Eight Interesting Facts You May Not Know About Pigs
A friend told me that pigs are very smart. Is that true?
Your question receives a resounding YES! Pigs are the fifth most intelligent animal on earth and are smarter and more trainable than a dog.
A baby pig can learn its name when it’s just two weeks old! And young hogs can learn to play video games even better than a monkey.
Other facts follow that may change your opinion about this intelligent farm animal.
Pigs cannot sweat. When you think of pigs, you may envision a chubby animal rolling in the mud. Pigs prefer mud to stay cool since they have few sweat glands and cannot sweat. Rolling in the mud also protects the pig’s skin from the sun and helps prevent sunburn.
Pigs are fast. If you have ever tried to catch a runaway pig, you know it can run like the wind. Domestic pigs are sprinters and can reach a speed of 11 miles an hour in a few strides. Pigs do not run straight but move in a zigzag pattern, making them especially hard to catch.
Clean pigs. Even though we associate pigs with mud, they are very clean animals. Pigs refuse to defecate anywhere near where they eat or sleep. And, unlike other animals, newborn pigs will leave their sleeping area and their litter mates to relieve themselves.
Pigs are large animals. Baby pigs weigh about 2.5 pounds at birth but will surpass 200 pounds in 22 to 26 weeks. The biggest pig on record was Big Bill in Tennessee, which weighed in at 2,552 pounds in 1933.
Sows (mama pigs) sing to their piglets. Sows make a singing or grunting noise when they nurse their young, with newborn piglets able to recognize and run toward their mother’s voice. Pigs have more than 20 different grunts, some noises expressing hunger or calling for a mate.
Pigs have an excellent memory. Pigs can remember things for years and have the ability to recall people, places and sources of food. They also remember how to use various objects. Pigs, for example, can learn and will remember how to ring a bell when they are hungry.
Pigs multiply quickly. Breeding stock pigs generally give birth to their first littler when they are a year old. Sows have two litters of pigs a year, with seven to eight pigs per litter. Sows give birth approximately three months, three weeks and three days after they are bred.
Pigs eat anything! Pigs are known to eat about anything — except teeth, which they are unable to digest. A pig roots for food using its snout to push or nudge objects, such as dirt and grass. Pigs are naturally iron deficient and root to get the iron they need.
Domestic pigs can live up to 20 years. They are typically used for meat but also make excellent pets and guard animals.