Spring! Rain, Mud, Mess

Happy Spring! It has been a beautiful spring in Ohio so far, but it has been very wet and muddy. That got me thinking about how much mud everyone is going to have in their house right now, due to their pig going out to go potty or for eating or whatever. So I wanted to talk about how we can handle the rain when our pig doesn't want to go outside to go potty and the mud that they are going to be bringing into the house. How can we keep some of that mess outside? First of all, when it comes to rain, many pigs do not want to go outside in the rain. We need to be proactive to get our pigs to be motivated to always go outside. One way we can do this is to feed them their meals outside as long as the weather isn't extreme. Food is close to every pig's heart so if the weather isn't their favorite they may hesitate but they will still go outside. Something else that you can do is use really good treats to reward them for going outside. Going out in the rain is a hard thing for a pig so buy good treats to reward them well for doing hard things. If you start when your pig is young you can teach them to let you put a little jacket on them. It will keep the rain off of them so it's not as cold. I also have a space outside that is movable and has a little roof on it so once they get to that they won't have rain on them.  When it comes to mud, I like to make sure that they are on fresh grass every morning and move it throughout the day so they aren't knee deep in mud. We also put straw down in muddy places so the pigs don't sink into the mud. We also put gravel or wood chips down in places that get really muddy on our farm. Some pigs love to walk through the mud and others hate to walk through mud. I keep a small tub filled with warm water in front of the door that they walk into the house through. I put a few Cheerios in the tub so they also clean off their snouts. They will walk through the warm water and will get most of the water off their hooves and legs. I try to keep their crates and blankets clean so their blankets aren't caked in mud. This will help with the constant buildup of dirt and mud that happens in the spring.   Autumn’s Links:  Website: https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/ Email: Autumn@autumnacresminipetpigs.com Educational Membership Group: https://www.autumnacresminipetpigs.com/support-group-subscription/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnacresminipetpigs/ Facebook:  HTTP://Facebook.com/autumnacresminipetpigs Mighty Networks: https://autumn-acres-mini-pet-pigs.mn.co/share/EPW2Ie5isMX4T0Ve YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGue5Kp5AwOXkReCGPUyImA Stan Store: https://stan.store/autumnacresminipetpigs Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hDNizT