Pigs are intelligent, gregarious, greedy and hedonistic. They are also curious. Being both intelligent and curious can soon prove problematic for those of you who are thinking about keeping pet pigs. This is because they will soon find a way to escape their enclosures, no matter how long you have spent making sure they stay in! Once they have made the first great escape they will try again, and again and again. So they are determined little beasts but they will also give you much pleasure.

Pigs love attention and will bask in being spoken to, enjoy a scratch behind the ear and a good scrub down with a brush. However, never slap a pig on the rear end, or on the shoulders. Your pet pig will hate this, will be unforgiving to those who attempt this, and will sulk for days, if not weeks.

Pet Pigs: A Word of Warning

Keeping pigs as pets can be fun, but you also need to be careful with them when you feed them. Many a person can relate a tale of losing fingers to pigs by leaving their hands a little too long in the trough when spilling out the feed. A pig is a voracious eater and being an omnivore will eat virtually anything, including your hand if it is anywhere near his feed! So exercise caution here.

Pet Pigs: Diet

Pigs are also excellent producers, have large litters which they are fairly good at in looking after, which makes them a great source of extra income if you are thinking of selling off the piglets from your pet pigs. They are also good as work animals because their smelling abilities make them ideal for sniffing out black gold; truffles. If you don't have truffles don't despair as you can use your pig as nature's plough for fields that need turning over. In foraging for roots and food beneath the ground they use their strong snouts to amazing depths in the soil and make subsequent cultivation of that land very much easier. However, if you find that they are really damaging the land that you have put them on this foraging activity can be curtailed by having a ring or two inserted into the edge of their snouts. Although this is a fairly painless process it should be carried out while the pigs are fairly young. They love to eat excess whey milk after you have made your cheese, they will also eat vegetable scraps and spent veggie crops, and fallen fruit from the orchards.

Pet Pigs: Choosing What to Buy and Why?

Pigs come in all shapes, colours and sizes and different breeds result in different temperaments. The first thing you should be deciding on is why you want to keep pigs for pets in the first place. After that it then gives you direction as to which pig breed would better fit your needs and the appropriate pig care your pigs would then receive.

Pink-skinned pigs like the one in the picture above suffer terribly from sunburn, and so if you don't have any kind of natural or manmade shelter for this type of pig, then this breed would be unsuitable for you. Some pure breeds are coloured, like the red Tamworth and Duroc and black pigmented Berkshire and Large Black. The Saddleback and Hampshire are also black breeds but carry a distinctive white belt over the shoulders and down the front legs. Potbelly pigs are another firm favourite for pigs as pets.

Few people realize just how big pigs can grow. Your pet pig could end up weighing in excess of 200 kilo grams! This is another reason why you need to make sure that those fences are strong! If you choose a miniature pig as a pet their mature weight range could be around 20 - 50 kilo grams. Still no featherweight!

Your pet pigs are sociable animals and therefore would prefer to be in a small group rather than being on its own. Therefore it is advisable to get more than one so that they can keep each other company. You will also find in doing this, that your pigs will get up to less mischief as they will be less bored. However, if you do decide to only have one pig as a pet, there are some advantages. Firstly looking after one pig means that they become easier to manage, especially if this is your first pig. There will be no jostling for position during meal times or bullying and fighting with other pigs. If you buy a single pig just remember to give it lots of love and attention that prevent it from being bored, lonely and naughty.

Pet Pigs: Choosing which sex to buy

If you are thinking of having pigs for pets you are probably wondering which sex you should buy. Male pigs that have not been castrated are best left as breeders rather than that makes them very unsuitable. If you decide on a male pig, it should be castrated. Female pigs make the best pets whether or not she has had a litter.

Pet Pigs: Purchasing your first pet pig

What should you be looking for when you are about to purchase your first pet pig? First of all you should check with your local municipal council to see if you are allowed to keep a pig in your area. After you have passed that important hurdle the next step is to find yourself a reputable breeder who will be there for you for after sales advice and general advice on pig care. Do not buy pigs from stockyard sales or at auctions where as a novice you would not know if the animal was sound and healthy.

