Teacup pigs the perfect Christmas gift?

Teacup pigs are becoming more and more popular. Millions of people are searching online for them every year. So far there aren’t any publicly traded companies in the teacup pig business. Will that change? Pampered Piglets is currently the most popular micro pig and teacup pig breeder.

With teacup pigs being so popular it wouldn’t surprise us to see a publicly traded company expand into the industry.

Teacup pigs are very rare they technical are not a breed but of mix of several different breeds. Here is a little bit about the history of teacup pigs.

HISTORY OF THE PIG   The history of the domestication of pigs is a puzzle, in part because of the nature of the wild boar that our modern pigs are descended from. There are several species of wild hogs in the world today, some of types are warthogs, the pig-deer, and Pygmy hog. Originally the Sus Scrofa ( wild boar) was domesticated. The domestication took place about 9,000-10,000 years ago in Anatolia and central china. After they were domesticated, pigs accompanied early farmers as they spread out of Anatolia to Europe, and out of the central china to several places in Asia.

 
HOW DID THEY DISTINQUISH DOMESTIC AND WILD PIGS AND WILD PIGS APART?  


In that century it was not easy to distinguish between wild and domesticated pigs. In the 20th Century, researchers segregated pigs by their tusks type. Wild boars typically has thicker and longer tusks than domesticated ones, but did vary according to climate and environment. The first wild pigs in United States originated from domestic pigs brought to North America by European explorers and settlers.   Years later, Eurasian wild boars were introduced into parts of the us for hunting purposes. When domesticated pigs and Eurasian wild boars were found together in the wild they interbred.   It is believed that the process of domestication began with local hunters hunting wild boars, then over a period of years they began to manage them. Purposely keeping those animals with smaller brains and bodies and sweeter dispositions.        In china, the earliest domesticated pigs to date about 6600 BC.    The process in china to domesticate pigs was much faster than the US.     In Europe domesticated pigs were kept in enclosures and allowed to roam freely in forests up until the Middle ages.    Beginning 7000 years ago, central Asian people brought animals and plants into Europe. Those pigs were interbred with local wild boars. successful breeding of domesticated and wild animals produced the Europe an domestic pig. Those pigs spread throughout Europe.  


POTBELLIED PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES


Vietnamese Potbelly pigs are a dwarf swine in breed which was developed in the 1960’s from the breed of Vietnam.    They were brought from Sweden and Canada.    Many years later, the first potbellied pigs were imported into North America. originally, they were intended for zoos, but a private buyer interested in pigs -as pets started the pets on their way to worldwide distribution and fame.      In 1986, the first potbellies were sold in to the us. Their price ran well into the thousands of dollars. The price of potbellies has come down to match the price of dogs and cats to make them an affordable pet. These potbellied pigs originally came from Canada.  The original Canadian pigs average 250 lbs,  at that time they were considered miniature compared to domesticated swine that weigh 600-1500 lbs.  


HISTORY OF TEACUP PIGS


Breeders have devoted several decades to breeding and cross-breeding pigs at the Devonshire farm. His goal was to breed a smaller pig that could be kept as a pet in apartments and homes.   In order to create the first breed of Teacup Pig, he used breeds such as Vietnamese Potbelly, Tamsworths, Kune, and Gloucester old Spots.  Breeders  would breed the offspring of these pigs to each other, comparable to the way dogs have developed Teacup breeds of dogs.    It took 100 pig generations for breeders to succeed at developing Teacup Pigs.  The most popular breed of mini pig is the Juliana pig. The Juliana pig is colorful and spotted in color. It is thought to have originated in Europe.


The Juliana pig is small, spotted. It should not exhibit a pronounced potbelly or sway back, should also have a longer snout. The Juliana should never be pudgy, heavily wrinkled or sluggish in appearance. The second breed in know as the nano mini pig.  It is typically more solid colored and a little lar9er in size than the Juliana mini pig. It usually has a shorter nose than the Juliana pig. Both should have puppy dog personalities. Today, real miniature pigs are rare but real, there are only a handful of legit breeders of real mini pigs.   Unfortunately many pigs are ending up in the sanctuaries.People are told they are getting mini pig and end up with a potbellied pig that out grows their home. We breed our Juliana pigs to our nano pigs to get smaller size and shorter noses and keep the loving nature of the Juliana breed but shorter nose of the nano pigs. Pampered Piglets have developed our own breeding program. They are intelligent animals and are easily litterbox trained. The love children and do very well with other pets. can learn tricks, go on walks and love to sleep in the bed with their owners.     
They are referred to as micro pigs, pocket pigs, miniature pigs and teacup pigs. They are smart animals and love human attention and interaction. Teacup pigs don’t shed, and they are quite clean.   Therefore, continued breeding occurred of these special tiny pigs and they have become very popular house pets.


CHARACTERISTICS AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A MINIATURE PIG AND FULL-SIZED PIG


There are many clear seen differences between a mini pig and a full-sized farm pig. Both pigs have same body parts in common, such as snout, hooves, tail, etc.    but there are many differences between them.   Their overall body conformations is a dead giveaway that they are not the same breed. Farm pigs grow extremely quickly while mini pigs can take their time growing. The head of a full-sized farm pig is elongated. Their snouts are very long and narrow while most mini pigs have a rounder face and shorter snout.     The miniature pigs’ body will have a shorter torso and short legs. while the full sided pig will have a longer torso and longer between front and back legs.     The ears on a full-sized pig are large and erect, standing out and forward from the head, while the mini pig will have smaller, perked ears that lay slightly back and are much smaller in size.     The full sized pig will have a straight lower jaw line, and longer narrow snout, while the mini pig will have a softer rounded Jawline.    Farm pigs are known to have curly tails but can lay straight back if relaxed. Some farm pigs will have no tails at all.    The mini pigs normally have straight tails and will wag them when they are happy, just like a dog. The build of an older full-sized pig is very thick and stocky with a longer body.   The head is smaller in proportion to the body.   They have very thick shoulders and rump with long legs.      The mini pig is built with a short torso, short legs, lean body and a head that is in proportion to their body. So as you see there is a real difference in appearance and traits of a mini pig.

About Travis Garlick 1822 Articles
Been writing about and trading stocks since 2013. Manage a group of micro-cap investors on Facebook with over 15,000 members. Turned $8,500 into 185k the first year I started trading stocks and haven't looked back.