Believe it or not, our little snooted friends need their hooves trimmed as well! Some say every 4 to 6 months, but like goats there are other factors that play a roll in frequency. 

   Housing also plays a roll on hoof wear. Is your little piggers a house pet? On carpet and linoleum most of their day?  Living on soft surfaces, and in small areas promotes excessive growth. This growth can be detrimental to the health of your pig. It will cause the hoof to sit back and misalign the joints, creating discomfort and over time, causing lameness. This will cause your pig to spend even more time resting, which will attribute to being overweight. These pigs will more than likely be better off with more frequent trims. Anywhere between every two months, up to six. 

   Nutrition is also a very important factor. Pigs are not meant to be overweight.

They should not struggle to move around. Make sure you're giving them a balanced diet of quality pellets, vegetables, and some grazing. I have not met any pigs that need more than 1 cup(measured) twice a day, let alone that amount. Most of my recommendations are usually 1/2 cup pellets twice a day and lots of veggies/salad. Little to no fruits, no oats. oatmeal, no yogurt. We like to feed them as if they are a type 1 diabetic! 

   Make sure your little piggers are getting exercise! Healthy movement is so good for them! Walking on abrasive surfaces like cement and gravel will benefit their hoof health by self-wearing the outer hoof wall. The more healthy wear, the less you have to see me(Or any other hoofcare professional) Before you start pushing your pigs around for exercise, do make sure their hooves are in decent shape. You don't want to have them moving around excessively if they are in pain or have open cracks. This may be detrimental to their overall health by creating uneven wear on the hooves, causing them to walk unbalanced.  

   So, how do I trim your pigs? I do not use sedation. Sedation is tricky and involves veterinary procedures which costs more, and unfortunately, pigs may not recover from it due to various reasons. I use the, "flipping" method to flip the pig onto it's back, which prevents the pig from gaining any kind of traction so that it can not escape. This method keeps both humans and pigs safe from being injured. When I flip a pig, I try to do it as quickly and safely as possible. Once the pig realizes that struggling does not help them, they will calm down physically. Verbally? They may or may not.

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Tusk Trimming-

Some times, pigs will also need their tusks trimmed down. Either they have a bad habit of swiping(often in unaltered pigs), accidental injuries from being sharp, or they are growing so long and could potentially start to curl back into the pigs lip. This is an uncomfortable and painful scenario easily avoidable by trimming the tusks. I use an OB wire saw to do this. The tusk should be trimmed right at or slightly below the lip, making sure that no gum material is being removed. There have been instances of folks taking off gum material and that is just not ok. It can open up an easily accessible area for bacteria to grow and infection to set in. I will avoid the gums at all costs. Sometimes, you will need to CAREFULLY use a dremel tool to file the tusks down so there are no sharp edges. Careful is key!  

   As I gain more knowledge, I will happily share it here! So check back every now and again for updates! 

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