In order for you to bond with your pig and vice versa you should be looking for a piglet. Look for one that has no signs of ill world health org feeding. It should be active, have bright eyes with a moist nose and a shiny coat. The body should be long and slightly arched, the chest wide and sides slightly rounded. The legs should be strong and well placed with short and well-maintained toenails. Check the number of teats that the pig has regardless of its gender. You are looking for 12-14 evenly distributed and well shaped teats. After looking at the physical aspects of your future pet pig you should be looking at its temperament. If it looks at all aggressive, is snapping at its siblings and other pigs and seems generally a bit on the wild side, look for another that is better natured.

Pet Pigs: Pig Care and Feeding

When you are purchasing your pet pig ask the breeder what they have been feeding them and how much. This will give you a baseline to work off, and any changes or additions to the diet should be made slowly. The basic diet for a pig would be to feed them a combination of household scraps or old crops from your vegetable garden or orchard combined with pig feed or grain. On average a pig should be given about 2 kilo grams of pig feed or grain a day, and less if you are supplementing with household or garden scraps. Pigs will eat almost anything, as mentioned earlier. Things that they will not eat however are citrus fruit, capsicums, onions, pineapples and some brassicas. The feed can be given either all at once during the day, or split into two and fed morning or evening. Fresh, clean water should be available to your pet pigs at all times, and make sure that the troughs that you are using a strong. Concrete troughs that are heavy and unmoveable are ideal.

Pet Pigs: Housing for your pig

Pigs are often maligned as dirty, smelly, unattractive beasts. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, they love to have the odd wallow in the mud bath, but then so do elephants and warthogs, and they have not been tarred with the same brush. Your pig will enjoy a bed of deep, clean straw or litter. If there are other pigs present they will often be seen cuddling up to each other in these situations. They are basically very clean animals, and will not urinate or defecate on their bedding, but will do so in a corner of their pen, away from their bedding.

They also hate extreme weather conditions, be it cold winds and draughts or soaring temperatures and humidity. So ensure that their pens are draught-free and you are able to get a good circulation of air when temperatures rise. Pigs will tolerate temperatures between 12-26°C. Anything, either side of these temperatures, and your pet pig will be in distress. This is why in hot weather those mud baths are so necessary for your pig to be able to cool down as he does not have the ability to do so through sweating.

Having said all that, a simple three-sided shed is all that is needed to keep your pig happy, as long as it faces away from draughts and prevailing winds. Each animal should have about 8 square feet of space and the floor finish should be a concrete screed that has been roughly finished so that your pig has sure footing at all times. There should also be an area in front of his pen that is adequately fenced off that is also cemented to prevent muddy and smelly conditions. Here the pigs can sun themselves when they need to, get some exercise and relieve themselves.

We have already touched on making sure that your pigpen is secure, but this cannot be over-emphasised. If your pig notices just a slight weakness in the fencing he will be out. And for those of us who have had to catch a pig we all know that it one of those impossible tasks that quickly degenerates into something from Keystone Cops! One of the best options is to go with a breeze-block wall around the shed with a sturdy pig-proof gate. Having wire fencing, unless it is electrified, which is expensive, really is not worth the effort as it is largely ineffectual.

Pet Pigs: Keeping your pig in your house

There are people who keep pigs in their homes quite successfully. It may not be everyone's choice of household pet, even for those who may decide on a miniature pig soon realize that they can get very big. However, for those who have chosen this option your pig is easily trainable with regards to using a cat litter tray. Pigs are the 5th most intelligent animals in the world health org feeding, and therefore getting them to use a cat litter tray is no different to training a cat or a dog. You use the same methods. Start with some newspaper and move it closer to the litter box until the box is being used. Remember though that the conventional cat litter box it too high for your pig. You will need something that is more shallow, more like 2 inches, and your will need to find these trays or suitable receptacles from your local hardware store. They will get used to walking with a lead and harness if you start with them at an early age.

