What Do Pigs Eat?

Pigs are becoming a common type of pet nowadays. More people are becoming interested in pet pigs because of the positive feedback they are getting as an alternative pet. Before you think of dashing and getting a pig, the first step is educating yourself about them.

What do pigs eat? Pigs can eat almost anything, they are omnivores after all. They will eat different kinds of fruits and vegetables, they will also eat junk, scrap food, leftovers, decomposing food, spoiled food and even consume decaying carcasses of other animals. Pigs are not picky eaters and will accept everything that will be offered to them.

This is the “opportunistic” behavior in pigs. As long as they think it is edible, they will consume it. Their bodies are made in a way that makes them handle almost any kind of food that goes into their system.

Pigs have also developed their own food preferences. Even though they will eat almost anything, it doesn’t mean they like it. They just naturally think that they should not be picky with food.

Most pigs are said to love cooked broccoli, dark green lettuce, beets, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, melons, pitted peaches, pitted cherries, pitted apricots, cooked potatoes, all squashes, pumpkins, yams, zucchini, kale, tomatoes, chard, carrots, apples, snow peas, cucumbers and spinach.

Given that pigs have their own preferences, they will each have their own likes, dislikes and “hated” food too.

There are also important points to remember about certain foods in consideration of the age of the pig first before feeding them with it.

Every pig may have different tastes, so if your pig doesn’t act too excited over a treat that you presented, you can try again with another option. With the list above, you already have wide range of choices to choose from!

Eating is a vital part of any living creature’s daily life and it’s important to prioritize a healthy diet. There are certain food that may be unhealthy for your pig and must be avoided as much as possible.

What to feed pigs

Just like people, pigs need a balanced and healthy diet in order to stay fit. This is an important reminder for pet pig owners because OBESITY is becoming one of the most common issues among pet pigs.

The best choice for pig feed is a real pig pellet which can be brought from poultry supply stores, pet stores and through the internet.

Pig pellets are usually made with the right vitamins and nutrients needed by an average pig. Feeding the right amount of pellets will give them the balanced diet that they need right away!

TREATS ENJOYED BY PIGS

We want to please our pigs and reward them with the right treats especially if we are training them. So what are the known treats loved by pigs? After researching, I managed to come up with this list!

PBB Cheerios

Baked Cheese Crisps
Popcorn (think about watching a movie and sharing popcorn with your buddy!)
Bite-Size Shredded Wheat

Grapes

Source: https://potbelliedpigstlc.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/5-best-treats-for-pot-belly-pigs/

Perhaps you can rely on this list to house train your pig. I’m sure they will love at least some of it.

PIGS EAT GRASS, ROOTS AND INSECTS

A normal pig will graze on grass, dig the ground to search for edible roots and “hunt” for non-poisonous insects.

Pigs will instinctively know what is dangerous for them to eat like poisonous mushrooms and will decided to avoid such things.

Letting your pig eat grass that had no contact with chemicals and search for food in grounds with fresh, natural soil is completely safe and okay.

Want more details about what to feed your pig? You can read our article solely dedicated to pig feeding here.

WATER AND DRINKING HABITS

An average pig will drink 5 to 10 liters of water on a daily basis! Aside from knowing what to feed, it’s also important to know how much water they need.

Pregnant pigs or mothering pigs might require twice the average amount in order to produce enough nutrients for her litter (piglets) as well as enough milk.

Pigs have a hard time staying warm or cooling off because of their inability to sweat. They do have sweat glands, but it not as functional as it should be.

Most pigs also don’t have enough hair to help them with adjusting to temperatures!

This is why, giving your pig the right amount of water that your pigs need will keep them healthy.

What NOT to feed pigs

Being a non-picky eater could have its own disadvantages too. Since the pig doesn’t mind what it consumes most of the time, it might be unconsciously consuming unhealthy food.

DISLIKED FOODS

As pets, pigs will learn to be more comfortable in expressing their dislike for certain products or food. Here is the list of the known “disliked foods” by a majority of pigs.

Raw broccoli
Eggplants
Sprouts

Peppers
Asparagus
Artichokes

Cabbages
Cauliflower
Onions

Corn husks

Note that if your pigs like some of these foods, you don’t need to be alarmed. Some pigs may or may not like the food on this list but is still perfectly safe to consume.

FEEDING MEAT IS NOT RECOMMENDED

Although pigs are omnivores, most domesticated pigs have a specific restriction on what not to eat. Pigs should not eat meat, it’s not advisable and owners should be prohibited from feeding their pig with meat.

It is not limited to just meat. Meat products and other food that had contact with meat should be avoided at all costs.

This also includes food scraps, bakery waste, waste from restaurants and untreated used cooking oils and fats.

WHY PIGS MUST NOT CONSUME MEAT

The easiest way for pigs to get sick or infected is to eat meat.

Terrible virus outbreaks that happened in the past began in pigs. Pigs are capable of getting infected by zoonotic diseases.

Zoonotic diseases are viruses that can be transmitted to humans.

For some areas or states, it might already be considered illegal to irresponsibly allow your pig to eat meat.

