Mad at myself and hating people!

I cannot believe I am still stupid enough to be suckered into taking other people's problems. Pretty much everyone in the world knows I have pigs so it's not surprising that I received an email asking if I was interested in taking someone's pot belly pig. The email said they'd impulse bought this pig and she was more work than they thought, looking to get her a new home. She is 5 months old and fixed.

So I meet with the guy and he gets emotional. Loves this pig but like said, more than expected and doesn't fit their lifestyle. I love pigs. I'm in. Husband surprises me by saying yes. So they bring the pig on Sunday. She bit me immediately. However, it's a new environment and I figure she has to be scared. She'll calm down. Then they start talking. Turns out this pig is satanic. Has attacked a friend of theirs. Ate a hole in their floor. Eats pipes. Pees on the floor.

I was pretty shocked. There I was holding my 1 year old as they tell me this, pat the pig and leave. Still, they seemed dumb. I figure she will calm down. I don't think that anymore. She was attacking my husbands legs as he walked past. I threw a blanket over her head and hauled her outside to the barn. Threw her in with the boys. She'd never been outside before but she clearly couldn't stay in our house.

She's still biting. Like will jump into the air to bit your arm.

HOW COULD THESE PEOPLE LOOK AT ME AND MY TINY BABY AND THINK IT'S OK TO LEAVE SATAN'S PIG? You cannot tell me this is new behavior. This is absolutely why they got rid of this pig. I'm sure of it. What evil people.

Also, how dumb am I? I should have known better.

Stay tuned. I am positive we are all about to find out how tasty pot belly pigs are.

Pics

I got my dog the same way, horrible little crocodile she was, 9 years later she won't even lick you.

I guess you've got two choices, keep the kid away from her and do some training  or have a lovely pigglet roast which is what I think I would do. And don't beat yourself up it could perfectly well have been true that she was just more than they expected, or that they simply misjudged how much work a pet is. Just remember to ask a few more questions and meet the pig in person at it's home next time this happens to you.

#2 Son says that Pot Belly Pigs are very yummy. I'd offer to help turn it into dinner except for border crossing issues.

I would never keep a dangerous pig around with small children. They are omnivores and are capable of killing an adult human, let alone a child, and I'm a total sucker for rescue animals. They get a chance or five depending on how badly they behave, but once I determine they're "not nice", they're dinner regardless of any "promises" unless the former owner takes them back.

Jay Angler wrote:#2 Son says that Pot Belly Pigs are very yummy. I'd offer to help turn it into dinner except for border crossing issues.

I would never keep a dangerous pig around with small children. They are omnivores and are capable of killing an adult human, let alone a child, and I'm a total sucker for rescue animals. They get a chance or five depending on how badly they behave, but once I determine they're "not nice", they're dinner regardless of any "promises" unless the former owner takes them back.

We cooked the last mean pig we had. We'll cook this one too. I'm just sad and mad. I would never do this to a person.

Yeah I am a big believer in not keeping pets or livestock that make a habit of attacking people.  Seems to me these people just outsourced the emotional labor of humanely killing the little monster to you.  And they knew they were doing it, too.  That's wretched, but it wouldn't keep me from doing the necessary, just as it won't keep you.

That said, I dunno pet pigs.  If it was a rescue dog and I had a safe way to keep it for awhile, I'd give it some time to calm down and form trust relationships with us, before deciding it was incompatible with keeping a safe household.  But maybe pigs don't work that way.

Dan Boone wrote:Yeah I am a big believer in not keeping pets or livestock that make a habit of attacking people.  Seems to me these people just outsourced the emotional labor of humanely killing the little monster to you.  And they knew they were doing it, too.  That's wretched, but it wouldn't keep me from doing the necessary, just as it won't keep you.

That said, I dunno pet pigs.  If it was a rescue dog and I had a safe way to keep it for awhile, I'd give it some time to calm down and form trust relationships with us, before deciding it was incompatible with keeping a safe household.  But maybe pigs don't work that way.

It's locked in the barn with our boars. Maybe living outside with big men she can't bully will change her behavior. She tried to bite me when I went to feed this morning so I'm not holding out hope. Tons of snow and cold expected though. It'll be awhile before the weather is compatible with killing her. I'll just be the only one allowed to feed the pigs until then. We do free range spring-fall so she'll have to be nicer or dead by then. Can't have the kids afraid to go outside.

What horrible people to dump their problem off on you. You're not dumb, sounds like you just wanted to help give the pig a good home. Waiting to mention all these issues til the pig was already in your house and they could just walk off is despicable. Makes me wonder if they neglected or abused it and that's why it's behavior is so awful? I mean, if they would endanger your family by putting you in that spot, who knows how they'd treat an animal. But maybe that's just my own misanthropy talking...Hopefully the pig can be reformed. If not, sounds like you know what needs to happen, even though it shouldn't be on you to deal with. Either way, I hope that you can keep you and your family safe until a solution is found! And that you can stop beating yourself up for wanting to do a good thing. Some people just suck and it's not your fault.  

