From the PPN Winter Newsletter - Good enrichment ideas!
Not only our family members go stir crazy in the winter, our pets do too! Many people keep looking for a high tech and creative solution when sometimes we just need to look to our pig(s) to get the answer - natural behavior.
All pigs love to nest, especially in the winter months when it’s cold. Nothing could be better than to snuggle into a warm pile of blankets. So just how can this help us with our bored pigs?
The first step in the nesting solution is a group of blankets. Every morning you pick up the blankets and neatly fold them. Place the blankets at different places in the room or around the house if your pig(s) have total run of the place. This makes it necessary for your pig to go around the room or house to collect the favorite blankets and bring them to the nesting site. Then your pig(s) can begin the process of building the nest, and everyone knows that it must be just right. This process can take from 1 to 2 hours depending on the number of blankets and where your pig(s) have to go get the blankets.
Repeat this every morning and this will force the pig to make a new nest every day giving your pig(s) something to do to keep busy. Once the nest is built most pigs will lie down and go to sleep for a good long nap.
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