Behaviour

Foraging is a natural behaviour that involves an animal searching for and eating food. In the wild, a large part of a pig’s day can be spent foraging for food.

So, how do we make sure your pig doesn’t get bored – and forage in your dad’s rose garden?! There are a number of things you can provide for your pig, which stimulates them to forage for their food and prevents boredom:

• Treat balls or dispensers: You can buy special treat balls from a pet store or you can make your own homemade treat dispenser. Basically, these are containers with holes in them that when food is placed inside, your pig has to move the container around to try to make the food fall out.
• Try filling them with things such as carrot sticks, oatmeal, popcorn, cranberries, unsalted nuts or special pig nuts. Your pig can then use its nose to move the ball around and try to get food from it. They find this super fun.
• If your pig is housed and fed outdoors, you can always make their feeding time more exciting. Hiding their food throughout their enclosure encourages your pig for hunt out, forage for and find their own food. For example, you could hide apples and other fruits under piles of hay or make trails out of pig nuts scattered within the hay.
• Cardboard boxes can be filled with hay or crumbled paper - you could also hide a few small food items within them, so that they forage for them within the cardboard box.
• You can freeze fruit or vegetable pieces in water and make an ice block for your pig. Not only will your pig be entertained trying to get to the food inside by licking the ice-block, but this is also a great way to make sure your pig gets a bit more water.

Rooting is one of those very important behaviours for pigs. In the wild, pigs can spend up to 40% of their day rooting around in the ground, foraging for food using their very strong noses.

For this very reason, your pig should be kept in a relatively spacious area where they can happily express this behaviour. Remember, your pig does not know the difference between where they can root around, or your special garden or flower bed.

Your pig should have an area of paddock available to them that they're allowed to dig up. If this can’t be provided, you can make your pig rooting boxes instead. Rooting boxes can be made out of old garden planter boxes, plastic tubs or constructed by an adult out of wood.

The box should be filled with pig safe treats and toys, and then covered with dirt or bark. This allows the pig to have a special area in which they are allowed to root and forage. You will also be meeting two of the pig’s most important behavioural needs – rooting and foraging.

Pigs are social animals, meaning they like to be in the company of other pigs. Pigs are happier in pairs or small groups, so if you are able, it is preferable to have another pig so that they keep each other company. Pigs have strong social needs and although they will bond with people, it doesn’t replace the fact that another pig usually makes the best companions.

If your pigs are not from the same litter, they should be introduced slowly and allowed to take their time to get used to each other. Make sure an adult is supervising when two new pigs first meet and allow each pig to have a separate area where they can go to until they are ready to be together. Once your pigs get along together, they will provide each other with companionship and can play, groom and communicate with one another.

Pigs have also been known to bond well with other companion animals such as cats, dogs, goats and sheep. Like with other pigs, ensure an adult supervises when your pig meets other animals and allow your pig to retreat to a safe area when they want too.

Sows (female pigs that have had babies) and gilts (female pigs that have not had babies) have a natural instinct to make nests. This desire is particularly strong in pregnant sows prior to giving birth to their piglets. However, even pigs who are not pregnant feel the need to create a comfortable, nested sleeping area.

If your pig is housed outdoors, you need to provide lots of bedding material that your pig can make his or her bed with - hay is a good choice for this.

You can start by slightly breaking up hay bales, from which your pig will move around carry more hay to the bedding area and use her snout to perfect her bed. Ideally, the bedding should be quite deep, so it provides support for your pig, and because pigs love to burrow.

You should aim for bedding to be about 40-50cm deep. Remember to change out the hay regularly and replace it with new fresh hay – pigs don’t actually like being dirty and won’t want dirty bedding! If housed indoors, you should provide your pig with bedding material such as plain cotton blankets to make a nested bedding area.

Pigs enjoy burrowing and hiding under material while they sleep, so make sure you provide enough blankets to make your pigs bed deep enough. You may also notice from time to time that your indoor pig will sometimes retrieve household objects and take them back to their nest.

Some pigs have been known to take their owners clothing or newspapers to their beds to make a nest out of! Just make sure that you keep items out of reach that may not be safe for pigs to have access to.

Pigs have a range of different communication techniques that you can learn to identify. They are very vocal and communicate in grunts, squealing and snorting. Research has shown that pigs make at least 20 different sounds, which all mean different things.

• Grunting is usually heard when a mother pig is feeding her babies. These can be loud or soft. They can also be heard when a pig is content, like if you are rubbing your pig's belly or petting him or her, for example.
   
• A ‘barking’ type grunt is usually heard when a pig thinks danger or a threat is nearby. Listen out for this sound from your pig when it is meeting new people or animals, as it can indicate your pig is not entirely comfortable in the situation.
   
• Squealing usually means your pig is very excited about something. This is often heard when pet pigs are anticipating being fed! In some cases, it can also be a sign of pain. If your pig squeals when you try to touch them in a certain area and it looks like they do not want to move, this would indicate pain and you should call your vet.
   
• Along with these main sounds, you will hear a range of other sounds and noises your pig will make over time with you. Many pig owners have said that their pigs make unique sounds in a range of situations such as being greeted, wanting attention, wanting to go outside, being annoyed and much more. Try to get to know your pig and learn what noises he or she makes in certain situations with you so you can better understand how your pig might be feeling.

As mentioned above, pigs are extremely smart animals. They love to learn new things and are very capable of learning a range of behaviours and understanding human words and sentences. By training your pig, not only are you stimulating your pig's mind and keeping them busy and entertained, you will also be bonding with your pig more closely and building a relationship built on trust.

You can house train your pig to respond to make life easier for both you and your pig. Your pig will learn their own name pretty quickly, and you can also toilet train them quite easily by using a litter area or a designated outdoor area. Pigs pick things up very quickly, so it won’t take long before your pig is house trained. You can also do more advanced training with your pig and show your friends that your pig can do some really cool tricks! Pigs have been shown to be capable of learning many things, such as: sitting, spinning, shaking hands, rolling balls, retrieving objects, stay, opening doors or pushing buttons. Some pigs even have been trained to use obstacle courses, just like dogs!

When training your pig, make sure you use reward-based training. This is where you reward the pig for the right behaviour, usually with a treat. Pigs have been shown to learn well with this type of training. There are lots of videos online that will teach you how to train a pig using positive reinforcement. If you train your pig properly, using positive reinforcement, you are likely to have a happy and busy pig.

Pigs are incredibly smart and sensitive animals. They love to be kept busy and challenged, so they require both physical and mental stimulation to keep them happy and healthy. Your pig will need enrichment items, activities, as well as lots of attention and affection. Keeping a pig without companionship or enrichment is likely to lead to a bored, agitated or destructive pig.

Providing your pig with fun things to do, activities, toys and actively playing with your pig will also help you bond better with your pig. There are specific behaviours which are really important for pigs to be able to perform normally. If pigs are not able to perform these behaviours, it can lead to a range of problems and to a sad, depressed or bored pig.

Such behaviours include foraging and rooting, being able to socialise, play and communicate with other pigs (or other animals) and nesting.

Pigs are very social, smart, and expressive animals. Pigs communicate through body language, vocal communication, and through scent (smell).

Humans cannot really pick up scent signals the way some animals do, which is why we mostly focus on body language and vocal communication.

Learning and understanding what a pig is telling you with their body can help you understand how they are feeling, so that you can respond in safe and positive ways.

If you're ever concerned about your pigs' behaviour, always talk to an adult and ask them to speak to your vet.

Click on the image to download the infographic!