Be Curious and Go Hog Wild!

Pigs are also known as hogs or swine.  Male pigs of any age are called boars and female pigs are called sows.  A pig is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal.

Pigs are not dirty animals.  They are actually quite clean.  Their reputation as a fifty animal comes from their habit of rolling in mud to cool off.  Pigs that live in cool and covered environments stay very clean.

Pigs are found and raised all over the world.  They provide valuable products to humans, including pork, lard, leather, fertilizer, glue and a number of medicines. Since most pigs raised In the US produce more lean meat than lard they are classified as meat-type pigs.

In the wild, pigs eat leaves, roots, fruits, rodents and small reptiles.  Farm-raised pigs in the US, eat commercially made diets of mostly corn.  In Europe, farm-raised pigs eat barley-based diets. Pigs have sharp tusks that help them fight and dig.  Farmers often take off the tusks to avoid injury to people and other animals.

Female pigs, the sows, give birth to a litter of young which are called piglets. Nursing the piglets takes three to five weeks.  Once the piglets are weaned off their mother’s milk they are referred to as shoats. At birth piglets weigh about 2.5 lbs. They double their weight in one week and fully grown pigs grow to between 300 and 700 pounds. 

Pigs have poor eyesight, but a great sense of smell.  A pig’s nostrils are on its leathery snout. The snout is very sensitive to touch and the pig uses its snout to search or root for food. 

Pigs are friendly, playful, sensitive and intelligent animals.  They are one of the smartest of all domesticated animals and their social lives rivals those of primates.  Pigs are soothed by music, they love playing ball, and they even enjoy getting a massage.  Pigs can smile too!  In order to get them to smile, they need to be happy.

These are the sayings on the bookmark called Advice from a Pig.

• Eat Well

• Keep Your Snout Clean

• Root for Your Friends

• Be Curious

• Ham it Up

• Don’t Wallow in Life’s Difficulties

• Go Hog Wild!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings. 

• Eat Well - Maintain a healthy diet.

• Keep Your Snout Clean - Keep your nose clean means avoid getting into trouble.

• Root for Your Friends - Support one another.

• Be Curious - Be eager to learn something new.

• Ham it Up - Ham it up means to exaggerate or overact in a fun way.   

• Don’t Wallow in Life’s Difficulties - Remember the good times and keep reaching toward the light at the end of the tunnel.  

• Go Hog Wild! - Act in an unrestrained manner.

Have a great day everyone.  Be Curious and Go Hog Wild!

# living life abundantly  # published author  # travelling tuesdays