Are Pigs Dangerous?

This is a question I get.  Is it dangerous to keep pigs?  Is it dangerous to keep pigs if you have small children?

I’ve been raising pigs for years.  I’ve also had children for years.  When we got our first pigs our children were pretty young.

BONUS STORY:  

My youngest was a little guy and he was pretty excited when he was told he could name one of our first 2 piglets.  The name he selected?  “Zorro”  Yes, we owned a pig named, Zorro.  Actually we have owned several pigs named, “Zorro.”  Our pigs are food, ya’ know….  and we don’t want to get too attached to them.  Some folks don’t name the food.

This is stupid and doesn’t work on our farm because eventually something is going to happen to one of your pigs & when you call for help (Thank you, DH) you need a name to identify who the problem is.  I suppose numbers would do, but names are easier.

So, yes, we name our food.  Our solution to the “names will make you bond with them” is simple – we name our pigs the same names every year.

YUP.

What are the pig names:  Porker, Zorro and Snacks.

We have had several seasons and rounds of piggies, but they always get the same names:  Porker, Zorro and Snacks.

Porker is the biggest.

Zorro is the runt.

Snacks is the other one.

Don’t ask me about he year I had 17 pigs – that was a disaster and there were only 3 pigs who could be readily identified (Yeah- Porker, Zorro & Snacks)  all the others were just “stupid pigs.”

No, he is not getting ready to bite, fully intact boars foam at the mouth… for more on foam go here.

I’ve heard some horrifying stories about pigs turning evil, harming people and even eating their owners.

I don’t know if these are true, but they are scary enough to make me pretty cautious around animals who weigh significantly more than I do.

The truth is that any animal can be dangerous.  Cows, goats, sheep, pigs, roosters, tom turkeys and even rabbits can give a hearty scratching if they feel so inclined. When you raise animals, there are certainly many opportunities for someone to get hurt.

We have 4 children who are pretty involved in the farm work around our place.  I am careful and try to take precautions so that none of my children are put in situations where they could get hurt.  You can’t protect them from everything, but you can be smart.

In order to keep everyone safe, we have rules.

How to Keep Children Safe Around Large Animals

# 1 Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – Obedient Children

I think, first and foremost, it is important that children around large animals respect authority.  Whether it’s mom & dad or the neighbor or the farmer down the road – kids need to respect and heed instructions.

Obey Immediately:  When you are in the middle of giving a 1,300 pound steer its injections you don’t want to have to explain “Why?” to a child who is playing in a pile of dirt.  You need them to do exactly what you told them to do…. right then.

Without Question:  When a small child is about to grab a hold of a 2,000 watt electric fence……  you don’t want them to challenge your instructions or ask you why they can’t touch the fence.  Not to mention, you may not have time for these explanations before the child gets his shoulders knocked out of their sockets.

Electric fences have an unforgettable teaching method.  Once you get zapped good, you aren’t too excited about a re-run.

Yes, there are times when I do allow my children to go into the off-limit areas with me and under the right circumstances.

# 2 – Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – Small children and Large Animals are a bad idea.

We have never allowed our small children to work with the large animals.  They don’t feed, water, muck or go into the fields with large animals (unless I am with them or have given them permission and supervision).

When our children are old enough and I can see that the animals respect them – then I begin to let them work with the larger animals (supervised, of course).

My youngest daughter is 12 years old and weighs 80 pounds.  She is a tiny thing and most folks would be terrified to put her in a confined space with an 800-pound cow (that has horns).  BUT, I’m here to tell Y’all, that girl doesn’t put up with any bull from the cows.  It’s hilarious.  That little girl can move our horned, Jersey cow, Trinka, anywhere she wants.  It always makes me laugh to see her escorting a giant bovine around like a puppy.

#3 – Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – Wear the Right Gear

No open toed shoes around big animals – ever.  Unless you want a broken foot.

It’s not a matter of “if” you will get stepped on….. it’s just a matter of “when.”  If a giant animal steps on your foot it is usually because they wanted to come to get a scratch from you (especially the 300-pound pigs or an 800-pound cow).  At our place it is never out of spite – they just want to be close to you (because you love them) and they truly have no idea they are standing on your foot.  Really, they don’t have a clue.  The worst part is trying to get them off your foot once they plop down on it.  Ugh.

So, close-toed shoes are a must – and if you work with cows – steel-toed boots are the best.  A cow could stand on your foot until the cows come home and you won’t feel a thing.

#4 – Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – Feed them Right

An animal with adequate living quarters & diet should be content to stay in their given habitat.  Animals need plenty of space, shelter, windbreak, food, and water.  If their needs are being met and the fencing is secure you should have animals happily dwelling in their environment.  If they don’t have something or don’t have enough of something (like food) this is when they begin to think about escape.

When it comes to pigs, you really have to be careful about what you feed them.  No, you can’t feed them table scraps.  I know there are people all over the world doing it, but I will never feed my pigs leftovers from my table…

Why?

2 reasons actually:

ONE:  Avocados are poisonous to pigs.

TWO:  They can’t eat any blood.  

I have been told by many folks much wiser than I am that you should NEVER feed a pig anything that contains blood.  This includes meat, bones, stocks, soups or anything else that has/had any meat/ blood in it.  Once a pig gets a taste of blood (meat) it changes them.  It will make them aggressive and create a desire to eat more blood (meat).  I’m told this is one of the reasons people get hurt around their pigs.

My pigs are vegetarians (who eat milk products).

#5 – Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – Be Smart

Another precaution I take with the pigs is that I only keep them from birth to 300 pounds.   I don’t want to keep pigs and breed them (at least not right now).  Keeping pigs for breeding stock means you have some enormous pigs at your place.  I raise feeder pigs over the summer.  I am done in 4 months & when they leave they are as big enough to scare the dickens out of me.  My pigs usually weigh-in around 300 pounds at the end of their life.

Sows and Boars kept for breeding purposes can easily weigh over 500 pounds and can get up to 1000 pounds.  This is huge.  Especially with 4 children.  I suppose, with the right fencing and rules in place I could keep a giant boar around.  I would probably handle it like I do the Bull.  The kids wouldn’t be allowed in the pasture with the boar…. ever.  🙂

#6 – Way to Keep Children Safe Around Livestock – If an Animal Gets Aggressive – Eat ’em

This is why they are here, after all.  I can’t even tell you how many animals we’ve decided to eat (who weren’t destined for freezer camp) or how many animals we ate months before we planned to eat them because they were misbehaving.

No animal is worth putting the welfare of my children in danger for.  We have eaten steers who were only 9 months old.  We have eaten roosters who were supposed to be fertilizing eggs.  We’ve eaten bunnies who tried to scratch the skin off anyone they came near them.

Be nice or be food.

Does it concern me to have my children living around livestock and large animals?  Not really.  I see it as a blessing in so many ways.  My children are benefiting so much from living this way:

• They are learning responsibility.
• They are learning obedience.
• They are learning that boundaries are designed to protect them and keep them safe (rules).
• They are learning how to care for livestock.
• AND they are learning where food comes from.

Before you make the jump into large livestock ownership be sure you have safe dwelling areas for the animals and some rules in place for the kiddos so everyone stays safe & happy.

Follow along!!

Be sure to join the email list (for free) here.

Learn more about becoming a member here.

What’s with the Memberships?

Trying to clean up your diet & get healthy?  Renegade real food meals, groceries from your yard, bread-making like your great-grandma, instructional videos, insider information and more.  Joining is cheap & your pants will thank you.  – Learn more here.

XO,

Candi