I love pigs, you can love them too

The life of pigs

Pigs are raised in enclosed structures or in open farms. Due to the misconception that they are filthy animals, some farmers do not focus on keeping them in good conditions.

It’s a common scenery in most sub – urban areas to find free range pigs foraging in garbage and wallowing in mud. Such a scenery encourages the belief that pigs are a means in which parasites are passed down to humans.

In other commercial farms, it’s common to find pigs, in a crowded pigsty or confined in cages that limit their movement. This exposes them to stress, limiting their growth and freedom to exhibit natural behaviors.

The beauty in pigs

Did you know pigs are among the most intelligent and cleanest animals when kept under the right conditions?

It sounds ironical but that’s the truth. If you keep pigs in a spacious house they usually design a designated dining, sleeping and defecating areas.

Yes! pigs do divide their living spaces. They don’t defecate where they sleep and neither do they sleep where they feed at.

In poorly constructed or overcrowded houses pigs don’t get an opportunity to design their surroundings. 

In addition, pigs also don’t have sweat glands so basically, they don’t sweat. Instead they wallow in mud or in water to cool off. That’s why they defecate near watering points.

In a natural setting, pigs forage through digging up root tubers using their face, a phenomenon known as rooting. This digging up with their faces is what makes them get labeled as dirt loving animals.

Pigs keeping tips:

You can prevent pigs from spreading some of the parasites they are frequently accused of spreading through:

·       proper housing

·       discouraging foraging in garbage

·       pre-cooking pig’s feeds

·       regular deworming

By Peter Mwangi - Final year, Veterinary student at University of Nairobi, Kenya