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Pigs｜Husbandry and Care (the disease column has its own article)

Pigs｜Husbandry and Care (the disease column has its own article)

AI editor (TK.Lin Agent)About 5 min readPublished by IDAEO (TK Lin)
#獸醫百科#農場動物#豬#飼養照護#動物照護

The columns of the pig 12-column knowledge tree other than the disease column: species and lifespan, normal vital signs, housing, nutrition and feeding, behaviour and welfare, preventive medicine, emergency red flags, zoonoses, household toxins, ageing and end of life, and authoritative sources. The disease column has been published as a separate article and is not repeated here. Wherever the original text leaves a column blank because no authoritative figure could be found, it states the reason, and this site keeps that as it stands.

This content is compiled from the farm animals and horses chapter of the veterinary animal encyclopedia. The same sign calls for different handling in different species, and copying what is done for another species can be harmful — first confirm which animal you are dealing with.

1–6 Basic profile

ColumnContent
1. Species／breed and lifespanThis covers the dual context of production pigs and the increasingly popular pet miniature pig (potbelly pig); keepers very often badly underestimate the lifespan of a pet miniature pig, which is in fact "about 8–20 years (original text ~8–20 years, typically ~10–15 years; the `~` is the source's own approximation sign, not a precise range)" (Merck Veterinary Manual, "Overview of Miniature Pet Pigs": "The lifespan of a miniature pig is ~8–20 years (typically ~10–15 years)." <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/miniature-pet-pigs/overview-of-miniature-pet-pigs>, verified 2026-07-30); production pigs are raised for meat and mostly reach market weight at around 6–7 months of age rather than being kept for their natural lifespan, and a natural lifespan figure for them independent of market weight [No single authoritative figure for this item: the whitelisted sources give no reference value for a natural lifespan specific to production pigs].
2. Normal vital signsWhat to measure: temperature, heart rate, respiration; pigs have a very strong appetite and are highly food-oriented, so a fall in appetite is an unusually sensitive early warning of disease. Reference values: rectal temperature 38.7–39.8°C (101.6–103.6°F); resting heart rate 70–120 beats/min; resting respiration 32–58 breaths/min (Merck Veterinary Manual, Reference Guides: "Normal Rectal Temperature Ranges" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/normal-rectal-temperature-ranges>; "Resting Heart Rates" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/resting-heart-rates>; "Resting Respiratory Rates" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/resting-respiratory-rates>, verified 2026-07-30). Individual variation is wide; these are reference values for a healthy animal at rest, and when something is abnormal veterinary care should still be sought immediately.
3. HousingPigs cannot dissipate heat effectively by sweating and need shade, plentiful drinking water and a wallow／pool for thermoregulation, with heat stress a major risk; enough space and substrate for rooting behaviour is needed, and a lack of environmental enrichment readily leads to boredom-related destructive or aggressive behaviour; fencing must be solid (pigs are intelligent, strong and expert escapers).
4. Nutrition and feedingUse a species-appropriate complete formulated feed; the most common error with pet miniature pigs is overfeeding leading to severe obesity, the most widespread and serious health problem in pet pigs; in production settings, feeding untreated food waste is prohibited (a biosecurity consideration for transboundary animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease; specific regulations [Verification result: no fixed figure should be given for this item — regulations on feeding food waste to pigs vary with the competent authority of the place concerned and must follow local law and veterinary instruction; this article does not cite specific legal provisions]).
5. Behaviour and welfareHighly intelligent, with rooting as a core natural behaviour; a social animal; stress signals: increased aggression, excessive rooting that damages the environment, and a fall in appetite (particularly significant as a signal, given that pigs are naturally strong feeders).
6. Preventive medicineVaccination programmes vary with the production or pet context and with the region; specific items [Verification result: no fixed figure should be given for this item — it varies with the production／pet context and the local disease risk, and must be judged case by case by the local veterinarian]; deworming needs veterinary direction; castration is a common management measure; pet pigs need hoof and tusk trimming as required.

