What you need to know about Mini Pigs.
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Paradise Piggy's has a lot history of selective breeding for color, size, disposition, and genetics. The original small pigs came from the lines of the potbelly. With all the new hype of mini pigs as pets there is a lot of confusion and misunderstandings surrounding the miniature pig. With new hype and fad terms appearing continually in the internet world we want to help clarify and help you sift through myths and facts!
As a breeder and owner of mini pigs and potbelly pigs for over 20 years, I am able to share the history and help you sort through facts verses myths that have appeared over time. It all started with the Potbelly Pig and Juliana pig.
Juliana: There is still some confusion as to where the original term and or Juliana pig came from. The only established fact is that they were spotted and smaller then hogs (but there is no set information on exact size except they were supposed to be under 100lbs) Now the term seems to apply to any spotted or red tinted pig with longer snouts, longer legs, and a lighter body frame.
Potbellies: The history of the Miniature Vietnamese Potbelly is much more clear. They were imported and were a very expensive rare pig in the 80's. These pigs had a classic potbelly, short snout, wider frame. The original ones were small. Then unscrupulous breeders started crossing potbellies and that is when the scare came. Around the same time more potbellies were imported that were a bit larger and a couple other shipments of potbellies came in that were a bit more distinct in that some had longer fur then others and some longer snouts. The once highly sought after pet pig was now being dumped into rescues and Potbellies were now left with the label as being very large and not a good pet pig and the market became flooded with cross pigs from breeders taking advantage of the market. During this time the original potbelly pig registry was started (which has since closed down ), but it was a little to late. Bad breeders and negative hype caused the Vietnamese Potbelly Pig to loose its reputation. People were then afraid to buy mini pigs. During all this time our farm continued to focus on breeding for a small, healthy, pet pig. Then the term teacup pig appeared on the scene and soon after micros, pixie, toy, etc. All simply terms for mini pigs.
There is no standard or accountability for these different terms standing on their own. Buyers are left to sift through whose opinion they like the most. The problem with this is there is very little accountability to bloodlines, size and reputable breeders. That is why Paradise Pigs (also know as Paradise Valley Farms) started a registry over 15 years ago. This is simply to help keep breeders accountable to what they are selling and to ensure buyers that they are getting what they are paying for. We highly recommend buying piglets registered with www.miniaturepigregistry.com. This registry requires vet records on height and size of parent pigs. All pedigree is entered so one can look and tract bloodlines and make sure there is no inbreeding going on. While it is true that very few breeders actually use this registry, It doesn't change my opinion that a registry is vital to the future of the miniature pig.
Right now I am amazed at all the new breeders that have popped up all over. Since people buying the pigs don't seem to be worried about registered pigs, breeders have no reason to register their pig but soon if the amount of piggy's going out from unscrupulous breeders doesn't change, there is going to be a influx of pigs again needing homes because there is no accountability to size, health and personality of pigs without them being registered. I would encourage buyers to only buy registered. Even if you do not use the above registry , find a registry that can prove size and pedigree of the piggy you are purchasing.
Here at paradise mini pigs, we do not get caught up into terms, instead on our FOR SALE page you will notice the size of the parents is listed, you can also at any time request pedigree and when you purchase your pig you can request registry papers that have both parents info on there so that there is no confusion as to size and bloodline.
We encourage buyers to come look at our pigs here at the farm! Come see for yourself! This is one sure way to know what you are getting. I realize this is not always possible. If not make sure to take a look at pictures of adults and babies. Pictures can be misleading at times as piggy's can grow for up to 4 years.
We provide references: Always buy from breeders that provide references and testimonials. This will help ensure that you are buying from a reputable breeder not just someone who is smart and talented with creating a good website.
BEWARE. It is a new fad to create very nice websites and not be a legit or a reputable breeder. Anyone can create a website and many pictures and blurbs are stolen and/ or copy and pasted from other legit breeder pages. I would encourage buying only from an established breeder. One with either a history in selective breeding OR a breeding that invested in registered pigs that have a history in selective breeding.
As a breeder and owner of mini pigs and potbelly pigs for over 20 years, I am able to share the history and help you sort through facts verses myths that have appeared over time. It all started with the Potbelly Pig and Juliana pig.
Juliana: There is still some confusion as to where the original term and or Juliana pig came from. The only established fact is that they were spotted and smaller then hogs (but there is no set information on exact size except they were supposed to be under 100lbs) Now the term seems to apply to any spotted or red tinted pig with longer snouts, longer legs, and a lighter body frame.
Potbellies: The history of the Miniature Vietnamese Potbelly is much more clear. They were imported and were a very expensive rare pig in the 80's. These pigs had a classic potbelly, short snout, wider frame. The original ones were small. Then unscrupulous breeders started crossing potbellies and that is when the scare came. Around the same time more potbellies were imported that were a bit larger and a couple other shipments of potbellies came in that were a bit more distinct in that some had longer fur then others and some longer snouts. The once highly sought after pet pig was now being dumped into rescues and Potbellies were now left with the label as being very large and not a good pet pig and the market became flooded with cross pigs from breeders taking advantage of the market. During this time the original potbelly pig registry was started (which has since closed down ), but it was a little to late. Bad breeders and negative hype caused the Vietnamese Potbelly Pig to loose its reputation. People were then afraid to buy mini pigs. During all this time our farm continued to focus on breeding for a small, healthy, pet pig. Then the term teacup pig appeared on the scene and soon after micros, pixie, toy, etc. All simply terms for mini pigs.
There is no standard or accountability for these different terms standing on their own. Buyers are left to sift through whose opinion they like the most. The problem with this is there is very little accountability to bloodlines, size and reputable breeders. That is why Paradise Pigs (also know as Paradise Valley Farms) started a registry over 15 years ago. This is simply to help keep breeders accountable to what they are selling and to ensure buyers that they are getting what they are paying for. We highly recommend buying piglets registered with www.miniaturepigregistry.com. This registry requires vet records on height and size of parent pigs. All pedigree is entered so one can look and tract bloodlines and make sure there is no inbreeding going on. While it is true that very few breeders actually use this registry, It doesn't change my opinion that a registry is vital to the future of the miniature pig.
Right now I am amazed at all the new breeders that have popped up all over. Since people buying the pigs don't seem to be worried about registered pigs, breeders have no reason to register their pig but soon if the amount of piggy's going out from unscrupulous breeders doesn't change, there is going to be a influx of pigs again needing homes because there is no accountability to size, health and personality of pigs without them being registered. I would encourage buyers to only buy registered. Even if you do not use the above registry , find a registry that can prove size and pedigree of the piggy you are purchasing.
Here at paradise mini pigs, we do not get caught up into terms, instead on our FOR SALE page you will notice the size of the parents is listed, you can also at any time request pedigree and when you purchase your pig you can request registry papers that have both parents info on there so that there is no confusion as to size and bloodline.
We encourage buyers to come look at our pigs here at the farm! Come see for yourself! This is one sure way to know what you are getting. I realize this is not always possible. If not make sure to take a look at pictures of adults and babies. Pictures can be misleading at times as piggy's can grow for up to 4 years.
We provide references: Always buy from breeders that provide references and testimonials. This will help ensure that you are buying from a reputable breeder not just someone who is smart and talented with creating a good website.
BEWARE. It is a new fad to create very nice websites and not be a legit or a reputable breeder. Anyone can create a website and many pictures and blurbs are stolen and/ or copy and pasted from other legit breeder pages. I would encourage buying only from an established breeder. One with either a history in selective breeding OR a breeding that invested in registered pigs that have a history in selective breeding.
