How to Hand Raise a Hog

Baby hogs, known as piglets, often require hand-raising for a variety of reasons; often the sow dies, rejects the infant or the piglet cannot thrive against its litter mates because of being born a runt. Hand-raising a piglet requires a bit of commitment but can become a rewarding experience, especially for a mature child. After hand-raising, the hog usually grows into a gentle giant that even a child can handle for a 4H project. Hand-raised piglets wean at approximately 28 days old.

Things You'll Need

  • Heating pad
  • Commercial pig milk replacer
  • Bottle
  • Iron paste
  • Shallow bowl
  • Starter creep
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Place the piglet into a box with a heating pad. Keep the piglet warm. It requires a temperature of 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the piglet out of drafts.

    • 2

      Feed the piglet a commercial milk replacer every 3 to 4 hours. Heat it to room temperature. Place it into a bottle. Feed the piglet using a baby bottle for the first three days. It will consume 2 to 3 tablespoons at each feeding.

    • 3

      Administer an iron paste when the pig is 3 days old. Purchase the paste from a veterinarian or livestock supply store. Follow the directions on the label for administration and dosage.

    • 4

      Dip the piglet's noise into a shallow bowl filled with room temperature milk replacer formula. The piglet may blow bubbles and gasp at first but it will quickly learn to lap the milk up. Feed the piglet three to four times per day. Allow the piglet to lap up as much milk as it wants at each feeding. Continue feeding the piglet milk replacer formula three to four times per day until weaned.

    • 5

      Feed the piglet a commercial starter creep at 7 to 10 days old. Follow the directions on the starter creep for feeding instructions. Wean the piglet completely at around 28 days old. The piglet should weigh approximately 14 pounds.