Mini, Tea Cup, Micro, Pixie Pig Enrichment

It is a dynamic process in which changes to structures and husbandry practices are made with the goal of increasing behavioral choices available to animals and drawing out their species-appropriate behaviors and abilities, thus enhancing animal welfare" (AZA/ BAG, 1999).

Therefore, the main goal of enrichment should be to enhance your pigs’ environment to provide both mental and physical stimulation through the use of novel stimuli. Enrichment has become a very important aspect of zoo keeping and is regarded as a crucial part of animal husbandry- so much so now that it is considered as important as proper veterinary care and a healthy diet. Though the main efforts of enrichment programs have focused on captive animals in zoos, it is just as important to provide enrichment for domesticated animals.

Enrichment might seem to be a daunting task, as people often assume it means spending a great deal of time making complicated puzzle feeders or toys for their animals. Although you can certainly spend hours designing new items, it is important to remember that the purpose of enrichment is to enhance your potbelly pig’s environment. Hence, enrichment can be something as simple as spraying a bit of perfume onto a few patio stones in your yard or hiding a few treats when your potbelly isn’t looking. Both of these enrichment concepts take very little time but accomplish the goal of providing your pig with novel stimuli; allowing your pigs to utilize their natural behaviors and to make choices about their environment. Because pigs are extremely intelligent, enrichment should not be viewed as an optional part of their care- it should be a seen as an integral part of proper potbelly pig husbandry and a crucial step to ensuring a happy and healthy porcine friend.

When to use enrichment

The goal of enrichment should be to promote a stimulating environment for your potbelly pig. In general, I have found it works well to prepare one enrichment item per pig per day. This is not always possible, and even if enrichment is provided every three days or once a week, it will still help to enhance your potbelly pigs’ wellbeing. Pigs are incredibly intelligent and curious, and benefit greatly from a regular enrichment schedule. Find what works for you and your pig, and be prepared to stick with it.

In general, when putting out enrichment items, it is important to only place them in the environment for a set amount of time and then REMOVE them, as many items loose their novelty if left in the environment. I generally leave the items out for up to one day. In addition, try to create enough enrichment items to where you can place them out on a rotating schedule. Enrichment items that are used too often will also loose some of their novelty for the pigs. Variety is key to creating a proper enrichment program.

How to use enrichment

It is important to consider the pig’s natural history when designing enrichment items. Pigs are natural foragers and rooters, spending a majority of their time in the wild searching for their food. By providing enrichment, you should be promoting the use of your potbellies’ natural abilities.

When you first introduce a new item to your pig, your pig may choose to ignore it or may choose to investigate it thoroughly. Even if your pig completely ignores an item, don’t immediately make the decision to discontinue using that particular item. Try putting it out several more times, and you might find your pig eventually decides that he or she likes that item. Even if they don’t seem to particularly enjoy an item or only spend a small amount of time interacting with it, I would still continue to use that item occasionally. Remember that any change to the environment that allows your pig to make behavioral choices (either investigating or ignoring an item) have served the intended purpose of enrichment.