I thought I would go ahead and make one more post about the importance and benefits of spaying and neutering pet pigs. I will warn everyone ahead of time that this post is long but I felt the need to get the most important things I could think of out there. Every pet pig should be spayed and neutered. Its not just a rescue or sanctuary thing to say. Its for your pigs own good and well-being as well as your own!! It decreases the risk of life-threatening health issues and also decreases the amount of pigs that end up losing their families, moved to shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries and left heartbroken not knowing what theyve done wrong. This is one of the main reasons pigs lose their homes. Im sure many have heard people stress the importance of spaying their females due to the likelihood that your pig will inherit and possibly die from tumors if not spayed, but tumors arent the ONLY issue you will have to worry about with un-spayed females. Spayed females have a lower chance of developing mammary tumors, and the possibility of uterine infections also called Pyometria or ovarian cancer(tumors) as they age. Spayed females will no longer go into heat every 21 days. During their heat cycle that typically last 3-5 days, your once sweet girl will have PMS. They cant control their hormones and these hormones do them a great disservice and lead to many pigs being homeless and in shelters every day. They start having accidents in the house which is actually their way of marking their scent so males can find them. They are blinded by these hormones and their natural urge to procreate. She will want to wander-off in search of her mate. They get more agitated and are more prone to aggressive tendencies during their cycle and that can lead to pigs being re-homed because the family cant have a pig that isnt friendly or unpredictable. By simply spaying their pig, these issues would decrease or be eliminated altogether. Yes, you still have to train your pig to know whats acceptable and whats not, but spaying will make them much easier to train. Intact males and un-spayed females dont make good pets. They are blinded by their hormones and will miss out a lot in life by having a harder time finding other enjoyable things to do other than searching for their mate. Their personalities change for the better because what they were once blinded by has been taken away and they can now see more to life than breeding. Spaying your female is the greatest gift you can give to her. She will be more docile, her urges to roam will decrease, and she will be easier to train. The younger you have this surgery done, the easier it is on your pig and the veterinarian performing the surgery. The older she gets, the more shes going to weigh, the more she weighs and older she gets the more difficult the surgery is going to be and the risks involved increase. Your females should be spayed before 8 months old and after that time period, the risk goes up. That does NOT mean that it cant be performed by an experienced veterinarian after that time. I have personally had vets tell me theyve spayed pigs as old as 15 years old with no complications. So dont feel like your pig is too old to be spayed if she hasnt been spayed already. If she isnt healthy, or is overweight, the veterinarian may want to wait until she loses weight and such before being spayed but consult with your veterinarian and they will be able to give you their professional opinion for your pig. If cost is a factor and reason you arent having your girl spayed, imagine the costs of all the surgeries to come because she wasnt spayed and now has severe medical conditions that can only be fixed with surgery, or God forbid, cant be corrected at all. Not only that, but remember that spays are not a base fee. The more your pig weighs and the older she gets, the more you are going to have to spend to have her spayed. Imagine the costs of having your interiors ruined because she is simply doing whats natural to her and marking her territory. You will save money later by investing your money now. Trust me, the cost of spaying your pig is priceless. Her life, your life and the overall well-being of you both and your family is well worth the price of having her spayed. If you have a pig that hasnt been spayed or neutered, please contact a veterinarian and ask them for their professional opinion to help you come up with a plan for your pet pig. If you need help finding a veterinarian in your area, feel free to ask for help in finding one or with any other advice you may need. We can talk about neutering in another post, this one is already long enough. Lol. Obviously, I cant stress the importance enough of having your pigs spayed and neutered. -Ash
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 19:00:47 +0000