Potbellied piglets will get iron from dirt as they scuffle within it.
Caring for a newborn potbellied pig is much like caring for a human baby when it comes to preparing the milk and baby cereal. Sterilize all utensils and keep the piglet warm. One main difference between potbellied pigs and human babies is potbellied pigs are allowed to get dirty. In fact, they need dirt. Provide warmth, milk, dirt and love and the piglet has a fighting chance.
Instructions
1. Insert the newborn potbellied pig into a playpen or a pet carrier. Drape blankets over the sides of the playpen to keep out drafts.
2. Insert a heating pad into the playpen. Baby potbellied pigs must be kept very warm, since their bodies cannot produce their own heat for the first two weeks of life. A temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit is a suggested temperature. You can also hang safety heat lamps over the playpen in an area where it cannot be knocked down accidentally onto the baby pig.
3. Pour lukewarm goat milk or sow milk replacement in a small sterilized dish or a sterilized new ash tray. Hold the dish in one hand and the baby pig in the other hand. Dip the pig's snout in the milk. The first few times, the baby pig will spit and sputter, but will eventually learn eat appropriately. Some people feed baby pigs from a bottle, which is fine, but the pig will just have to be trained to not eat out of a bottle later, anyway, so eliminating this step in the beginning is easier.
4. Add baby rice cereal to the milk once the pig reaches 3 days old. Begin with a liquid consistency, and gradually add cereal until the consistency becomes thicker. By the time the baby pig reaches 2 weeks old, the cereal should be like a thick paste.
5. Feed the baby pig every couple of hours throughout the day and throughout the night. Once the baby pig reaches 1 week old, feed it every three or four hours and disengage the night feeding.
6. Present a flat cookie sheet scattered with clean dirt for the baby pig to walk and scuffle around in. Dirt that has tufts of grass are even better for the baby pig, as it will enjoy rotting them around.
Tags: baby reaches, baby will, into playpen, newborn potbellied, potbellied pigs