20 Mar Are KuneKune piglets friendly?
Oh my goodness, YES – as long as you give them the chance to be.
Pigs are incredibly smart, and since KuneKunes have a lower fear response than most pig breeds, they can seem even smarter. They adore showing off those brains, and they will quickly adapt to their conditions and what they expect and receive from humans.
If you want a friendly, social Kune Kune, piglets should be handled regularly from birth. We touch, hold, and interact with our piglets many times a day, and they get to know dogs, cats, kids, poultry, and of course the other pigs.
Every animal, from pigs to people, develops its social resilience when it’s a baby or youngster. If you grew up when your parents were renovating a house, you know that power tools always sound soothing to you. Those who were children in urban areas always love the noise of traffic.
Pigs are the same way. What you want them to love when they’re adults is what they should be exposed to as babies. So we work on exposing them to the sounds and smells of farm work, lots of different kinds of humans, both electric and solid fencing, big and small dogs, and so on. Our goal is to have our Kune Kune piglets be as bombproof as pigs can be.
Of course, it’s not all work or drudgery! We adore our piglets, and when they come running over and flop on their backs for scratches, or fight over who gets to sit on our laps, we are not thinking too hard about our socialization goals for the day – we’re just loving every minute with these wonderful little animals.
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