7. Common Diseases Top 10 8–12 Clinical safety and care

ColumnContent
8. 🚨 Emergency red flagsA sudden fall in appetite (particularly important as a signal, given that pigs are naturally strong feeders), difficulty breathing, sudden lameness or inability to stand, high fever with lethargy, bloody faeces, sudden deaths within a group (if a notifiable disease such as African swine fever or foot-and-mouth disease is suspected, report it immediately; handling or burying it yourself is forbidden), straining to urinate or defecate with little or no output (especially the risk of urinary obstruction in boars) — any one of these calls for immediate veterinary care.
9. ZoonosesSwine influenza, erysipeloid (the skin disease in people after infection with the swine erysipelas organism), leptospirosis, salmonellosis, trichinellosis (a food safety issue with undercooked pork), *Streptococcus suis* infection in some regions (which can cause serious disease in people), brucellosis.
10. Household toxins and hazardsChocolate／caffeine; mouldy feed (mycotoxins such as aflatoxin are highly dangerous); toxic garden plants; restricting water and then suddenly supplying a large amount, or a high salt intake, can trigger salt poisoning (water deprivation–sodium ion toxicosis), so a stable and plentiful water supply must be ensured.
11. Ageing, palliative care and euthanasia decisionsObesity-related arthritis is common in older pet miniature pigs; the tusks of boars need regular monitoring／trimming; welfare-led euthanasia decisions require a veterinarian's assessment of quality of life.
12. Authoritative sourcesOriginal teaching material: *Large Animal Internal Medicine*; *Farm Animal Surgery*; *Veterinary Medicine* (Radostits) (lines 82–83, with "pig" explicitly listed). The *Merck Veterinary Manual* (line 293) can be consulted for its dedicated sections on swine disease. Added: the WOAH lists for African swine fever／foot-and-mouth disease ✅ exists · verified — African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease are both listed (notifiable) diseases under Chapter 1.3 of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code; sources: for African swine fever see <https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-diseases/>, and for foot-and-mouth disease see <https://www.woah.org/en/disease/foot-and-mouth-disease/> (original text: "FMD is a WOAH-listed disease and must be reported to the Organisation, as indicated in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code."), verified 2026-07-30.

The content above is copied cell by cell from the original encyclopedia chapter, neither rewritten nor condensed; treatment direction is given by category only, without drug names or dosages, and medication must be prescribed by a veterinarian.

Limits of this content

This content comes from the farm animals and horses chapter of the veterinary encyclopedia (see the evidence chain for the original location and content hash). The sources at the end are the authoritative materials cited by that chapter; the correspondence is at chapter level. This material is for education and cannot replace diagnosis and prescription by a practising veterinarian; in an emergency, seek veterinary care immediately. This text has not been clinically reviewed by a named veterinarian.

Reading map; items appear in article order: Column; 1. Species／breed and lifespan; 2. Normal vital signs; 3. Housing; 4. Nutrition and feeding; 5. Behaviour and welfare
From the article text; read alongside the full article.

FAQ

What should be noted about the species／breed and lifespan of pigs?
This covers the dual context of production pigs and the increasingly popular pet miniature pig (potbelly pig); keepers very often badly underestimate the lifespan of a pet miniature pig, which is in fact "about 8–20 years (original text ~8–20 years, typically ~10–15 years; the `~` is the source's own approximation sign, not a precise range)" (Merck Veterinary Manual, "Overview of Miniature Pet Pigs": "The lifespan of a miniature pig is ~8–20 years (typically ~10–15 years)." <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/miniature-pet-pigs/overview-of-miniature-pet-pigs>, verified 2026-07-30)。
What should be noted about the normal vital signs of pigs?
What to measure: temperature, heart rate, respiration; pigs have a very strong appetite and are highly food-oriented, so a fall in appetite is an unusually sensitive early warning of disease. Reference values: rectal temperature 38.7–39.8°C (101.6–103.6°F); resting heart rate 70–120 beats/min; resting respiration 32–58 breaths/min (Merck Veterinary Manual, Reference Guides: "Normal Rectal Temperature Ranges" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/normal-rectal-temperature-ranges>; "Resting Heart Rates" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/resting-heart-rates>; "Resting Respiratory Rates" <https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reference-values-and-conversion-tables/reference-guides/resting-respiratory-rates>, verified 2026-07-30)。
What should be noted about housing for pigs?
Pigs cannot dissipate heat effectively by sweating and need shade, plentiful drinking water and a wallow／pool for thermoregulation, with heat stress a major risk; enough space and substrate for rooting behaviour is needed, and a lack of environmental enrichment readily leads to boredom-related destructive or aggressive behaviour; fencing must be solid (pigs are intelligent, strong and expert escapers)。

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Jane・《Pigs｜Husbandry and Care (the disease column has its own article)》・IDAEO 知識庫・2026-08-13・https://km.idaeo.ai/post/vet/pig-care

Updated 2026-08-15

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