Pet Pigs: Enjoying your new pet

Keeping a pig as a pet is great fun and they really do make wonderful pets. Each has a distinctive personality and you will soon see this after bringing your pig home and getting to know it. If you have the right type of housing, keep the litter clean and provide the right food and exercise for your pig, you will have a really rewarding experience. Pigs are generally hardy and have few ailments and are very good at adapting to new environments. So enjoy your new pet, give it lots of love and attention and you will be loved in return.

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For some reason, people seem to think the only food suitable for ducks is bread, breadcrumbs or similar specimens of food. This is actually not true, as like any other living being, ducks need to be eating a consistently balanced diet.

There is nothing wrong with human eating bread, or eating bread on a regular basis, but the necessity for a range of nutrients through a range of foods, ducks are by no means any different to us and need a similar diet.

A typical diet for both humans and world health org feeding of course ducks consists of a range of nutrients inclusive of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins, the benefit of ducks obtaining these nutrients is extremely important. In fact it doesn't matter whether it's a duck, human, goose and so on, all living beings need a range of nutrients to sustainability live.

The fact that people throw bread to ducks means they are relying on one source of nutrient, which of course, in the case of bread, is carbohydrate. This can seem to problems, but don't worry too much; ducks will obviously find other sources of food in between there daily feed at the local parks!

One thing to be aware of is that ducks aren't particularly good world health org feeding at swallowing their food, hence why some people soak the bread, as it has been heard of for ducks to choke to death trying to swallow bread. Another important factor to consider is moldy bread. Let's face it, if you don't want to eat it because it might disagree slightly with your digestive system, then do you think they would?

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Some people consider having an exotic pet as a companion in the home. For example a pet snake, Snakes are relatively easy to care for, but special handling and maintenance is necessary for your safety as well as theirs. A proper care must be enforce to make sure such incidents don't happen.

Aside from making the home similar to the habitat of the snakes, the most important thing is giving the right food. Should you feed your pet snake pre killed prey or live prey?

For your pet snake, world health org feeding pre killed prey is recommended. A live prey can inflict some serious wounds on a snake in self defense. Also if your pet snake unable to quickly kill a live prey item, because hesitates or is not hungry, the snake is the one who might end up injured. Even a small mouse can cause injury to a snake.

World health org feeding killed prey also let you to buy frozen prey items and keep them in the freezer. It will be easier for you as you have the proper sized prey on hand at all times. Buying the live prey every time your pet snake needs to eat or raising the prey by your own will be more expensive and wasting the time. Many pet stores sell frozen prey or fresh killed prey which you can then freeze for later.

If your snake is eating live prey, you need to start out by offering fresh killed prey at first. Frozen prey need to be completely thawed and warmed slightly before feeding. Defrost it in cold water, not at room temperature. Don't hold prey with your fingers, dangling and wiggling the prey with tongs to entice the snake to take the prey.If your snake still unwilling to eat, you can try dipping the prey in chicken broth, or puncturing the skull of the prey to expose brain.

The size of the prey

A snake should be fed a size of prey that is about the same size around snake's body at the widest point. Meaning that as your snake grows; you need to adjust the size of prey fed to the snake to accommodate the snake's increasing size.To find the right size of prey on the pet stores, simply use a piece of string to take the measurement around your pet snake at the widest part of its body then take the string cut to the pet store. So you can do a quick check of the circumference of the prey available to find the best match. It doesn't have to be an exact measurement. Little bit smaller or slightly larger prey is fine too and a bit of variety never hurts.

A snake have unique jaws that allow them to swallow the prey that is larger than their head, but your pet snake may have difficulties to digesting overly large prey, resulting in regurgitation. This is considered to be a waste of money since your pet snake will just spit it out after.

