Shepherd's Green Sanctuary
Shepherd's Green Sanctuary
The Pig Care section is a guide to what you need to know and have in place before you consider getting a pig. The cute little baby, taken way too soon from his mother, father and siblings, is terrified. As he adapts to such an abberant environment (he is ill-suited to a typical North American environment and not at all suited to being a "pet". ) He will stretch your compassion to its limits. His genetics and history lie in the subtropical rainforest of SE Asia. Cold, heat, dry soil, wrong foods; it's a difficult road for a pig . Review the Checklist to see if you're ready for a pig (This is our foster self-evaluation form)
As your pig grows, and grow they will! Up to 100-150 pounds (no matter what the seller says, they WILL grow to be a normal mini pig size.)
If you follow the instructions of teacup breeders, you will starve your pig. He will, if he survives, have health and behavorial problems all his life.
Watch the video below to learn what pigs do all day
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28th Annual Pig Christmas!n
28th Annual Pig Christmas!n
Sanctuary
Sanctuary
Special Events
Special Events
The Pig Care section is a guide to what you need to know and have in place before you consider getting a pig. The cute little baby, taken way too soon from his mother, father and siblings, is terrified. As he adapts to such an abberant environment (he is ill suited to a typical North American environment and not at all suited to being a "pet". ) he will stretch your compassion to its limits. His genetics and history lie in the sub tropical rainforest of SE Asia. Cold, heat, dry soil, wrong foods; it's a difficult road for a pig . A thumbnail of basics . (This is our foster self-evaluation form)
As he grows, and he will grow to 100-200 pounds (no matter what the seller says, he will grow to be a normal mini pig size of the average 120 pounds or more.)
If you follow the instructions of teacup breeders you will starve your pig. He will, if he survives, have health and behavorial problems all his life.
Watch the video below to learn what pigs do all day.
The Pig Care section is a guide to what you need to know and have in place before you consider getting a pig. The cute little baby, taken way too soon from his mother, father and siblings, is terrified. As he adapts to such an abberant environment (he is ill suited to a typical North American environment and not at all suited to being a "pet". ) he will stretch your compassion to its limits. His genetics and history lie in the sub tropical rainforest of SE Asia. Cold, heat, dry soil, wrong foods; it's a difficult road for a pig . A thumbnail of basics . (This is our foster self-evaluation form)
As he grows, and he will grow to 100-200 pounds (no matter what the seller says, he will grow to be a normal mini pig size of the average 120 pounds or more.)
If you follow the instructions of teacup breeders you will starve your pig. He will, if he survives, have health and behavorial problems all his life.
Watch the video below to learn what pigs do all day.
The Helping Hoof Pigs are those in desperate need of care/ homes/ vetting located all over the country.
In 2002 we started the Helping Hoof and began directing a portion of our donations to fund it. Hundreds of pigs lives have been saved, and hundreds made healthier and happier.
We help with the cost of necessities during a crisis, with fencing advice, financial help, emergency vetting, Spay/Neuter, finding fostering help and transport.
If you know of a pig in need, direct the caregiver to our application below, and we will do our best to help the pig to a better life.
Outreach
Outreach
for the pigs since 1996
Lucy, shown here in 1986 at 7 months old, was a playful and loyal friend. She traveled with me to a new job in Virginia in 1989 and then back home to Tennessee in 1993 and on to another assignment in Georgia in 1995.
When my husband died in 1996, Lucy, me and 50 other pigs came back to the farm in Tennessee to begin a full time sanctuary.
At right, hanging out with Lucy in 1991
27 years later there are hundreds of pigs, some as companionable as Lucy, some so damaged by abuse that they will spend their lives untouchable. But they can be what they choose, and they make most of the rules of engagement. They have a world of freedom, healthy food, warm shelter, and a safe harbor to relearn, if they ever can, that humans aren't all bad. When vetting is needed for routine and emergency care, we have the necessary chutes, confinement areas, and low-stress equipment to reduce the trauma.
And the joy of seeing a hurt pig learn there is another life is a fullness I cannot describe. To see one who hid in a dark corner, listless and terrified, start walking in the woods, wading in a creek, and then one day a light of anticipation in his eyes at breakfast time!
Quigley gave us that gift in 2022. After his first 8 years of life spent in a filthy cold jail cell with poor food and random water...he has become a shining star, sauntering around with his pals, sunbathing, greeting me with a smile every morning and an affectionate nudge ("hey lady, breakfast?? ya know?" )
The joy in sanctuary work, buried under tons of the darkest most horrid abuses, is a Quigley who spent 8 years in neglect.
Our Helping Hoof request file is always 20 or 30 pigs deep, all needing help of some kind, and way too many in deplorable conditions. Over the 22 years we have had the assistance program, we have averaged "saves" of 40%. That's scores of safe pigs. But it's scores more we couldn't help. The heartbreak is always there.
And so we travel forward, looking at a future that gets more complicated but more necessary every year.
We are taking in very few pigs at this time, but when a Quigley shows up, he will be saved.
When a grassless, horrid sanctuary failed in the spring and the pigs there were surviving against all odds, we found a heartwarming partnership with Odd Man Inn to take on the task with us and get it done.
Our donors and sponsors are amazing, traveling the Green road with us, some for 20 years.
It takes a community and we appreciate each person who brings a gift of love, time, money...it all saves lives.
Pig Care
The facts you need to give your potbellied pig or other miniature pig everything he needs to be healthy and happy
Feel free to copy or download any of the documents below.
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Since a one-day-old piglet, a throwaway at a livestock sale was handed into my care in 1985, I have been a pig caregiver.
Since a one-day-old piglet, a throwaway at a livestock sale was handed into my care in 1985, I have been a pig caregiver.
For nearly four decades, I have cherished a growing family of pigs, from Lucy, a farm pig, to Wendy, my first potbelly in 1989, to the uncounted hundreds rescued, sheltered, and loved since.
With a committed Board of Directors with me from the earliest days,
we have kept a light burning for pigs everywhere we found them.
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About Shepherds Green
Your donations help us save lives, here and at sanctuaries and private homes all over the U.S. Our Helping Hoof program uses 15-20% of our income to subsidize spay/neuter and other medical needs, food, and bedding for homes in financial trouble, and all manner of other needs to either keep pigs safely in their current home or help find fostering or new homes.
Donate via The Community Foundation of Middle TN