The Pet Pig Podcast Autumn Whitacre

Happy Spring! It has been a beautiful spring in Ohio so far, but it has been very wet and muddy. That got me thinking about how much mud everyone is going to have in their house right now, due to their pig going out to go potty or for eating or whatever. So I wanted to talk about how we can handle the rain when our pig doesn't want to go outside to go potty and the mud that they are going to be bringing into the house. How can we keep some of that mess outside? First of all, when it comes to rain, many pigs do not want to go outside in the rain. We need to be proactive to get our pigs to be motivated to always go outside. One way we can do this is to feed them their meals outside as long as the weather isn't extreme. Food is close to every pig's heart so if the weather isn't their favorite they may hesitate but they will still go outside. Something else that you can do is use really good treats to reward them for going outside. Going out in the rain is a hard thing for a pig so buy good treats to reward them well for doing hard things. If you start when your pig is young you can teach them to let you put a little jacket on them. It will keep the rain off of them so it's not as cold. I also have a space outside that is movable and has a little roof on it so once they get to that they won't have rain on them. 
When it comes to mud, I like to make sure that they are on fresh grass every morning and move it throughout the day so they aren't knee deep in mud. We also put straw down in muddy places so the pigs don't sink into the mud. We also put gravel or wood chips down in places that get really muddy on our farm. Some pigs love to walk through the mud and others hate to walk through mud. I keep a small tub filled with warm water in front of the door that they walk into the house through. I put a few Cheerios in the tub so they also clean off their snouts. They will walk through the warm water and will get most of the water off their hooves and legs. I try to keep their crates and blankets clean so their blankets aren't caked in mud. This will help with the constant buildup of dirt and mud that happens in the spring.
 
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNizT
 

Maribeth gives us an update on how the pigs are doing and how Tree Family Party Piggies is coming along. The reason I really wanted to invite Maribeth back to the show is because she had an experience with her pigs that was very scary and I wanted her to be able to share that with everyone because we can all learn from her experience. 
 
Maribeth and her pigs were coming back from a senior service that ended up totaling her car. There was a lot of damage but she is very grateful that neither herself or the pigs were hurt because she was traveling safely with the pigs. They have always had their pigs travel in the cargo or luggage portion of their vehicle and the pigs are always in a secured hard or soft sided crate. They were traveling in hard sided crates the day of the accident. The reason they are in a crate is because it really protects them from ejection or being severely injured. They have room to turn around in their crate but they are not able to just roam in the vehicle. The most trauma that the pigs experienced was having to be transferred from the crashed vehicle to a new vehicle after the accident. The pigs recovered great because they thankfully had no injuries and were laying down in their crates when the accident happened. She explained that she thinks getting the pigs back into their routine as soon as possible is what helped them the most. 
 
Maribeth's number one takeaway from this experience is that safely traveling in a crate in the cargo compartment of the vehicle saved her pigs from health issues, harm, death and was only mildly traumatizing to them. She also believes that the way she talked to them kept everyone calm throughout the process. I am so grateful she was able to share this experience with us, so we all can learn from it and keep our piggies safe.
 
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNiz
 

Recently I made a statement on social media that many pig owners and pig lovers did not like. So I am going to share what I said and why I said it. First of all, the statement I made was, “Pigs are not people. They do not need lunch or snacks.” Why did I say that? Well, It’s true. Pigs are not people, they are actually wild animals that have been domesticated within the past 40-50 years. In those years is when we started to bring pigs into our homes. Before that people raised pigs as livestock. Bringing pigs in the house changed the game for pigs. They began to be viewed as more of family members than they did farm pigs.  Pigs are more like a puppy or a dog in the house now. That has caused a lot of people to begin to treat them more like people or a family member. I am not opposed to pet pigs, I have several of my own. I am not saying we should treat our pigs like livestock, but when you really understand pigs and what anthropomorphising a pig does, you will understand that they do have emotions but they do not have the same needs as a human does. They do not need to be treated like people, and doing so can cause issues.
Now, let’s talk about why. Pigs in the wild have 3 jobs, reproduce, hunt for food, and make a nest. These three instincts drive a pig. A pig has no control over these things. As we domesticate them, we don’t change their instinct. We may lessen them by a tiny bit but those instincts are still there. When we make them a pet we take away their jobs. This causes a pig to become bored, destructive and even aggressive. We love our pigs and we want to provide them with the best kind of nutrition but you have to think about the repercussions of this. If you feed your pig constantly throughout the day your pig will become dependent on that. It will become a routine of eating all day long and it will make it very difficult to take care of them. Two meals a day is all a pig needs. The more you feed them will make them become more entitled towards food and very food aggressive. When it comes to snacks, I did not mean treats. In my opinion, treats are for training and for keeping your pig busy. I am very methodical when it comes to giving my pigs treats. They have a purpose. A treat is a reward for doing something hard or to reinforce good behavior. I also put them in a treat dispensing toy or in the grass so they have a purpose. 
So what is the takeaway from this episode? Pigs are wild animals. We bring them into our home and make them a part of our family. Although we change the environment, we don't change their instinct to survive. So when we bring them into the house we need to really be knowledgeable about what a pet pig is and how they think. 
 
