Pigs and Goats as companions?

one last thing, if anyone doesn't believe me that pigs are herd animals, check this out
http://www.animalcontrol.com.au/pig.htm scroll down to feral pig biology This will show you I am not making it up!

We've kept many a hog alone and it really doesn't seem to bother them one way or the other.

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Pigs are suseptible to worms as much or more than a goat. If you are raising your pig to butcher you shouldn't need to worm it in that amount of time, but it could introduce or perpetuate a problem that you would have in your goat for a long time.

A pig may be happy with a goat for a companion (if it didn't eat it), but I don't think a goat would be happy to have a pig for a companion. The dirtyness of a pig would be a big yuck factor to a goat.

We've had a pig with another pig and by himself. Judging from his response to both situations he was much happier by himself then with the other pig. He did just fine on his own. He was always happy to see me coming with a treat.

I'd vote for the goat with goats and pig with pigs.

gl
downhome

Yeah including a herd of one!
They can survive alone.
Herd animals rarely do for long.
And if you want to use that web page for a pig info source:
opportunistic omnivore..domestic pig with sleeping goat that has leg too close to pigs mouth. The goat may not get eaten, but it can be bitten and severely.

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My site.

Herd animals CAN survive alone. Of course they are safer and happier in a herd. Which I think applies to pigs. As I mentioned before, if you let loose a group of pigs they move with eachother, as herd animals do.
I don't think anyone is debating whether or not they are omnivours. I think opportunistic really can apply mainly to an animal that is not well fed. If you skimp out on what they SHOULD eat, they will look for something else that looks good. Just like a guardian dog, whose predicessors were carnivours (these days they eat rice and all sorts of veggies in their dog food). If you forget dinner, it may begin to see some steaks walking around him! lol.
On the pig forum, where this question is also posted, many have said that their pigs allow other animals, goats and chickens included, to eat right along side them, and never bat an eye.
I personally think that animals should have company. When I got my first two pigs I got two. If I hadn't I am sure she would still be happy because I would have made sure they had a friend or that I was out there everyday, not just to feed but to rub on them and scratch them (I do anyways, they LOVE it) They have gotten out into the goat pen and never done anything. Again, I think it is a pig by pig and a goat by goat basis. It is very important to think about everything though, like some people have said about the uck factor and everything...goats are prissy aren't they?! LOL.
Everyone has had their experience and has their opinions, but I think that we should all make informed statements. If you don't know something to BE fact, we should state it; say that we "have heard" or "think." Just my opinion... :-)

Okay, as someone on here put it a few years ago and we still laugh about here on our farm (the chickens don't!) - the pig sees a chicken walk by or run by in great distress and yells "BUFFET" and eats it. THe goats respect our pigs, the pigs look at our goats, chickens and chicks with an eye to filing for future reference, under dinner. We feed our animals separately. Our pigs have attempted on one occaison to have a chicken for dinner when she fell from or was pulled off her roost on the door to the pig pen. Her poor roo was screaming bloody murder - it was 10 or 11 at night and as far as he was concerned we could not get our boots on quick enough for either of them. The pigs, one of them has eaten baby chicks that wandered too close before. I certainly would not put any size goat in with a pig. As a 185 pound woman I had a gentle pig stick her head under me at my knees and pick me up to get me out of her pen. Not sure what the problem was still to this day but I wouldn't risk it. I obviously missed what she had been trying to tell me, so she moved me.

Our pigs have been housed together and alone - depending on the circumstances. Not once did I have a distressed pig because they were not around another pig. As a matter of fact, I introduced stress when I added the extra pig which is just plain logic. If you move up quietly to the barn and peek you will usually find a very calm contended pig who is sleeping and stretching and happy.

Laurie (vtfarma)

Thank you all for your replies. Well, someone came to look at the goats I had for sale today and really wanted the buckling I was thinking about keeping, so I guess it is a mute point for me now anyway. I am still thinking of getting the one and keeping a LGD with him most of the time. Maybe that will work.

Tiffany

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I have 2 wethers and 2 piglets. They are housed separately but turned out together in the same fenced off area. They all get along and have been seen sleeping cuddled all together. I don't get the whole "pigs are dirty" thing. Mine do their business in 1 corner of the stall and will not eat any food that has gotten dirty off the floor. They like to root outside but by no means are they dirty. The only time they smell is when I am cleaning out the bathroom corner of their stall. Maybe I just got lucky....

Heh. works around here...


Also -we used to free range our pigs from time to time. They never bothered the poultry or any of the other animals.

Today we had ours out to eat acorns. They went right past our guineas - including 6 keets - without a second look.

That is good to know. We have a Great Pyr that will be back with the pigs. I hope they get along well too.

Thanks,
Tiffany

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I'll have to agree with jil101ca. I can only dream of my goats going in one spot. I guess in a way they do. After being outside all day thats the first thing they do when they go in the barn is go to the bathroom. I wouldn't put a small goat in a small pen with big pigs. But if you put a small feeder pig in a pasture with goats they will get used to each other and be fine. You'll probably have to lock the pig in a stall a time or two a day to eat to keep the goat from overloading with grain. We've also got a 10 year old sow that's been in a pen by herself since she was two. She does fine.

We have 2 potbelly pigs in with our goats and chickens. Other than the kids standing on the pigs backs everyone gets along just fine.