#pigfacts

[the-fact-site]

The feral hog population in Texas is so bad that they’d have to kill 70% of all existing hogs each year in order to keep it from getting worse. #FACT

[the-fact-site]

The feral hog population in Texas is so bad that they'd have to kill 70% of all existing hogs each year in order to keep it from getting worse. #FACT

[truth-in-beauty]

My chronic fatigue has been kicking my ass the last week, so I thought I'd just share this little bit of info, which I plan too research more. I find this both fascinating, and a little sad. Pigs deserve to see the sky. 🐽🐷🐖#truefacts #snapplefacts #pigsofinstagram #pigfacts #tootiredforaselfie #chronicfatigue (at Columbus, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Md899Jau5/?igshid=2vny1g2inms0

[blackberrycreekblog]

Cromwell and Grover are brothers who, since infancy, have loved snuggling together. Pigs are extremely intelligent, have strong family bonds, and are very clean (despite many people's belief that they have none of those traits). Pigs have skin very similar to human skin, but lacking sweat glands. As such, they had to figure out a way to keep cool...this is where rolling in the mud came in! The water in mud evaporates, cooling their bodies and leaving a dried mud coating that acts as sunscreen and prevents them from getting burned. Genius! Also, mosquitoes, ticks, and other pesky insects are deterred from biting their delicate skin when covered with mud. Pigs are also very tidy in that they typically choose a "bathroom" spot away from their "bedroom" and do not soil their sleeping areas (unless disabled like our sweet Po). They stumble sleepily out of the barn each morning to the "bathroom" much like a human groggily rolling out of bed and finding his way to the restroom. So the next time you think of pigs as dirty or unintelligent, think again! #pigfacts #brothers #pigsofinstagram #piggram #pigpile #veganforthem #animalsanctuary #sanctuarylife #amazinganimals #animalovers #picoftheday #intelligence

[myveganvoice-blog]

#pigsaresmart #pigfacts #myveganvoice @myveganvoice #pig #pigs #vegan #govegan #livevegan #bevegan #savethemALL #Repost @mrs.goveg ・・・ #Repost @thehumaneleague ・・・ Someone, not something.💚🐷

[animalsoffarmsanctuary]

Farm Sanctuary’s 14 Facts about Pigs

If it were up to us (or the pigs), every day would be National Pig Day (just don’t tell the other sanctuary species!). So just in case you didn’t get to read all about our individual piggy pals, here are 14 facts you should know!

1) Piglets start out being super smart and ready to face the world.  It also helps to have strong powerful mothers of course, but piglets are actually able to see and hear at birth and within a few minutes. Healthy piglets can actually walk around.  Christopher (below), despite being the runt of Julia’s litter, managed to crawled up on mom just a few hours after his birth (and promptly fell asleep). 

2) Piglets have a pecking order or hierarchy established within the first 24 hours for the teats.  The strongest piglet gets the best teat and therefore continues to be the strongest because he or she gets the most milk. The video below shows how this pecking order is challenged as the babies grow, but also how mom puts an end to the fighting by cutting everyone off.  

3) Pigs have a very structured chain of command in their herds (no matter the size).  New pigs have to fight their way into that structure to find their place in the community.  From a very early age piglets play fight — even when they are just days old and as just week old siblings there is already a social order based on strength and ability or willingness to spar. Below Gus and Seth are figuring out who is the toughest piglet in town.

4) Pigs can make more than 20 distinct sounds that they use to communicate with each other. Below you see Reggie doing the typical greeting sound (”Ah ah ah”) to his gal pal Stacey. 

5) The nose knows.  Pigs spend up to ¾ of their time awake rooting and foraging in the earth. They can smell roots (and truffles) deep in the ground. Eric and his pals spend eight hours or more outside when the weather is not too hot or not too cold (Goldilocks would approve). Fall and spring bring those temps that are “just right” and long days of earth-moving like Eric is doing below. 

6) Besides having seriously powerful noses, pigs also have incredible hearing. The very large satellite like ears are much like the ears of another good listener in the animal kingdom, the cat. They can localize sound better than most animals (lest you thought you could tell secrets around them).

7) Pigs are problem-solvers, and — just like people — some are better at this than others.  A good example is the difference between the pig who rolls a pumpkin around for a good 15 minutes trying to find a place to take a bite or the pig, like Eric above, who rolls the pumpkin into a fence or against a rock to keep it still so they can get a good bite!  And some are so smart that they wait until another pig figures out the solution and then they steal the pumpkin.  

8) Pigs are family-oriented and maintain lifelong bonds with their children. Mother pigs like Julia (below) will stay with their children throughout their lives. In the wild large groups of female pigs raise their children together and stay together, often in herds of 20 to 50 pigs. Meanwhile, the male babies, upon reaching sexual maturity, will go off on their own.  In a sanctuary setting where males and females are neutered and spayed, the boys also stay with mom and will remain as a bonded family unit for life. Even if the siblings kick each other out, Mom stays true to her sounder. 

9) Pigs are one of the few animals who are able to recognize their reflections in mirrors.  While anyone as beautiful as Julia would love to spend time looking at themselves in a mirror, the mirror test is designed to prove that the pig knows that the reflection they are seeing is them and not some other pig.  Magpies, chimps, people, and dolphins all pass that mirror test (although I do not always recognize myself in a mirror).

10) Pigs love to roll over for a good belly rub from a person but if you watch carefully you can see them do this to each other as well! Pigs are highly social and love nothing more than a good belly rub — similar to a dog (although, dogs typically can’t pass a mirror test).

11) Pigs can run up to 11 miles an hour, until they get too chubby, which is like everyone, really.  And piglets start running early —  within a few days they are tearing all over the place!  Even as adults they love to run but are more into sprinting than endurance races. 

12) Pigs recognize their names and will come to you when called.  Pigs like Jimmy (below) quickly learn their names — even within a few days and quickly learn to come when called!  As we cover more pigs and their individual stories you will get to see videos of them doing just that. 

13) Pigs cannot sweat and they need to stay cool.  How do they do this?  By rolling in the mud or bathing in water (but mud is the best).  Mud dries and forms a kind of hardened shell on the pig (like an M&M or a NoNo) that keeps them super cool so they do not overheat.  The mud is also an amazing sunscreen, which is necessary for industrial-raised pigs who are bred to be white.  When industrial pigs are moved to sanctuaries they require mud and even sunscreen to avoid skin cancer on their light skin.   

14) Pig herds are Matriarchal.  What does this mean you ask?  It means the ladies are in charge and run the show.  Even in sanctuary settings females run our herds and do so with dignity (well most of the time).  Julia, whom you recently met, will always be the head of her little herd and the kids have nothing but respect for this incredible pig.

Please share this post and help inspire others join in pursuit of a more compassionate life. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about farm animals. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts.

[littlepigintheusa]

FAKE POST - TESTING THE BLOG

Visiting the White House. Today we visited the white house. They call it that because it’s a house, and it’s white. Smart, huh? Luckily, they were ok with pigs going inside, because at one point, they had pigs living inside (that was while Abraham Lincoln was president).  The White house was amazing! It’s pure white!!!!

[fierceprincesswarriorlady-blog]

PIG FACT

Piglets suck bacon from their mothers teats