OUR PIGS
There is no such thing as a micro pig!
Sadly, almost all of the pigs at Mossburn were bought as micro pigs to be family pets and they quickly outgrew their micro status.
Clive
Clive arrived at Mossburn on the 4th April 2018 aged 4 months and, of course, was bred as a ‘micro-pig’ – he is now one of our largest pigs! Poor Clive got increasingly angry as he grew and gradually became unable to fit through small gaps and go anywhere he wanted to! Clive was bought as a micro pig to be a house pet but the people who purchased him decided to move shortly after and their new landlord refused to allow them to have a house pig. That was good news for Clive because, although he was well cared for, living in a house is not where or how any pig wants to live. He was delighted on arrival here at Mossburn to find he had a deep straw bed, a neighbour called George and lots of other pigs to hang out with. George and Clive have become very friendly and now share a pen together. It was a bit of a surprise to us because George is known for being a grumpy old man, but he has since shown that he likes baby pigs as he has been very tolerant of Henrietta and then Willow too. Clive has a very sweet nature – he does like a tummy rub – and enjoys getting up to mischief around the farm.
Henrietta
“Hamish” arrived here on the 15th September 2018 and immediately became Henrietta as she is in fact a girl. She is, like most “micro” pigs, a cross-breed of goodness knows what! Henrietta was born in 2017 and was the much loved house pet of a couple who are about a 2 hour drive north of here, however they had their own baby boy and Henrietta took exception to this new baby taking over her premises. They were then in what could have been a dangerous situation and our advice on being asked what they should do was to get Henrietta here as soon as possible. Although a trifle shy at first Henrietta very quickly took to her new home and was delighted to find herself among her own kind, with lots of space to roam and a big straw bed to sleep in. She is an independent pig who spends her days going off exploring, however that said she is never late in for her tea and she does NOT like the rain!!
Pansy
Pansy and Primrose came to the farm in March 2017, supposedly aged about 2 years old, but judging by the amount they have grown, their breeder was perhaps not truthful about their age, which is frequent with micro pig breeders. A lady had rescued them from a well-meaning owner who purchased them to run on his allotment as micro pigs. Needless to say they grew larger than expected and so we were asked to take them. The girls arrived with another pig, Paul and within a few days of their arrival we realised that the pig then called ‘Poppy’ was in fact a ‘Paul’! As he appears to have already been castrated we can’t quite work out why he came to be named Poppy and the lady who bought them did say they were three girls (she obviously didn’t think to look underneath!). Sadly Paul was put to sleep in 2021 after his back end collapsed and he was unable to walk. He was the third “micro pig” we have had here who this happened to and it is frustrating and upsetting that poor breeding leads to this – their legs are too small to support their weight once fully grown. Pansy & Primrose are well behaved and friendly pigs. Pansy appears to prefer people to other pigs and loves her bed - she will squeal at her door to be in, especially if it is cold!
Percy
Percy came to Mossburn in November 2023 after his long-term companion had passed away and his owners were concerned that he was lonely. We are unsure of his breed but he is a lovely pink pig with a spotty nose. When Percy arrived he was carrying a bit of extra weight and was very lazy, needing to be made to get out of his bed. He has gradually lost a good bit of weght and has become a lot more active, although his favourite things in the world are still his bed and food! Percy is a friendly boy but can be a little nervous and did take a while to settle in. He is currently kept separate from the other pigs as initial introductions did not go well but we are hoping to intergrate him into the main yard in the summer.
Primrose
Pansy and Primrose came to the farm in March 2017, supposedly aged about 2 years old, but judging by the amount they have grown, their breeder was perhaps not truthful about their age, which is frequent with micro pig breeders. A lady had rescued them from a well-meaning owner who purchased them to run on his allotment as micro pigs. Needless to say they grew larger than expected and so we were asked to take them. The girls arrived with another pig, Paul and within a few days of their arrival we realised that the pig then called ‘Poppy’ was in fact a ‘Paul’! As he appears to have already been castrated we can’t quite work out why he came to be named Poppy and the lady who bought them did say they were three girls (she obviously didn’t think to look underneath!). Sadly Paul was put to sleep in 2021 after his back end collapsed and he was unable to walk. He was the third “micro pig” we have had here who this happened to and it is frustrating and upsetting that poor breeding leads to this – their legs are too small to support their weight once fully grown. Pansy & Primrose are well behaved and friendly pigs.
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Willow
Willow turned up having travelled in the back of a transit van full of tools, only a couple of hours after we had said we could take her and was a very frightened, very small piglet! We had been told she was over one year old but had immediate suspicions about her age and on later examination of her teeth our vets believe she was around five months old at time of arrival. She had also been given the name Rasher which was swiftly changed to Willow! When put into our arms she was carried to a pen full of straw, which she immediately dived into and was not seen again until the following morning! Willow settled in very quickly and very happily until it was noticed that she had what seemed like a graze on her bottom jaw. Despite antiseptic treatment, this didn’t clear up and one day we noticed there was something protruding from her bottom jaw. The vet was duly called and removed the offending piece of what was considered to be bone! All went well until fluid began leaking from the original site which necessitated a trip in the car to the vet for x-rays to be done. Once on Siobhan’s knee in the back of the car Willow settled down to sleep for the journey but could be heard all over Lockerbie when Andy the vet removed her into the surgery! The girls at the end of the phones had to assure people they were simply trying to weigh a pig and not anything worse! The xrays showed that at some point Willow had had a chipped jawbone which, although mending itself, now had infection in the bone. This was serious and we were all quite worried but luckily a long series of antibiotic injections cleared up the problem – we hope for good but we still keep a close eye on it. Willow is very popular as she is a very friendly, active little pig who runs around the yard doing interesting things like gathering sticks! She is a right character and although she has more than tripled in size, she is the smallest pig we have ever had here.