Julianni, Micro-Mini, Teacup

Things we hear so often are:
1. I just love pigs
2. I want a pig.
3. I want a small pig
4. I want one that will never get over 30 to 35 lbs.
Why is it that people claim to love the pig and want one for a pet but they don’t want a pig.

They don’t want an animal (pig) that will get dirty; eat their flowers; root up the yard; and they don’t want it to be a normal size. Answer is easy. They want to be in the craze but they really don’t love or want a pig.

So many breeders out there selling their lies and people are buying into them. One is the Julianni pig from Germany commonly called the painted miniature pig. Back in the early to mid 1990's several breeders bred them. But like the Royal White which was a cross between a Swiss Miniature and a potbelly, they grew to be about 300 lbs and people didn’t want them. So the breed died out. Then came the Julianni’s and low and behold they also grew to about 300 lbs. They were a mixture of reds and silvers. Some that started out red, would actually change to a silver color as it matured.

While living in Florida at the time, we were fortunate enough to rescue a couple from Marco Island from an old German man who had brought his breeding stock over from Germany but after awhile when he couldn’t make a lot of money decided to let us place them for him into homes and sanctuaries. To me, they were a very beautiful pig.

Then some breeders got the idea to mix them with the potbelly to get them smaller. That worked for awhile but soon, they too were considered to be to large for the average pig person to want in their homes. Then a breeder up in NY decided to experiment with them and soon produced some spotted Julianni pigs which were smaller. She made a good living selling breeding stock around the US. And so the craze went on. They just needed them smaller so breeder kept line breeding (actually INBREEDING) and marketing them as Julianni pigs. What a lie. They have a lot more potbelly in them then julianni. In fact I doubt that the DNA on them would show any of the original Julianni line in them at all. But, hey, anything to make a buck.

But genes don’t lie and most don’t stay small. Sanctuaries are busting at the seems with this craze for micro mini and Julianni and Teacup piggies. The ones that do remain small usually don’t have a long life span and many develop health issues by the time they mature.

Do these people buying and purchasing them really love the pet pig? Pig lovers love the pig no matter the size or color. They love the companionship they give and to snuggle with them and love on them. Size doesn’t enter the picture. It is time for breeders to STOP the nonsense and to be honest and quit spreading their lies about them.

Just this week we received a call where a man and girl bought on and was sold a special “pig food” made up of mostly bird seed and just a few pig pellets and told to feed it 1/4 cup once or twice a day. When they took it to the vet because it wasn’t thriving like it should, they showed the veterinarian the food. His response was “that is the reason. Throw it out and get miniature pig pellets for this pig.” Now it is running and playing and growing and is a very happy pig. And it is growing normally. Yet if they had not taken it to the veterinarian, it probably would have died from malnutrition. How sad that we stand by and allow breeders to peddle their garbage and lies just to make a buck. And at the expense of the naive person who hasn’t a clue about loving or raising a pig.

Time to get real and quit the nonsense. Time to get the word out. If you want a pig and size matters, then buy a guinea pig, not a Teacup or Julianni micro mini. They do grow up. Or at least most do. So before buying, do your homework. With the Internet, your education on pet pigs in unlimited. Just search for them and read a lot. Visit a sanctuary in your state. Don’t just take a breeders word. They only want your money and they sure don’t love the pet pig.