Baby Pig: 5 Piglet Pictures and 5 Facts

Baby pigs are so adorable but did you know they play an important role in heart surgeries? Not only are they helpful with medical treatments, but you can also teach them to do just about anything you could imagine, as long as you’re armed with a tasty treat. 

Baby pigs are very interesting, so let’s jump into five facts and pictures to learn more about them! 

#1: Piglets Can’t Sweat

Unlike humans, pigs are not able to help cool themselves off by perspiring. Instead of sweating, pigs tend to control their breathing, and they like wallowing in mud to cool themselves down. 

Since they don’t have sweat glands, they rely on outside things to help them regulate their body temperature. Domestic pigs are often spoiled with a mist system to keep them nice and cool all year round. 

#2: Baby Pigs Can Learn To Do Tricks

Pigs have a reputation for being brilliant animals, but I bet you didn’t know that they can learn tricks. Pigs can learn tricks faster than dogs and can learn to come when their name is called at around two or three weeks old. 

You might think a pig is an unlikely animal to train, especially since they have a reputation for being lazy animals. However, pigs are among the smartest animals on Earth. In fact, they are #4 for most intelligent animals, defeated only by chimps, dolphins, and elephants. That’s a smart cookie!

Other popular tricks to teach your baby pig are shaking hooves, spinning, sitting, and staying. Baby pigs are very motivated by food, so by showing them their favorite snack and asking them to complete a small task, they’re more likely to complete it to earn their snack. 

#3: Some Pigs Grow Up to Save Human Lives

I bet you didn’t know that pigs are translational research models. That means that when a doctor tests a medical treatment on a baby pig and it’s successful, it’s likely to be successful on a human too. 

Not only can baby pigs grow up to help in the discovery of medical treatments, but pigs have also been known to be used in the operating room. Pig’s skin, for example, has been used for skin grafts in burn patients. Doctors have also seen success using pig pancreas cells to improve the pancreas function in diabetic adults. Lastly, pig heart valves are commonly used in surgeries on humans. The valves have roughly the same sizes and functions as human heart valves, making them viable for transplants. 

Pigs that are intended for medical use are bred and raised specifically for this purpose. Researchers are even working on modifying the gene system in some pigs to be more compatible with the human body. 

Who knew pigs could make such an important impact on the health care system?

#4: Baby Pigs Are Neat Freaks

Have you ever described a messy space as a pigsty? Even though pigs have a reputation for being messy animals, they actually prefer to keep their living areas clean. In fact, if their living area is large enough, they will keep their living space separate from their toilet area.

Despite the phrase “pig out” while eating, pigs are also very clean eaters. They tend to take their time to savor their food rather than scarfing it down and being messy. This just goes to show that when compared to other farm animals, pigs are among the tidiest.

#5: Baby Pigs Learn To Wag Their Tails

Like dogs, pigs love to wag their tails when they’re happy or content. One of the main times you’ll see them doing this is when they’re being fed or playing with their friends and family. Pigs are social creatures and clearly very intelligent as well!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Kseniia Derzhavina