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allow me to introduce...

Ninapearl
12 years ago

the one, the only, arnold ziffel!

riding home in the back of the van...

checking out his new digs...

greeting porkahontas and t-bone...

i made him a little "rooting box" and threw some kibble and sweet feed in there for him. he LOVED it!

arnold will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. he was handled from birth and is very tame and VERY playful!! i am keeping him separated from the big piggy and the goats until he gets a little older and bigger. he's such a hoot! :D

Comments (31)

  • cal_dreamer
    12 years ago

    He's adorable!

  • Elly_NJ
    12 years ago

    Very very cute.

    Porkahontas? Love that!

  • molossermom
    12 years ago

    Too cute.And i bet you don't have to worry about pet hair on the funiture ha ha

  • jomuir
    12 years ago

    Arnold looks like a cutie, but I'm still coveting the goats. The video someone posted in another link shows how silly and adorable they can be,can pigs be that silly too?

  • calliope
    12 years ago

    My daughter had both, and I've done a little babysitting with each of them and had goats here. I like goats, but as far as intelligent, funny and almost human.........pigs win out. Piglets are especially dear and they need TOYS. My step kids used to raise pigs for the fair and the chicken coop was once used as a pig pen. The folks on the farms up and down the road always called here first when they saw a pig taking a walk up the road.....they knew where it came from. LOL

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    12 years ago

    Awww. He's so cute! Not a huge pig person but they are animals and all babies are cute. I used to help the sows on the farm deliver their piglets years ago when I just couldn't stay away from the farm. Boy, did they squeal!

    Loved Green Acres, loved Arnold, and love the names you have for the other two onlookers!

    Pigs are just soooo smart! You can teach them just about anything they are physically able to do which is alot more than I can say for most of the people in my life. Lol!

    Congratulations on your new baby!

    Ginny

  • kim_okla
    12 years ago

    He's so cute. Congratulations.

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    smart, indeed! we have been playing the "move the pig" game. he's a rooter and especially likes to root on my legs which is leaving bruises the size of wisconsin! now, each time he tries, i push him back and say "mooooove the piiiiig!" and finally, he is realizing my ankles are off limits!

    he has tons of toys and i'm heading to the dollar store today to pick up a few more. i'm also going to get him one of those kibble-dispensing balls to roll around.

    he really is a fun little critter!

  • cindyandmocha
    12 years ago

    ok that has to be the cutest pig I've ever seen. Ninapearl, I am glad there are people out there like you that make me happy and smile :)

  • fl_gypsy
    12 years ago

    Nina is he a potbelly? He is precious. I want a pig but since we were incorporated by the city, we aren't allowed to have them. When my nieces were younger one of them got a puppy and one a potbelly pig. Those two became inseperable. My nephews had a small concrete pad with a basketball hoop. When they missed the ball the dog and the pig would be waiting. They'd grab it and off they would go pushing it along with their noses. I've never seen anything like it. They would actually pass it back and forth to each other while running. They were amazing to watch. The pig would also get the ball, put her front feet on it and walk the ball all over the place. My nephews would get so angry at those two. They'd complain "we can't even play basketball with those two around". What was so funny, the dog was a cocker/lab mix, had no tail, was black and about the size of a cocker...........the pig was black and about the same size so sometimes you had to look twice to see who was who.

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    cindy, i am more than happy to put a smile on your face. :)

    fl gypsy, what a great story! it's unusual for pigs and dogs to become buddies since one is prey and the other is predator. they must have been SO much fun together!

    yes both of my pigs are pot belly pigs. porkahontas is about 7 months old now, i got her when she was about 3 months. she was totally unsocialized, wild, and it took me weeks of trying numerous times every day before she would let me pet her. now, she is as tame as they come.

    arnold was handled from birth so he came to me tame as a puppy and almost as ornery! he is being neutered next week but in the meantime, i am letting him out to socialize with his big sister and the goats. he is SO funny...he will charge at a goat and when the goat starts to chase him, he will run back to me and hide between my feet and squeal. he has so much personality!

    he is not the least bit afraid of the danes...

    after he plays outside for an hour or two, he crashes big time! LOL

    porkahontas is being very gentle with him. he got a little too boisterous a couple of days ago and she rolled him once or twice. he got up, shook himself off, and went about his merry way.

  • calliope
    12 years ago

    Isn't he beautiful? Just RADIANT, like Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. I asked the hubby a couple months ago if we could get a pig or two again and he nixed it. Nixed my milk cow too. (I really wanted some dairy goats, so I asked for a cow instead. That method works for me because he'll dicker me down and think he won. LOL) We'll see if it happens.

    How big will Arnold eventually get?

