Teacup Pigs

Teacup Pigs

Most of the people to take the economic activities in order to earn a living. Jane Croft made it home bacon. 42-year-old farmer has become the sensation of something in his native England, thanks to its unique line of products: cute-as-button miniature pigs, never grows. Croft is filled with their feet on the Wednesday cross-dressing Stall Waste straw blending of imagination goes a small pig on the market all have a "cup of the pigs," he said today Meredisubiera and Ann Curry - with the warm feeling called to hit UK pet. Their name comes from the size: At birth, children pig weight around 9 ounces and cup size. At full growth at age 2, which is the top 12-16 inches - about knee-high - and medium-weight 65 pounds.

“It’s about the size of a small spaniel,” Croft said. “They make fantastic pets. They’re really clean. They’re highly intelligent and just love to be loved. They give so much back to you.”Pigs are known to be highly intelligent; they beat dogs in animal IQ tests. They’ve also enjoyed surges in popularity as pets before. In the United States, potbellied pigs were something of a fad a generation ago — but their popularity faded when their owners realized that they got rather large and hard to care for. “People love pigs so much, but it’s almost impossible to keep a full-grown pig in the house,” Croft explained. “Now that we’ve gotten them down to this size, they’ve become extremely popular.” Teacup pigs, which are also called micropigs, are a mixture of those potbellied pigs with the Tamworth, Kune Kune and Gloucester Old Spot breeds. When Croft first saw them, she was so smitten she gave up her day job and started breeding them at her Little Pig Farm in England. That was five months ago. In the brief time since, demand has exploded.It hasn’t hurt that celebrities have discovered the endearing critters. Earlier this year, Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the “Harry Potter” films, bought two teacup pigs from Croft.

Mind you, this bacon doesn’t come cheap. The piglets cost up to $1,100 each, and Croft sells them only in pairs and only to people she feels are qualified to keep them. In Great Britain, owners must be licensed to keep livestock, as the pigs are considered to be farm animals. “They have to reach very, very strict criteria,” Croft explained. “I won’t sell to anybody who’s going to keep one alone in a house; they have to be home all the time. They have to have a garden. They have to have company. I don’t like them going on their own. They’re only sold in pairs.” Since the pigs are highly intelligent, she said, they get bored easily, which is why she will not sell to people who can’t be home to entertain them. The pigs are also clean. “You can litter-train them like a cat. You can take them for walks,” Croft said. The mini porkers also are said to be good for people who are allergic to dogs or cats, because they have hair instead of fur. So far, the pigs are not officially available in the United States, but it seems just a matter of time before someone starts breeding them. They have the sort of cute quotient that proves irresistible to pet lovers.Curry and Vieira asked if prospective owners need any special skills to raise a teacup pig.