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Corn snakes, like all other snakes, are carnivorous. Meaning they feed only on the flesh of other animals. Corn snakes feed small rodents and sometimes lizards, although they have been known to take small birds from time to time. world health org feeding A pet corn snake owner, obviously, will have an easier time supplying his or her exotic pets with mice than anything else.

An active corn snake will eat every 10 days or so. It is recommended to feed your corn snake pre killed prey, especially if the snake has not been raised on live prey. A live prey may also turn on and attack a lazy snake that isn't feeling too hungry and possibly causing severe harm to your pet corn snake.

When to feed a corn snake and how much

Hatchlings are started out with pinkie mice for feedings and as the snake grows, gradually increase the size of the prey by offering fuzzies, crews, then small adult mice or rat pinkies.

A young hatchling will eat a pinkie mice every three days or so. Gradually, as hatchling gets bigger; feed it every four, five or six days. Around the time it is getting out to six days, it will be swallowing down a pinkie in next to no time, so try it with another one just as the tail of the first one disappears. If it takes two pinkies ok, continue with this for two or three more feedings and then offer it one fuzzy instead of the two pinkies. It might look too large for you, but if the snake can swallow it without difficulty, it is not too big. If you feed too much at one feeding session, or feed a prey item that is too big, your snake won't swallow it and will spit it out after trying. A general rule for food size is that up to 11D2 the snake's body girth is acceptable.

After a several more weeks of one fuzzy, repeat the process you did with pinkies. When your corn snake swallows a fuzzy easily, then try to feed it with two. And after a few feedings with two fuzzies, try it with small adult mice. A full grown Corn snake can eat a medium to large mouse.

How to feed a corn snake

Frozen prey need to be completely thawed and warmed slightly before feeding. After thawing, place the prey on a small plastic dish and place the dish in the cage and leave the snake to it. If the snake won't eat it after few hours, then remove it and throw it away.

Some snakes like their prey "jiggled" in front of them. To do this, pick the prey up by the tail with tongs (no sharp, pointy ends), and hold the prey in front of the snake for the snake to strike at.

Pet snakes that have refused to feed more than 2 times can be enticed into feeding by having the prey item slightly warmed, either by a heat lamp or soaked in warm water a few minutes before feeding. Don't put it in a microwave, as they can explode. world health org feeding Another trick to try is "braining", where you pierce the head of the prey with a knife point and liquid from the head exposed with forceps or tweezers. The smell of the liquid will entice your exotic pet corn snake to feed.

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Medical costs are rising by the day. The trend in the United States is towards individual and family health insurance and corporates and employers are unwilling to provide group health insurance to their employees.

There is no doubt as to the importance of a health insurance. An accident or a severe illness may cripple your financial well being as also your physical and emotional well-being. The cost of family health insurance is also on the rise. However if you cannot afford a long-term family health insurance plan you can opt for a short-term family health insurance plan to tide over your financial commitments and at a later date buy a long-term family health insurance plan.

Family health insurance plan is beneficial in many ways. It costs less than individual health insurance plans. If your spouse is provided health insurance cover by her/his employer then you can opt for a group insurance which will come at a very marginal increase in the premium. There are few issues that need to be studied carefully before purchasing a health guide insurance plan.

There are two types of family health insurance plans.

Indemnity. It provides a broader choice of doctors and hospitals. However you have to pay the bill yourself and later claim from the insurance company. The company cuts the deductible and refunds the rest. The company pays at a set rate called usual, customary and reasonable rate (UCR) for any medical service taken by you.

Managed Care plans. In these plans the insurance companies have tie-ups with doctors and hospitals for providing medical care at a discount rate. So you do not have the flexibility to go for your preferred doctor or hospital. If you opt for going to your doctor or hospital you have to pay the deductible and pay the bill yourself and claim later. However if you use the available service you don’t have to pay. The doctor or hospital will claim money on your behalf.

