Feeding black mini pigs on the farm in La Guardia, Galicia, Spain
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Feeding black mini pigs on the farm in La Guardia, Galicia, Spain
Mini Pig Facts and Myths
Myth: Mini pigs do not exist.
FACT: Mini pigs do exist. While sizes may vary considerably, healthy adult mini pigs may mature as small as 50 pounds at 5 years old. Over the years, mini pigs have been bred down in size through selective breeding and mixing of breeds. These breeding programs have been in existence since the 1940’s in laboratories and continue today across the US and Canada. Selective breeding is the process of choosing individual pigs with specific characteristics or traits to produce change and consistency. These programs often focus on personality, color, size, and conformation. This is the same process that has been used to create and identify distinct breeds of dogs.
Myth: There are no pigs under 300 pounds.
FACT: Healthy mini pigs average from 50-150 pounds. Some smaller bred mini pigs average 50-80 pounds. However, the AMPA focuses on height instead of weights. Mini pigs weighing more than 150 pounds should have their body condition examined to make sure they are a healthy weight for their frame.
Myth: Teacup, micro, nano, pocket pigs etc. are breeds of mini pigs.
FACT: These labels do not describe a breed of pig. They are simply terms that some breeders use to describe pigs of various sizes. These terms are confusing because they are used inconsistently without guidelines. A better representation of size is to look at the mature height of parents and grandparents. The AMPA is classifies mini pigs as “The American Mini Pig,” which can be a mix of up to or more than 12 different breeds of pigs that have been brought into the United States and from there have been mixed and created the smaller mini pigs, originally for research purposes.
Myth: Mini pigs are just potbellies.
FACT: Mini pigs are not all Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs. The American Mini Pig or smaller mini pigs of today have been mixed with several different breeds and some have no potbellied genetics at all. These are a smaller mixed breeds of swine with a distinct build from that of other miniature breeds, such as the Gottengin, Yucatan, Minnesota Mini Pig.