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"Lions, tigers and bears, Oh my!" But predators and your pet pig are
not really to be made light of at all. Strangely enough, it isn't
coyotes or most other wild animals that you have most to fear. It
is your neighbor's dog or wild stray dogs that are the biggest
threat to your pig. Dogs have a natural instinct to kill pigs and
other prey. It doesn't matter how friendly a dog seems, once it
hears your pig squeal it is likely to become a different animal
all together.
Coyotes are animals that are more likely to do convenience
killing. A coyote, if given the chance, may kill your chickens
and maybe even other small animals that weigh less than thirty
pounds, but a pig is a big task to take down and pigs are
aggressive besides. A coyote may like the idea of eating a pig,
but they are cowards at heart and will usually never take on
something bigger than they are.
Your piglets of course are a different story and they will need
to be protected from coyotes and possibly even foxes, raccoons or
members of the weasel family. In some places you'll also need to
watch out for large snakes and large cats.
You big concern in most parts of the world, though, is dogs, and
you should build your pig enclosure with dogs in mind. You will
need sturdy fences that a dog can neither dig under nor jump
over. A dog can savage a couple a pigs in a few minutes and most
likely after a dog attack your pig will be so injured it will
have to be put down if it isn't already dead.
An effective way to deter predators from your pigs is by getting
a good Livestock Guardian Dog like a
Great Pyrenees or a few
other breeds. These dogs are bred and trained to bond with
livestock animals and protect them.
If you don't want to get a good livestock dog then llamas,
donkeys or even large goats may be the choice for you. Llamas,
donkeys and goats will usually not think twice about taking on a
stray dog to protect themselves and other livestock. The catch
here is whether the other livestock will themselves be a danger
to the pig. Few other species are really good with pigs.
Or if you don't want to take on other animals at all, then
spraying big cat urine or spreading big cat dropping may be a
good way to keep stray wild animals off of your property. If you
live near a zoo they may be happy to give some to you, or you may
be able to purchase it online.
You must spay your pigs if you don't intend to breed them. An
unspayed pig is noisy and can make short work of a fence if it
wants out. It will also attract wild pigs to it, and wild pigs
can carry deadly diseases as well as being a danger to your pigs,
your family, and your other pets.
If you properly secure your pigs in a pen that is made from some
heavy duty 3 X cattle panel and have it flush to the ground or
the bottom edge buried, and have a livestock guard dog, you
should have no troubles from predators.
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