Notoriously known viruses that made their way to global news after taking hundreds or more innocent lives will be listed below.

Swine Influenza (H1N1 virus)

This virus is deadly to all ages. It may be similar to a typical fever, but once it gets bad, it can be fatal to the point of death.

Foot-and-mouth disease

Causes severe fever, inflammation, appetite loss, sore throat, depression, and pain in the tongue or gums, red rashes on palms and soles and irritability in infants or toddlers.

Almost anyone knows or has heard about these viruses and should keep in mind how risky it can be. A huge threat can be eliminated just by following a simple advice.

Do not feed meat to your pig.

AVOID LEFTOVERS OR SPOILED FOOD

Even when pigs are known to have a “stomach of steel” (meaning they can eat nearly anything and ingest them without getting sick or feeling sick), it’s still safer to stick to proper food.

We must not rely too much on their natural ability to tolerate any type of food. Just because they CAN eat anything, doesn’t mean we SHOULD feed them literally just anything.

What a pig consumes affects their growth, reproduction, health, behavior and their entire lifespan.

Please do not feed leftovers or spoiled food to your pig.

AVOID FEEDING PIGLETS WITH SEEDY FRUITS/FOODS

For adult or matured pigs, eating almost any kind of fruit is safe and won’t be a threat. However, young pigs or piglets might be put at risk when they swallow seeds.

It may not cause a critical condition, but it’s still better to be safe than sorry.

Don’t risk too much when it comes to health as anything can dangerous can turn fatal any moment.

There are incidents where piglets choked to death and some had a problem when the seed was large enough to hinder several body functions that resulted in various issues.

AVOID MUSHROOMS

Most pigs will instinctively know if a food is poisonous or not. However, it becomes a different story when the food is handed to them by their caretakers or trusted persons.

Since they are comfortable with anything their caretaker or trusted people will give them, they might not even think twice when eating the food that will be placed in front of them.

If you happen to see some mushrooms nearby and decided you want to give them to your pig as a treat, we highly advise you to avoid wild mushrooms as there are many kinds of poisonous mushrooms.

AVOID OTHER PET FOODS

There are reported cases of pig owners feeding pigs with dog food, cat food and other food not suitable for pigs.

Every living animal will have different body types, functions and needs.

This is why it’s highly recommended to feed your pig with the right and appropriate food to avoid getting sick!

Pigs will still eat the food and can survive even with the lack of proper nutrients, but can result with a weaker body and a less stable immune system.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER FEEDING

As long as you take good care of your pig, you can guarantee that it will live a good, healthy long life. You will also be away from risks of getting infected by a disease.

It’s a win-win situation for everyone. The pigs will stay healthy, their owners or caretakers will stay healthy and the people around their owners and caretakers will stay healthy too.

One mistake could cause a chain reaction, that’s why we deeply discussed about what to feed and not to feed your pigs.

A well-fed pet will produce a good amount of liters (piglets) and if they are raised as livestock that is meant to be sold, they will surely fetch a good price.

What is the life expectancy of an average pig?

The life expectancy of an average or domesticated pig is 15 to 20 years. This is long compared to their wild counterpart that only lives 4 up to 8 years.

Although the popular pet breed “mini pigs” are said to have shorter lifespan due to their complicated and selective breeding, many pig owners claim their pets lived up to 15 years and more.

This information brings us to the conclusion that there are times that they can live longer than their expected lifespan as long as they are healthy and loved.

Feeding them right will contribute largely to their lifespan, so make sure to take notes of what you learned from this article.

Notable pig eating habits

Even though pigs are portrayed as “greedy” and used to represent a negative symbol, pigs are really not that “greedy” however, they do have a tendency of wasting food.

Once they have had their fill and feel their stomachs are content but there are still a few bits of food left, pigs, especially piglets, may play with it!

They might roll around in their food or make a mess everywhere.

It’s advisable to use a bowl where their food and water cannot be easily tipped over to avoid having to clean up when they trip on the bowls or intentionally play with it.

The best way to solve this playing habit is to limit the amount of food that will be given for the feeding time.

There are owners who only dump a lot of food into the feeding bowls so they don’t have to refill them later.

This will cause problems for those owners. To make it easy, observe how much food the pig can consume and put back or save the leftover for them to consume later.

Other than avoiding a mess, it can also help owners save money on the cost of food for their pigs.

Abnormal eating behaviors

There are reported and alarming cases of pigs attacking each other and consciously cannibalizing one another. There is a specific research and study about this, but it’s definitely not a common behavior.

Pigs may eat pork meat unconsciously, but purposely and violently attacking fellow pigs is an unusual case.

This has only happened in the wild and domestic pigs have yet to behave this way or there are no known similar incidents for domestic pigs.

Theories suggest that it could be due to starvation or mental problems.

If your pig is behaving suspiciously, take them to the veterinarian immediately.

Basic pig healthcare

To ensure a healthy and long life for your pig, it’s important to let them have annual medical checkups to make sure they haven’t eaten anything that could infect them.

They would also require hooves, nails and tusks trimming or maintaining service which can be important.

To learn more about how to care for pigs, we have a helpful article for you. Read our article here.