter Pan, Blue Mesa/ Mouse Grey, Large) I could find at Walmart and some pine wood chips (Kaytee Aspen Bedding, 8.0 Cubic Foot Bag) to start litter box training.I read everywhere online about how easy litter box training a mini pig is. Not exactly true! People say it's easier than training a puppy. That's not exactly true neither! At least you can pick a puppy up to take outside without it squealing! My boy is getting better though. We picked him up and took him outside yesterday, and he loved rooting in the dirt. He followed me and my husband around. He was running by my husband's feet! So stinking cute!

     Oh yeah, back to litter box training! I got my husband to cut out a walk-in space on the litter box so that my pig could easily get in and out of the box. I put one of the used pads with pee and poop in the box, then covered it with the wood chips. I was hoping the smell of his urine and poop would attract him to use the box. Nope. He got in the box and rooted and played with the wood chips, then peed everywhere except in the box! I constantly had to mop with vinegar! I wiped up the pee with paper towels, and then put them in the box. Didn't help. Finally, I put an extra pad down outside and beside the box. He used the pad a couple times, and then started peeing on the floor again!

     So today, after I mopped the floor, I decided to try a different approach. I dumped the wood chips out of the box and just put a pad (AmazonBasics Pet Training and Puppy Pads, Regular - 100 Count) in there. I set the litter box up right in front of his bed. When I saw he was getting up from his nap, I coaxed him to get in the box. He basically had to step in the box to get out of his bed. And, he peed in the box! I praised him like crazy! I wanted to give him a treat, but I didn't have nothing soft, so I'm going to buy some yogurt or applesauce today and see if he likes it as a treat to use the litter box. It's only 9am, so I will write more tomorrow letting you know how my training is going!

Here was my original set-up. I started with only a little wood chips, but when that didn't work, I added more to see if that would help. It didn't.

Litter Box Training Wood Chips

This is how I set it up this morning. As you can see, it is right in front of his bed. I read they hate peeing near their bed, so the first time I tried to put the box away from his bed area. But my pig wakes up, steps out of bed, and pees first thing!

Litter Box Training Mini Pig Pad

If pee and poop gross you out, then exit now! This next picture shows Lil' Pig actually using it! (Yes, I named my pig Lil' Pig)

Litter Box Training Juliana Pig

My New Juliana Pig

     I have been asking my husband for years if I could get a pig. After we discovered the Juliana pig, he finally said yes. So, I started a search for a Juliana pig. There we several people selling Juliana pigs on Craigslist, but they were all sold out. I was about to give up, when a lady called me back because someone had changed their mind and didn't get her last pig. I jumped on the opportunity and told her I'd be there the next morning to pick him up.
    
     We pull up to this nice house out in the country and the lady invites us in. She takes me to the kitchen to show me how to make the pig's milk! Yes, milk! I was assuming the pig would be weaned, and I'd be going to Tractor Supply to get pig food. I hadn't asked how old the pig was and just assumed he'd be 8 weeks like a puppy or baby bunny. Nope. She said he was 3 weeks old! Then I thought, maybe, that's normal. I hadn't researched the age pigs are sold. I go ahead and get him because it's love at first sight for me.
   
     When we get home, I go to pick the pig up to bring him inside, and he starts squealing! I was scared. I was thinking no wonder the last lady didn't get him. He must be a defective pig! I put him down in the house in his little bed and he was fine. I decided to do some more research about the squealing when picked up, and I come to find out that it's completely normal. Thank you Lord!
    
     We have had him for two days now. He still squeals when picked up, but it's getting better. I plan on potty training him to pee outside, so I'm going to keep working on picking him up. Right now, he is using puppy pads to pee on. He does pretty good, but sometimes he'll pee off the pad. I also pan on getting a litter box, because that's easier and cheaper than pads to me.
    
     I bought his milk Manna Pro NurseAll Non-Medicated Milk Replacer, 3.5 lb at Tractor Supply. He was on a schedule of eating 2-4 oz. every 3-4 hours. I am currently started to wean him. He was lid fed, so he drinks his milk out of a butter lid. I bought some Mazuri Mini Pig Youth Food and I've started adding some to his milk. I always put a lid out with the pig pellets on it so he can start getting the taste of the pellets if he chooses. He nibbles and plays around with the pellets. He might have ate a few, but he is not that interested in the pellets. I'm going to keep mixing in milk. Right now, I'm mixing the pellets with milk and making sure it's still runny enough for him to drink. Next week, I'm going to make it thicker, and just keep making it thicker (paste like) until he is fully weaned.
    
     I read that I really have to watch his meals and eating schedule. He already sleeps through the night. I fed him last night at about 10:45pm, and he ate again at 6am. I want to get him to eating 3 times per day, plus snacks and rooting outside. I already got a fenced in area for him to play outside. We are going to build him a house outside as well. Until next time....

Did I mention my pig loves my bunny?