PIG

A pig is an animal with a stout and a heavy body covered with bristly hair. Pigs have short heads and a thick neck. They have small eyes, but their eyesight is good. Pigs have a short curled tail.

Boars may weigh over 500 pounds and a sow can weigh up to 450 pounds. Usually a boar weighs about 350 to 500 pounds. An average sow weighs 300 to 450 pounds.

The pig's snout is a leathery pad with nostrils. It uses its snout to dig for roots. All males and some female pig's develop sharp tusks. Pigs have four toes on each foot. Each toe has a hoof. The middle hoofs are divided.

Habitat

Wild hogs live in forests and jungles in many part of the world. They live in the East Indies, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The razorback lives in the southeastern United States and in the West Indies.

Tame hogs live on farms. The farmer has small sheds that open on one side, so the hogs can go in and out on their own. Large farms have big buildings divided into pens with adjoining yards. Seven hundred and sixty-four million hogs live on farms in our world. China has the most with 40 percent. The Soviet Union is second and the United States is third.

Food

Farmers provide pigs with corn and grains like sorghum, barley, wheat, rye, and oats. They give the pigs meals made from soybean, linseed, cottonseed, peanuts, fish, meat scraps, and skim milk. They also receive tankage which is made from bones and tendons. Pigs have a good sense of smell to help them find food.

Young

The young is called a pig if it is less than 10 weeks old. After that they are called hogs. The male is called a boar, and the female is called a sow. Pigs weigh 2 1/2  pounds at birth. They grow quickly and double their weight in the first week of their life. Sows have 8 to 12 pigs at a time. They can have as many as 27 or more though. A hog is full grown at 1 1/2 to 2 years old. They live 9 to 15 years. Most hogs are marketed at 4 to 7 months old.