Pot Bellied Porkers Make Great House Pets

Pot Bellied Porkers make Great House Pets AG WORLD Ag World 12-3-19 You may think having a pig for a pet is hogwash, but don't tell that to Kayla Mull, Los Angeles, Calif. She's importing a miniature "pot bellied" breed from China and selling the pigs as house pets. The pint-sized porkers stand about 16 in. tall and weigh about 60 lbs. when full-grown. Most are black in color, although a few have tiny splotches of white on their feet or foreheads. Mull raises the "happy, huggable hoglets" pigs in her home. She parts with them at about 8 weeks old, when they can wait up to about eight hours before going to the bathroom outside. "They're strange little pigs, but they make great house pets," says Mull, a micro-biologist and part-time entrepreneur who sells the pigs through her company, Creatures of Comfort. Mull, who has contacts with zoo importers, receives the miniature pigs as wild animals through an intermediary zoo in Ontario, Canada. She's been house training the pigs for the past 2 years, and claims to be the first person in the U.S. to market the "mini porkers" as pets. She sells barrows for $1,500, while females go for $5,000 and up. "There's tremendous demand for runts," she says. Mull says her pigs love human contact. Throughout her day of tending various animals, she often has a tiny piglet nestled in her lap, where it drinks from a bottle. "Most of the pigs enjoy being petted, scratched and held. They like to sit in your lap and watch television. In addition, they can be taught to sit up, roll over, climb stairs or go whizzing down a slide. They also can be walked on a harness and leash, and will even "sit" on command. Unlike dogs, the miniature pigs sleep all night long, says Mull. "They don't bark in the middle of the night, and they never chew on furniture." Housebreaking is easy, says Mull, because pigs are naturally neat. "They'll pace back and forth when they want to go out and growl at the door when they want to come back in." The miniature pigs respond instantly to an owner's whistle, says Mull, who loads her own pet pigs into her Honda CRX by opening a door and whistling. "The pigs trail nose to tail from the house to the car like a line of elephants." What do the pigs eat? Mull says she's had luck with only one food, Purina High Octane baby pig feed. "Any other kind of feed seems to cause dry skin problems." Unlike domestic pigs, the miniature pigs don't cry for food at feeding time. As they get older, both males and females grow tusks, which can be filed off by a veterinarian. The miniature pigs are part of a growing market for exotic animal pets, says Mull. "Many people would love to own some-thing different, like a lion, tiger, wolf or llama. And these pigs are exotic, because more people actually have touched an elephant than have touched a pig. Zoos offer elephant rides. It's not as easy to touch a pig For more information, contact FARM SHOW Follow up, Kayla Mull, Creatures of Comfort, 2832 Hamner Ave., No. 208, Norco, Cal. 91760 (ph 714 735-8336).

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