Top 5 Things to Love About Pigs

Five Things to Love About Pigs

1. Pigs Love to Cuddle. 
​There is nothing as endearing as lying down on the couch only to have our pigs come and pile on top of you.  My favorite is when Charlotte puts her face right up against mine and snuggles in sound asleep.  I love hearing her deep breaths that say she is so content sleeping there.  And while pigs do have more bristle to their hair, it is also very smooth against your skin when you cuddle up close.  So, you don't have to worry about being poked.  

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2. Pigs Treat You as an Equal
As Winston Churchill once said, "I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."  And this is so true.  Unlike a dog, pigs do not worship humans as gods.  They definitely view you as their equal.  If you are good to them, they are good to you.  They do often want to make you happy.  And I've seen pigs be reprimanded vocally by their human companion and seen them go off whining and sulking.  They definitely show a whole range of emotions and you will often feel like someone stuck a human inside a pig's body.  

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3. Watching Them Eat Never Gets Old
Pigs love food!  In fact, I've yet to encounter any living being that enjoys anything as much as pigs seem to enjoy food.  Pumpkin even has food induced bouts of ecstasy.    Mid-meal, she suddenly freezes, gets her happy mohawk, and starts grunting happy grunts.  It looks like she is in a happy coma.  You just have to wait it out if you need her to do something.  I usually have to pick up her food to keep Charlotte and Millie from eating it because she simply cannot move during these occurrences.  And the smacking of their lips as they chomp on food is just plain adorable.  Carrots and crunchy snacks are especially fun to watch them eat.  

4. Pigs Sleep Through the Night
​Aside from Millie, who likes to change positions in the middle of the night, most pigs will soundly sleep through the night.  Often settling in around 7 PM, pigs are known to be good sleepers.  When our girls cuddle up together for the night, unless someone makes noise in the kitchen implying snacks are to be had, it is quite unlike the girls are going to do much until morning.  Millie is the only exception.  She occasionally wakes up and has to change positions (and she makes sure everyone knows what she is doing by making as much noise as an entire farm of pigs).   Otherwise, you mostly just get to enjoy the sounds of pigs deeply breathing in and out.  So peaceful and calming! 

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5. The Always Smell Good and Stay Very Clean
​We have lived with pigs well over a year now, and have maybe needed to give them a bath twice.  Pigs always seem to have a nice clean smell to them.  And their fur seems to resist getting dirty.  Even after laying in mud (which our girls don't do very often), they seem to magically shed any dirt that was attached the minute they dry off.  If your pigs live indoors most of the time,  they will prefer air condition and a couch to a mud puddle.  The only time our girls dig into the mud is when they are stuck outside on a warm day.   Once, while at Colonial Williamsburg, Charlotte had herself coated in mud and yet by the time we got home that day she seemed nearly as clean as when we left.