Pigs in the Parlor
Orphaned piglets or starving runts don't have to die. After a few weeks of tender care, they'll be able to look after themselves while they put on hundreds of pounds of potential pork.
Orphaned piglets (or starving runts) don't have to die.
After a few weeks of tender care, they'll be able to look
after themselves . . . while they put on hundreds of pounds
of potential pork.
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Lena Anken Sexton
I slipped Smilie's harness over his fat little shoulders and attached the
leash ... and we began our midday constitutional along the
banks of Idaho's glorious Salmon River. Pretty soon, a
pickup truck came up the twisting river road,
and—with a protest of brakes—it whipped to a
stop beside us.
"By golly!" the driver exclaimed. "Now I've
seen everything!"
"I like pigs," I answered with a big grin
.. and I'll bet that once you've had a chance to share your
home—if only for a few weeks—with one of these
delightful creatures, you'll come to be fond of them, too.
When little orphaned Smilie was only three weeks old, for
instance, he already thought he was a person. He would clip
up and down my kitchen floor, playing with the cat and
squealing for chow.
But keeping a pig in the house? Yes
indeed! Many piglets have shared my home for two or three
weeks, until they could build up enough strength to survive
on their own. In fact, a pig is—or can
become—more mannerly and intelligent than a dog
(we've even had pigs that helped us bring home the cows)
and as clean as a cat .. . and swine don't shed hair!
However, unless you intend to keep your orphan for
breeding, don't make it a real pet: It's simply not a good
idea to become terribly attached to an animal that may be a
future Christmas ham. On the other hand, do be kind to your
porcine babies. Any infant—even a pig—needs
love if it's to thrive.
WHY BOTHER?
When you consider the price of meat today, you'll realize that
the loss of a litter of pigs—or even of a single
runt—can be an expensive proposition. Over the last
ten years, I've had many occasions to rescue from one to
ten piglets at a shot . .. and each of those efforts has
been, in my opinion, time and trouble well spent.
Furthermore, the little animals (which, in many cases,
would be doomed if someone didn't adopt them) can be a
source of free livestock for the farmstead-on-a-budget.
Check with pork producers in your area . . . find out a few
farrowing dates . . . and ask whether you might have (or
buy, at a very low cost) an orphan or a runt from one of
the litters.
As a last resort, you can settle for a cripple
. . . even these animals can sometimes be saved. For
example, Felix—our last foster pig—had been
pen-injured. He was unable to stand when we got him, and
spent part of each day hung in a sling made from torn
sheets. Felix is now a picture of health, weighs 200
pounds, and will soon be ready for the smokehouse.
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