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNizT
 

Rebel Rescue Ohio is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that was created in 2018 to help small domestic and exotic animals in need. The rescue moved to the “Ranch” in 2020 as the need to take on larger "farm" pets grew. Rebel Rescue Ranch, located in Berlin Center, Ohio has the space and availability to take in and help more critters!
We provide sanctuary, funding, education, vet care and find homes for unwanted or abandoned pets. If ever there is a case that we can not take on, we try to find someone who can! As of now there are about 140 animals on the ranch.
Amy tells us about her motivation to create the ranch and how she has grown and keeps it going. She shares how she has gotten different animals at her rescue and what life is like with each of them. She also explains what it takes to run the ranch and how we are each able to help her continue to help these animals. 
Her one piece of advice to anyone who wants to bring a pig home is to do their research and schedule a visit, not just a meet and greet, to really meet and learn about the pig that you want to be part of your family. Also, make sure you know that this life is what you want. 
 
If you are wanting to help please reach out to Amy by contacting her at the links below!
Amy's Links: 
Email
RebelRescueRanch@gmail.com
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/rebelrescueranch/
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNizT
 

*** This episode is sponsored by Mikko's Choice. Mikko's Choice is a small women owned business that provides high quality CBD for your pig.  Use code pigpodcast to get 25% off your first order. $5 from every sale is donated to animal rescues. Go to Mikkoschoice.com or email info@mikkoschoice.com for more information. ***
Food aggression is so common in pigs. It’s easy for them to become food aggressive because they are so food obsessed. If we can work with them while they are young, so they don't become food aggressive, we will save ourselves so much stress in the future.  What is food aggression? Food aggression is when a pig can not focus on anything else except the food in front of them. They become aggressive and try to get the food. They are not always deliberately trying to hurt us. Many times they are just trying to scare us so we let go of the food more quickly so they can have it. We have to remember that in the wild pigs are foragers and scavengers, this is how pigs find food. They spend a lot of their day trying to find food. Since they do not have that stomach to brain connection they always feel hungry. They are always starving and think if they don't eat now they will die. So we can have a little empathy for them, nobody wants to be starving. But as a pig owner, our job is to keep our pig healthy so that means enough food. They shouldn't have too much and too little food. We love our pig but that doesn’t give them the right to bully us. Food aggression is one of those things that we do not want to happen with our pig. 
In my opinion, many times food aggression is caused by us. I see it in underfed, malnourished pigs. But, another time I see it is in spoiled pigs. If we are not a leader and inconsistent in making them work for their food they can become aggressive because they feel like they have to fight for the food that they get. We are not talking about squealing for meals. Squealing for meals is not true food aggression. Food aggression is sheer panic. They are on edge because they feel like they have to fight to get that food. What are some examples of when we might see food aggression and how to handle it?
Training sessions
Before or during meals
People food
By following the tips I share in this episode you will be able to prevent food aggression or fix food aggression if they already are aggressive. We have to remember that a lot of lessons that we teach our pigs can only be taught when they trust us. If we build a bond and they trust us they will know that what we say we will do will happen. Pigs are naturally food obsessed so we have to teach them that they will get their food but they can not have it if they are being mean, bossy, aggressive and rude. 
 Kitchen Shenanigans Episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5sGXPKGVDmnZx2iKgBI0GX?si=f33dd09d1f1b415e
https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/thepetpigpodcast/Kitchen_Shenanigans.mp3
 
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNizT
 

Rose is a High Ticket Affiliate Marketer, Beginner Homesteader and Animal Lover. She resides in Northwestern, Pennsylvania with her husband Alex and 13 animals. She has always dreamt that her life would be centered around the outdoors and animals so she decided instead of dreaming about it - she was going to make it happen. Rose has always been an animal lover but a pet pig was not on her list until her husband suggested it. She immediately started to research ethical pet pig breeders and came across Autumn Acres and that is how she became a pig owner. Rose knew about farm pigs but never really knew anything about mini pet pigs. Rose tells us her experience of bringing her pet pig home and how she fit in with the cats and dogs. 
We learn about Olive and her personality and what life is like with her. Rose shares a story about a situation where Olive got into grain for her other animals and got sick and how she cared for Olive during that situation. We also hear about their challenge of having a pet pig with having other animals in the house and on the farm.
Rose shares her biggest piece of advice to someone thinking of getting a pig is: Do your research and make sure that you have someone on call that you can contact at any time if something or an emergency comes up that you can talk to or ask questions.  Just having that person that you can get those answers from is huge. 
 
Rose’s Link:
https://www.instagram.com/therosekilgore/
 
Autumn’s Links: 
Website:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/
Email:
Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com
Educational Membership Group:
https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/
Facebook: 
HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs
Mighty Networks:
https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA
Stan Store:
https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/hDNizT