As of March 2018, Hog Haven Farm has 85 piggies in its family–of these, 77 are residents, and 8 are boarding with us. Check out the adorable pictures and brief bios about some of our piggy family below (this is the first post of several)!



As of March 2018, Hog Haven Farm has 85 piggies in its family–of these, 77 are residents, and 8 are boarding with us. Check out the adorable pictures and brief bios about some of our piggy family below (this is the first post of several)!
2018 has been a busy year already!
We kicked off January with a trip to Wichita, Kansas, to pick up a stray Spotted breed set to be euthanized. Henry, a young, gentle, 260lb pig was a stray taken to a shelter. Given his breed and size, he was not an adoption candidate, and faced a terrible fate. We welcomed him to our pig family, and drove the 16 hours round trip to bring him to his new life!
The end of January brought us five adorable 4-5mo old piglets. These sweet babies were never socialized, never named–and were going to be sold at auction. Part of a collaborative rescue effort with Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary and Rescued Friends Animal Sanctuary, a total of 17 pigs were in need, and every single one needed to be spayed or neutered. We welcomed home Fiona, Ferdinand, Duke, Pigger Allan Poe, and Kramer, and they were all taken in for neuter/spay surgery on 2/8!
In 2017, Hog Haven Farm brought in a total of 40 rescued pigs, and 19 piglets were born at the sanctuary to 3 different pigs. Here’s an end-of-year status update on these pigs!
Of the 40 rescued pigs, 8 found their forever homes: Alvin, Boots, Charlie, Kevin the KuneKune, Kevin the potbelly, Moo, Otto, and Pepper! In addition to these 8, another 15 pigs found their forever homes in 2017. Of the 19 piglets born at Hog Haven Farm in 2017, 6 found their forever homes; Mama’s babies Junior and Patty, and Delilah’s babies Stewie, Lemmy, Chester and Roscoe were all adopted. A total of 23 pigs found their forever homes in 2017!
If you’ve been following Hog Haven Farm throughout the year, you may recall a few of the sadder rescue stories. In March, we brought in a malnourished pig named Phil; while his former family didn’t intentionally cause him harm, and he was loved and happy, Phil was on an improper diet for his age and was significantly underweight. Check out the before and after photos of Phil, from March until now!
In April, we rescued 6 siblings from a terrible hoarding situation: Delilah, Zara, and their brothers Brindle, Hagar, Leo and Paxton. Delilah was pregnant at time of rescue, and delivered 9 babies in late July; sadly, one didn’t make it, but the other 8 were very healthy! All four boys were neutered late summer, and the girls will spayed early 2018. We’ve been working hard to socialize this group, and slowly seeing some results.
Zara was injured at time of rescue, with an odd, jagged scar running from her forehead to her tail, with open sores along her back. While her back is covered heavily in scar tissue, she has grown hair and healed very well. Her skin is still pretty dry, but compared to April, she’s a whole new pig! She also got a trip to the human house for a few days over Christmas, where she really warmed up to pets from Erin.
We are closing 2017 with 84 pigs (8 of whom are boarding with us). Many of our piggies are still looking for their forever homes! If you think you’re ready to be a pig parent, please visit this link.
Are you looking for year-end charitable giving options? Please consider a tax-deductible donation to Hog Haven Farm!
Undoubtedly, piglets are one of the cutest, cuddliest creatures on this earth. The wagging little tails, cute snouts, and fast movements (we call it the zoomies) make them a desirable pet. But, unfortunately, there is an epidemic in the United States with unwanted pet pigs. Researching pig parenting prior to adopting a pig is crucial.
Pigs are smart–the fourth smartest mammal, in fact. This can be good and bad! Intelligence means that pigs can be easy to train as house pigs–they will learn to use a litter box, pee pads, doggy door, or have other ways to let you know when they need to potty (like ringing a bell at your back door). They are clean animals, and do not like to defecate anywhere near their food or bedding. But they can learn undesirable behaviors, too–like opening your cabinets and refrigerator, knocking over the kitchen trash, and pulling your bedding down to make their own sleep spot.
Having a pig as a pet is rewarding, but they come with their own quirks. Understanding their behavior is important; they are not like dogs, as many people like to assume. Pigs really are more like perpetual human toddlers; they have temper tantrums, attitudes, and will repeatedly push your buttons as they test boundaries.
Still think you want to bring home a pet pig? Here are a few important pointers for keeping one:
Ready to adopt? Please fill out an adoption application to start the process. Since we are a rescue/sanctuary, we want what is best for the pig. It takes a bit of time to adopt through us, but if you’re ready and willing, it is worth the extra effort!
Summer time is usually a time for fun–backyard parties, time spent with family and friends, fireworks, and baseball keep everyone busy and active outside. At Hog Haven Farm, our summer season kicked off with new rescues and more pigs with special needs.
Hog Haven Farm happily welcomed new senior citizen residents Dottie and Stewart at the end of May. These two pigs are now our oldest residents, at 15 and 13 years old, and are also larger pigs. Dottie is most likely a Hampshire-Potbelly cross, and weighs in around 450-500lbs. Stewart is a larger potbelly, easily over 350lbs.
As of April 10, 2017: Hog Haven Farm has seen 13 pigs come to the farm, and 8 leave to their forever homes. While we strive to provide forever homes for as many pigs as we can, but the demand for surrendered/rescued pigs outweighs the demand for adoptions.
Last week, we introduced you to some of our permanent residents at the farm; this week, we have more piggies to tell you about! These pigs are our sanctuary pigs, living their lives here for various reasons.
We currently have 7 pig pens; the largest pen accommodates 21 pigs, most of whom are permanent residents or long-term boarding pigs.