Preparing for a pet ...

Since June of this year, the girls and I have been discussing adding a mini pig to our family. Boo has been obsessed with piggies for years, and Bah went through a phase when she was 2 or 3 where she was in love with pigs too.

After a TON of research and discussion, we put a deposit on a litter whose babies would be ready in December. The breeder we chose is Colorado Cutie Pigs. The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. We especially liked that the pigs would be familiar with children, too.

We have been anxiously awaiting their birth, and it finally happened on October 30th - an "almost" Halloween piggy. Baby will stay with its mom for about 8 weeks, and then we will go get it.

Babies and their mom - photo courtesy of Colorado Cutie Pigs

The timing is perfect that he will be a family Christmas present. For the next few weeks now we are planning and preparing for his arrival. Must buy items on our list include:

Extra large dog kennel
Rubbermaid containers (for litterbox training & rooting)
Bath rug for rooting
Balls
Puppy pads
Harness
Food and water bowls
Food

I have read that they love blankets and baby toys (which we still have a lot of!). Since we are getting baby in the winter, it will stay inside most of the time. However, once the weather warms up we will convert the shed in the backyard to a pig house and fence in an area just or the pig. We have a small dog at home, and while she (Riley) is pretty docile, I have read that dogs and pigs do not always get along, so I want piggy to have a safe space just for himself.

Here is a picture of our sweet piggy at 2 weeks old:

Sweet baby boy

Some names we are thinking of

Arnold
Clarence
Pippin
Opie
Festes
Norton
Bronco
Brutus
Webster
Hershey

Eventually, we hope to add piggy as part of a petting zoo at Pumpkins and More A-Maiz-ing Farm. Stay tuned for more updates as we move closer to bringing our piglet home and adapt to life with a mini pig!

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