Meet Our Piggy, Hamlet

Let me introduce y'all to our pet pig! Meet Hamlet! He's a Kunekune/Juiliana mix. He was born March 6 so he is almost 7 months old. He is the SWEETEST little piggy. It took him a bit to come around to us but now he tries to sit in my lap. I think he thinks he is a doggy.

A lot of people assumed he was an impulse buy but he most definitely was not. I have wanted a pig for as long as I could remember but never had the yard for one. When we moved to our new house back in April I knew that once the house was unpacked and things had calmed down and we were settled in that I wanted to talk to my husband about it. We had a big enough yard and it just felt right. Obviously Chris didn't see an issue with it, so I started looking at pigs for sale from local (and not so local) farms. I had done some research so I knew which breeds I wanted based off their temperament and other things. I wanted a piggy that would be okay with our girls since he would be a pet. I found a couple farms that had some listed for sale and I saved the listings/pictures so that I could "sleep on" deciding which one(s) I wanted to message inquiring about.

I ended up messaging two farms asking about the pigs they had (gender, temperament, etc) and only one of them messaged me back. It was a picture of our Hamlet and three of his siblings, another male and two females. I knew I wanted a boy and it just so happened that the two little piggies that stood out out to me in the pictures were males. I couldn't decide which one was ours from the picture so when I went out to the farm they brought both of them out so that I could choose in person. They were both adorable and both of the males had the black spots. It was hard to choose.

The farm that we got Hamlet from is about 2 hours from us, so I was worried that he would not like the drive home but he slept the entire way. I was shocked at how well he did. I was definitely expecting grunts and other noises during the ride, but it was quiet.

Enjoying some cucumbers.

The picture above is the next morning. We brought him around us while we played outside so that he could get used to us and we fed him some of his favorite snacks. We wanted him to get comfortable with us and one of the best ways for that to happen is to interact with them. We sat outside with him for hours and it still took a little bit for him to come around to us but now he'll try to climb in your lap. LOL.

Hamlet loves head and belly scratches. He loves spinach and cucumbers and watermelon. If you scratch his head he will sometimes lay down (like the picture above) and fall asleep. He's a typical pig and loves playing in the mud so his favorite is when it rains and his pen gets muddy.

Hamlet has been an amazing addition to our family. Although he's broken out of his pen twice.. he's a pretty good pig. If you're outside and he can see or hear you he starts squealing loudly because duh you have to pay him attention at all times.

Do you have any pets? If so, are they "traditional" pets or like ours and less common?

Published by Lena Ralene

Meet Our Piggy, Hamlet

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