Newborn miniature pigs weigh less than 10 lbs. and are a little bigger than a teacup. A newborn miniature pig can become orphaned when its mother dies or when the mother cannot adequately care for its offspring. You can foster a newborn pig that is orphaned, however, but it is a very time consuming task. A miniature pig will require your constant care and attention during its first week of life. You will need to feed it and do everything that its mother would do such as feeding, bathing and keeping it warm.
Instructions
1. Place a heating pad into a pet carrier and cover it with four towels. Set the pet carrier on a safe table or off the floor in an area where it won't be disturbed. Turn the heating pad on low and wrap a towel around it. Hook a safety heat lamp near the carrier and set a thermometer inside of the carrier's wall or roof. Monitor the temperature of the pet carrier. It needs to be 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A newborn miniature pig cannot produce enough body heat on its own, so the heat blanket and warm air made by the heat lamp will keep it warm and comfortable.
2. Pour goat's milk into a small flat feeding pan. When the piglet is 12 hours old, hold it in one hand and hold the pan up to its nose with the other. Dip its nose in a few times into the milk and it will realize that the milk is edible and will drink it. A newborn piglet cannot drink a lot at once, so you are going to have to feed it often, every four hours, five times a day. At two weeks, feed every four hours during the day and stop feeding during the night.
3. Feed the piglet 1 tbsp. of cottage cheese a day in addition to the goat milk and work the amount up to 1/2 cup over a period of six months. Stop feeding it cottage cheese when it reaches 6 months of age. The beneficial bacteria in the cottage cheese helps the pig's digestive system and prevents E-coli from forming in its intestinal tract, which causes diarrhea, a fatal condition for newborn pigs. Newborn piglets will produce a dark stool. At three days old, it will become yellow. If you do not see stools, feel for damp spots on the towel and run your hand along its butt to see if it is dry. When newborn pigs get diarrhea, it is a clear liquid stool. It is caused by E-coli bacteria and can quickly kill your piglet. If you detect diarrhea, immediately take the piglet to the nearest animal hospital for urgent care.
4. After feeding the piglet, wet a soft cloth with warm water and wash off the piglet's face and belly, wiping the cloth in long gently strokes along its face and stomach.
5. Add baby rice cereal to the newborn pig's diet once the piglet reaches three days old. Mix 2 tsp. of rice cereal with enough goat milk to make the cereal liquid. Hold the piglet in your hand and spoon feed it 2 tsp. every four hours. When the newborn pig reaches one week one, double this amount to 4 tsp. or 1 tbsp. Watch the baby pig's stomach, as it will become rounded when its full. When you see that its stomach has rounded out, stop feeding it. Slowly increase the amount of cereal to milk ratio to make it a little thicker each day.
6. Feed the newborn pig pellet pig food at three weeks of age. Add a small handful of pig pellets to the milk and let the pellets soak it up and become soggy and soft before offering it to the pig. Slowly increase the amount of soaked pellets. At one week old, feed it every three to four hours during the day, starting at 8 a.m. and ending at midnight. Wean it off the soaked milk pellets at three weeks by adding dry pellets to the mix just before you give it food.
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