On the Day of the Pig

From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl

The domestic pig is the domesticated form of the wild boar and with regard to the stupidity or intelligence of a pig only one statement is valid: in studies it has been proven that the cognitive abilities of a pig are in no way inferior to those of a primate.

Pigs are also not dirty or smell bad. However, this can only be the case if the animals have a thick, clean layer of straw to lie on in the barn. Living on slatted floors, a pig cannot be clean and smell good even if it wants to. By nature, a pig does not soil its straw bed, but uses a corner as a "toilet". Moreover, wallowing in the mud is an innate behaviour that serves to cleanse and cool down. Pigs have no sweat glands and so wallowing in the cool mud bath lowers the body temperature, the mud on the skin in turn protects them from sunburn and from any horseflies that might bite them.

Pigs in the experimental laboratory

The pig's brain works intelligently and so pigs are also used in behavioural research. Physiologically, pigs and humans are very similar. Both are susceptible to stress and have similar heart and circulatory problems.
Pig skin and human skin have almost identical structures. For example, if a human has extensive burns, pig skin is transplanted.
In case the human heart valve does not work, a human can continue to live with the pig's heart valve. A few weeks ago, a human was implanted with a gene-modified pig heart for the first time. A groundbreaking operation with good prospects for humans.

Susi - left behind in the mast bay

Susi, a former fattening pig, had been left alone in the pen of the breeding barn. She was injured, had inflamed legs and was dehydrated because she could neither go to the watering place nor to the feeding place. Huddled in a corner, Susi was discovered by a vet. He and his team did everything they could to keep Susi alive. Susi thanked them with her recovery and is now grunting happily at Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf.

Peppa and her little family

A girl's love of animals saved the lives of Peppa, Ginger, Vanilla, Sugar and Spicy. These are Duroc mix pot-bellied pigs that would have been slaughtered. "No way!" - from next spring, we hope to have this fun little family of pigs running free-range around the farm in Henndorf. Peppa is very people-friendly and "oinks" with joy when she hears people's voices.

What is Peppa trying to tell us? Pigs have 244 different oink sounds that would be worth studying.