Welcome to the official Hog Haven Farm blog! Check out more of our current residents (as of March 2018). A few days ago, we shared pictures and information on 20 of our piggy family members, names A through F–today, learn about piggies name H through L!
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)!
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.
Hog Haven Farm is currently trying to find forever homes for these two pigs–from separate families. Please help if you are able–they are in need of a happy second chance! Continue reading
Q&A of the day! A lot of folks ask us what exactly Hog Haven Farm does as a public charity and why.
Pet pigs are becoming the new favorite exotic pet for a lot of people across the country, but like any new pet, a lot of folks do not research the requirements and needs of owning a potbellied pig. There is a lot of misinformation on the Internet regarding pigs as pets–many people buy into the concept of “teacup pigs,” which is a myth created by breeders to sell more piglets. Once the “teacup pig” reaches a larger size, the owners lose interest and choose to rehome the pig. This is one of the more common problems we see as a rescue organization. Continue reading
Well, folks, we had a ton of entries to our first annual Hog Haven Farm Calendar Contest! For that, we sincerely thank you. The 2015 calendar will be put together in the next few weeks, and all sales from the calendars will go directly to supporting the efforts of Hog Haven–especially towards the purchase of our property next year! Each month will feature two “pigtures”–we had so many cute choices, we had to accept more than one per month! If you submitted, check your inbox today for instructions for final, print-ready submissions for the calendar.
Some of our winning selection:
Hog Haven Farm wants your photos! We are currently accepting entries for our 2015 Calendar. Submit the cutest pigtures of your oinking family members by 10/25/14 to [email protected] to be featured in this awesome calendar!
It’s been a while since we’ve posted anything about our rescue pig, Pumba, so we thought we’d share a little about how this fella is doing!
In April of 2014, we were approached by a memory care facility in Littleton, CO about the possibility of bringing the pigs in as therapy pets for the residents. Many of these residents are in different stages of Alzheimer’s or demensia, and of course we leaped at the opportunity to bring happiness to the facility! Starting in May, Pippy and Boris started visiting the facility on weekends. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience; the reception of visiting potbelly pigs has been incredibly positive, and Pippy and Boris thoroughly enjoy their weekly visits.Our pigs are very well behaved; they are both potty trained, and are incredibly social with strangers. This makes them a great fit for visits to the facility!
During these one hour visits, Pippy and Boris get lots of attention, snacks, and extra belly rubs. It’s a wonderful feeling seeing the faces of the residents light up when the pigs come to visit! Pippy even dresses up on occasion, guaranteeing an extra smile (and sometime a treat!) from the residents. We are in process of setting up the pigs as therapy pets in other facilities, and welcome the idea of bringing them to schools and other organizations in the future. There are plenty of senior living facilities dotted across towns and cities, like The Chelsea Center (chelseaseniorliving.com/locations/new-york/plainview/), and it would be wonderful to have the pigs visit as many as possible to provide some much-needed connection for the elders living there (and our piggies too!). Education is key, and at Hog Haven Farm, we are dedicated to inspiring others to not only help these wonderful animals, but to teach others about how well suited potbelly pigs are as a family pet.
Currently, Pippy and Boris are not officially certified as therapy animals. With our community service hours growing, and consistently good bills of health from the vet, we are looking to have them certified by the end of 2014. If you or your organization would like Hog Haven Farm to pay a visit, please contact us at [email protected] today!
In mid-August, Erin and Andrew decided to bring home their first rescue pig. Pumba was living north of Denver, Colorado, with a family who could no longer keep him. Pumba was born in April 2014, in Kansas, and adopted at roughly 8 weeks of age. His family starting bringing him to a farm vet, who poorly advised them on proper diet. Thus, Puma developed a weight problem and incredibly dry skin. At 4 months old, the time of the rescue, Pumba weighed approximately 25lbs and was larger than Erin and Andrew’s 10month old pig, Boris.
