2016
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Pigs were one of the first animals domesticated about 6,000 years ago in China (Bradford, 2015).
The domestic pig is not native to North America, it is believed that Christopher Columbus brought them over with him on his second voyage to America in 1493. The wild pigs that became domesticated originate from Europe, Asia, and North African forests where they are still wild (Pig, 2016). Pigs can now be found anywhere in the world except Antarctica. Despite years of attempting to truly domesticate wild pigs, they have never been able to fully lose their wild tendencies. Pregnant sows become especially wild while nesting, which relates back to when they had to survive in the wild (Lohman, n.d.).
The body type of the pig is stocky with a …show more content…
Pigs come in all different sizes and each body size is used for a different type of meat. Large pigs are used for lard production, medium sized pigs are commonly for bacon production, and small pigs are produced for pork (Pig, 2016).
The classification of the pig in order from kingdom to species is Animalia, Chordata,
Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae, Sus, Scrofa (Bradford, 2015). The order Artiodactyla also includes giraffes and hippopotamuses which are also even-toed ungulates (Lohman, n.d.).
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Pigs are omnivorous animals that eat nearly anything that is put in front of them. On farms, they are fed grain that is a mix of barley, wheat, soy, and corn. Some small farms choose to feed their pigs “slop”, which is a mixture of vegetable peels, fruit rinds, and any other leftover food (Bradford, 2015). In the wild, pigs will change their diet seasonally depending on what is available around them. During the spring they will commonly graze in grass or marshlands on different grasses or clover. In the summer when the ground dries up, they will begin to forage on roots, wild oats, and bulbs. Fall and Winter will cause the pigs to travel to the woodlands and eat berries and nuts, and sometimes even acorns (Lohman, …show more content…
Pigs are usually seen covered in mud because they use it as a way to avoid heat stress during the hot summer months when the rain may be lacking. The mud also helps keep flies away and stop sunburn due to their light pink skin. Hot summer days cause the pigs to become more active in the cool nights where they will expend less energy. The same is true for the winter, the pigs will go out and forage during the day, but if it is too cold, they will lessen the time spent searching for food to save energy (Lohman, n.d.).
Pigs that have properly been socialized to human contact really enjoy it as they are very social animals. They are also very smart, possibly even smarter than some 3 year olds. Some people enjoy training their pigs, and it helps that they are very food driven (Bradford, 2015). Pigs are very social animals, and enjoy living in groups so they do not become lonely.
Communication can be seen through different forms of squealing and grunting between each other and people. Most pigs do not enjoy being picked up, so they will begin to squeal and
4
wiggle. The noise is just a sign of distress but they are not in any pain. Pigs are very peaceful animals, unless they are new mothers, which will cause them to be very protective of their young
(Bradford,
2
Pigs were one of the first animals domesticated about 6,000 years ago in China (Bradford, 2015).
The domestic pig is not native to North America, it is believed that Christopher Columbus brought them over with him on his second voyage to America in 1493. The wild pigs that became domesticated originate from Europe, Asia, and North African forests where they are still wild (Pig, 2016). Pigs can now be found anywhere in the world except Antarctica. Despite years of attempting to truly domesticate wild pigs, they have never been able to fully lose their wild tendencies. Pregnant sows become especially wild while nesting, which relates back to when they had to survive in the wild (Lohman, n.d.).
The body type of the pig is stocky with a …show more content…
Pigs come in all different sizes and each body size is used for a different type of meat. Large pigs are used for lard production, medium sized pigs are commonly for bacon production, and small pigs are produced for pork (Pig, 2016).
The classification of the pig in order from kingdom to species is Animalia, Chordata,
Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae, Sus, Scrofa (Bradford, 2015). The order Artiodactyla also includes giraffes and hippopotamuses which are also even-toed ungulates (Lohman, n.d.).
3
Pigs are omnivorous animals that eat nearly anything that is put in front of them. On farms, they are fed grain that is a mix of barley, wheat, soy, and corn. Some small farms choose to feed their pigs “slop”, which is a mixture of vegetable peels, fruit rinds, and any other leftover food (Bradford, 2015). In the wild, pigs will change their diet seasonally depending on what is available around them. During the spring they will commonly graze in grass or marshlands on different grasses or clover. In the summer when the ground dries up, they will begin to forage on roots, wild oats, and bulbs. Fall and Winter will cause the pigs to travel to the woodlands and eat berries and nuts, and sometimes even acorns (Lohman, …show more content…
Pigs are usually seen covered in mud because they use it as a way to avoid heat stress during the hot summer months when the rain may be lacking. The mud also helps keep flies away and stop sunburn due to their light pink skin. Hot summer days cause the pigs to become more active in the cool nights where they will expend less energy. The same is true for the winter, the pigs will go out and forage during the day, but if it is too cold, they will lessen the time spent searching for food to save energy (Lohman, n.d.).
Pigs that have properly been socialized to human contact really enjoy it as they are very social animals. They are also very smart, possibly even smarter than some 3 year olds. Some people enjoy training their pigs, and it helps that they are very food driven (Bradford, 2015). Pigs are very social animals, and enjoy living in groups so they do not become lonely.
Communication can be seen through different forms of squealing and grunting between each other and people. Most pigs do not enjoy being picked up, so they will begin to squeal and
4
wiggle. The noise is just a sign of distress but they are not in any pain. Pigs are very peaceful animals, unless they are new mothers, which will cause them to be very protective of their young
(Bradford,