Maybe the boars will teach her some manners, and if not, well, gotta eat.
I think in this case maybe people think (or prefer to think, since it solves a problem they have) that maybe you have some special know-how that will allow you to deal with Evil Pig. I know I've had people ask me to "look at" their horse/dog-- in two cases the horses had medical problems that needed to be addressed (but could have really hurt someone as they were dealing with pain) and the dogs usually just needed a reliable human leader to set some boundaries and also give them what they needed as dogs (and again could have really hurt someone unlucky).
It's hard to know what people are thinking, and it's too bad. But I guess it is what it is, and... bacon.

Googled it and apparently she's showing dominance because she's never had rules, which I do believe. SO, maybe we can teach her who the boss is and if not, there's still a gun.

I'd give the pig a few weeks, but more to clear out anything she might have been fed or medicated with that I don't want in my food. If she hasn't calmed down by the time I feel comfortable eating her, then she's had her chance.

elle sagenev wrote:Googled it and apparently she's showing dominance because she's never had rules, which I do believe. SO, maybe we can teach her who the boss is and if not, there's still a gun.

I was thinking that while I was working in the field, but it also occurred to me that she may be the pig equivalent of "Human Imprinted" rather than having been taught manners by being part of a pig family, which could be aggravating the situation. If you get time to observe her with the boars, see if she seems to "speak pig" with them?

elle sagenev wrote:Googled it and apparently she's showing dominance because she's never had rules, which I do believe. SO, maybe we can teach her who the boss is and if not, there's still a gun.

She quite probably was hand raised and possibly removed from her mother and sibs too early...another unfortunate product of the 'tea cup pig' craze.  We've had many pigs living in the house, but any that were a problem went to live with the others in the barn. The "others" don't take kindly to a un-socialized member of their own species and the pecking order is established pretty rapidly (.....remarkably much like humans if you ask me....).   I feel sorry for the little thing, but the barn 'until due process' seems to be the best choice.

Edited to add Jay A's comment which I missed before posting and is very close to the mark:  

Jay Angler wrote:.....it also occurred to me that she may be the pig equivalent of "Human Imprinted" rather than having been taught manners by being part of a pig family, which could be aggravating the situation. If you get time to observe her with the boars, see if she seems to "speak pig" with them?

Won't say things will be rosy in this situation....it may be the lesser of two bad situations, but best not to have her in the house.

elle sagenev wrote: I'll just be the only one allowed to feed the pigs until then.

  ....aaand one more addition to address this comment which may or may not be of use.  We keep pieces of livestock panel handy....the 36" high stuff cut to 4-5 ft lengths.  If we need to corral a pig or worry about aggressiveness, we always have one nearby or in-hand.  Just keep it as a divider between you and them whenever possible. Cleary I would be foolish to try this with the 700 - 800 pounders, but for Kune's and pots, it seems to work pretty well. If worried about their strength at lifting the bottom of the fence piece, just slip the toe of your boot over the bottom-most strand of the panel to keep him/her from lifting.

John Weiland wrote:

elle sagenev wrote:Googled it and apparently she's showing dominance because she's never had rules, which I do believe. SO, maybe we can teach her who the boss is and if not, there's still a gun.

She quite probably was hand raised and possibly removed from her mother and sibs too early...another unfortunate product of the 'tea cup pig' craze.  We've had many pigs living in the house, but any that were a problem went to live with the others in the barn. The "others" don't take kindly to a un-socialized member of their own species and the pecking order is established pretty rapidly (.....remarkably much like humans if you ask me....).   I feel sorry for the little thing, but the barn 'until due process' seems to be the best choice.

It's been interesting to see her with the boys. She avoids them completely and they could care less she exists. She slept alone last night, out in the open, and she didn't have the pig instincts to dig a nest. The boys were warmly tucked into the bedded pig shed, which btw is big enough that she could have gone in and been no where near them. So, it's been interesting. I'm not really worried about her attacking me at this stage. She's small enough that I am confident a good kick to the head will stop her in her tracks. I know Joey, our giant boar, tried to bite me when he was younger and I punched him in the face. He hasn't tried anything since. If she's missing a clear pecking order she'll soon discover I'm not to be messed with. Those that don't learn that get eaten.

I'm sorry for your troubles, Elle. Sounds like some have suggested, that the pig wasn't socialised, and doesn't even know how to be a pig.

This is unfortunate in the extreme for the pig, I feel, in a community where we tend to want to encourage animals to live their lives attuned to what is natural for them, especially if they are to be eaten. It's unfortunate for you as well, Elle, because of the emotional toll in the likely event that she doesn't adapt.

Fortunately, she doesn't need to know how to be bacon to do it well. I would just finish her long enough to work out any medication or feed you wouldn't want to consume. And who knows? Maybe she'll do a 180 and turn into the sweetest pig you've ever seen, though I wouldn't hold my breath.

In any case, I wish you all best possible luck in this endeavour.

-CK