Outside Play Time
When she's outside, your pig is truly in "hog
heaven."If your pig is
outside, he will NEVER be bored. There's too much dirt out there to root
around and too much grass to munch on. If your pig is outside and happy,
what could there possibly be to worry about?
- Your pig should be in an area
enclosed with a fence or other boundary that
he, or dogs that may want to harm your pig, can not get through. Dogs
can, and some would be more than happy to, harm a helpless little pig.
Also to be considered is that someone may like your pig so much that he may
want to steal the pig for himself. The fence should also keep out
would-be thieves.
- You could also use a
tie-out if you don't have a fence; however, you
need to supervise your pig if you use this method. I use this method
with Dixie; however, she is right outside a big sliding glass door.
Whenever she is out, someone is in the adjacent room keeping an eye on her
through the door. You wouldn't want a stray dog to harass your pig while
it was unattended outside on a tie-out.
- Check the pig's area for trash the
pig may eat. Such trash does include
cigarette butts. I can't tell you how many times I have looked at Dixie
just in time to see the end of a small white cylinder enter her mouth and have
had to force her to open her jaws to let the butt drop out.
- Make sure the area contains no
poisonous plants, such as poison ivy, poison
oak, and wild mushrooms. These plants will make the pig very
sick.
- Your pig will probably destroy all of
your landscaping. Pigs love to root
anything they possibly can, and dirt/grass/plants is their number one
target. If you do like to landscape your yard, keep your pig away from
areas you like to keep up.
- Don't let your pig get eaten up by
mosquitoes! A
pig's skin is very tough. However, mosquitoes can puncture the softer
parts of a pig, such as the belly, inside the legs, and around the face.
So far, I have been able to rub bug spray (by first spraying a good amount
into my palm) on Dixie's belly without seeing any adverse effects on
her.
- Keep a pool outside for your pig during hot weather. This needs to be a very
low container that your pig can at least hop in and out of. I use a
small children's sandbox. Dixie doesn't actually get in the pool unless
I bribe her, so I get a cheap bag of cereal, throw some in the pool, and
*presto* - Dixie turns into Aqua Pig! The reason for doing this is to
make sure your pig stays cool outside and does not overheat. If your pig
does not willingly jump into the pool on its own, go outside every once in a
while and throw some goodies in its pool. You can use cereal,
vegetables, or any other food that floats. Dixie has a hard time
searching out food that sinks. Using floating food is also a key way of
keeping your pig in the pool while you are trying to give it a
bath.
- Make sure your pig can get to plenty
of water.