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    12 years ago

    Awwww! He's cute! He looks like the Telus commercial piggy! Phone company here in Canada that uses all kinds of animals for their commercials. :)

    Ginny

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    i haven't seen the telus commercials but have you seen the geico pig? that's arnold, through and through. i swear, if he had a zip line available, he would be ON it! weeee weeee weeeee!!!

    calliope, arnold will probably top out at about 80#. same for porkahontas. they are compact little piggies, they won't get very tall. :)

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    12 years ago

    I just saw the Geico commercial yesterday and was commenting to my DH how funny the pig was! Better keep Arnold away from bungi cords or he might fasten them to his harness! Lol!

    Ginny

  • betsyhac
    12 years ago

    Oh you got Porkahontas a friend!! So cute. Is he in a "constant state" right now. I got my Pudge when he was little and before he was fixed, he was quite something - a little bitty pig standing on his hind legs waving those little front legs around, with that little corkscrew ready for action!!!
    Someday, I'd love to drive down and see your place. What a paradise it is.

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    LOL, well not exactly...but porkahontas was in heat last week so he was a bit of a nuisance and i could NOT take my eyes off of him for a single second!! i will be glad after a few weeks post-neuter when i can leave him out to live with her and the goats full time. he is growing so much and it won't be long before he's able to hold his own out in the barnyard! i have had absolutely NO luck finding a vet who will spay her, still working on that.

    betsy, we LOVE LOVE LOVE company! give me a day or two notice and we'd love to have you visit marshmallow acres! :)

  • betsyhac
    12 years ago

    I'll call a couple vets up here that treat pigs and see if I can get a referral for you.

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    thanks, betsy, that would be great!

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    12 years ago

    Nina, I came across this site one day. Maybe they can help too.

    Ginny

    http://www.pigpalssanctuary.com/

  • pamghatten
    12 years ago

    Nina .. you're too funny! I couldn't believe I saw another "Introduce" post from you!

    Arnold is just so cute ... and I kept thinking about that same Geico commercial as I was looking at your pictures.

    Hope your back is feeling better these days!

    Pam

  • ocnick
    12 years ago

    Oh my gosh, what a precious little pig. A wonderful gift from God indeed :)

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    honalee, thanks for the link. that place is a couple of hours from me. in fact, the lady i got porkahontas from lives in worden.

    thanks, pam, my back is feeling great! i have to watch what i lift and i still have to be really careful but wow, what a difference! now i have a knee that's giving out on me. had it x-rayed recently, i'm almost bone-on-bone again. i have a new knee in my future but i hope not for another year or two!

    arnold was neutered and he is now out 24/7 with porkahontas. they get along great!

    since that picture was taken, i have built them a little palace with straw bales and plywood. it's big enough for both of them to go inside. they cuddle at night, it's so stinkin' cute!!

    not sure how to post a video here so maybe if you copy/paste, you'll be able to see this. arnold adores his big stuffy and plays with it all the time!

    http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/?action=view&current=IMG_0652.mp4

    i have found little piggies to be downright addictive! LOL

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    12 years ago

    Hahahaha! They just look so comfy in all that straw! And happy! Ginny

  • pamghatten
    12 years ago

    They are so stinkin cute!

    Glad to hear your back is better .. I also will be looking at a new knee down the road, hope it's a few years out.

    Will have to look at the video at home, they block those things here at work. Checking in while eating lunch!

  • oregpsnow
    12 years ago

    Ninapearl and pamghatten - don't wait to long to get your knees fixed. I waited WAY too long and finally had them both done last year - March and July. They take a while to heal but oh, my, the difference. I should have done it years ago.

    Good luck with all your critters.

  • murraysmom Zone 6a OH
    12 years ago

    Nina, that video is just hilarious!! Who knew pigs could be so entertaining. I'm glad to hear that your back is doing well. Makes playing with the critters easier, I'm sure!!

    Thanks for sharing all your animals with us.

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    oregpsnow, the cortisone injection i got in my knee is starting to kick in. i am hoping it will last a while!

    murraysmom, arnold does not even have to try to be entertaining. all he has to do is be arnold! LOL

  • murraysmom Zone 6a OH
    12 years ago

    Nina, you should put this picture (and all of them really) on Pinterest!!!

    That is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen. I love the dirt on his nose.

  • sylviatexas1
    12 years ago

    Cutest piglet!

    Is he what you'd call a calico or is that just good sandy soil he's rooted up on his lil self?

  • Ninapearl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    murraysmom, i've heard of pinterest but i don't even know what it is. i'll have to do some looking around. :)

    sylvia, arnold is just a white piggy with a few black spots and eye liner around his right eye. that's good ole sandy soil on his snout. sand, sand everywhere. i LOVE it because there is NEVER any mud!