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With so many choices out there for dental insurance it can be over whelming trying to pick one. United health care dental insurance is considered by many to be at the top.

With over 26 million customers they have one of the largest bases in the United States for dental coverage. Some would say that with that many customers their customer service must not be that good. The opposite is true. They have so many clients because they do have great customer service. They are considered as being the strongest and most committed health care company in the world, and so you can definitely feel assured and secured when you go with United Health Care dental insurance.

Here is What They Have

The United Health Care dental insurance offers an array of features and services, including a broad offering of consumer oriented health guide benefit plans and services and practical online tools for consumers and employees.

One reason I like them is their online site is so easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. In just a few clicks you can see what doctors in your area accept their insurance.

With United Health Care you are able to see claims activity for your whole family, check costs for a particular procedure, compare hospitals and physicians, order your prescriptions, get the latest health and wellness tools, and chat live with a nurse.

Of course there are many other companies that you can go through for dental insurance, but the United Health Care organization is without a doubt one of the best. Their programs and services are fantastic and definitely ones that you will consider worth checking out.

Dental insurance is not for everyone. Often times you may just be better of going with a dental plan rather than dental insurance. Dental plans tend to be more affordable and cover very close to what dental insurance would. The down side is many dental plans do not have as wide a network as dental insurance would. If you already have a dentist be sure and check if your doctor is included in the dental plan.

Having the right insurance is very important, and it is essential that you have it before you actually need it, so that you are already prepared and will have nothing to worry about once the time comes when you actually do need the insurance. It is obviously even more important to be protected with insurance when you have a family, so that they are all covered as well. It can be hard to find good dental insurance, but know that there are some great options, such as the United Health Care organization, which has been discussed here.

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With the onset of Autumn and Winter, many of you will be having to put up with prolonged sinus problems.

Sinus infections can actually be very painful, but seem to be treated as a minor inconvenience ... but it really doesn't feel like it if you are the one suffering...

Sinus infections can lead to painful eyes, cheek and head as well as tiredness, cough, blocked nose, fever and even that social horror, bad breath!

You might think that sinus problems are an inevitable part of Winter, or the after effects of that cold, or flu ... but it really doesn't have to be... If you still get sinus infections, in spite of using conventional sinus medication and decongestants, the treatments could actually be part of the problem....

Most cold and flu remedies contain aspirin and paracetamol ... but these can actually make a blocked or stuffy nose worse...! It is also possible to become dependent on decongestants and nasal sprays. This means that when you stop taking these medicines your symptoms will actually return, likely worse than they were in the first place. That's in addition to a whole host of other side effects to conventional medications, such as insomnia, feeling restless or jittery, headaches and dry mouth and nose.

If your sinusitis lasts longer than 3 months, it is known as chronic sinusitis. In this case, it is likely that there is an underlying health problem, that has made your body slow to heal.

Natural sinus remedies work as they go to the real cause of the problem. It is a really good idea to explore the reasons for any underlying health guide conditions that you might have... This could be stress, an inefficient immune system, pollution, food intolerance or allergy. It is possible there might still be a lingering viral or bacterial infection, so check this out, and get it treated.

To successfully treat the symptoms of your sinus infection, and feel some real soothing relief try some effective natural sinus remedies... Herbal teas are a really good place to start, tasty peppermint or ginger are both good choices for treating the symptoms and causes of sinus infections, and are both very soothing and relaxing.

You could also try a natural, salt water spray in your nose, or steam inhalation with aromatherapy essential oils. Really good herbal remedies to take as supplements to your diet are grapefruit seed extract, feverfew and pelargonium.

Another surprising remedy that is very easy to find at home in the kitchen is horseradish - yes, just use ordinary horseradish sauce (or wasabi sauce). This gives instant relief to your sinus symptoms, but do take a little care, and start with a very small amount, as it is quite strong!

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