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Fun facts about pigs
Ever wondered how long pigs have been on Earth or why their tails might be curly? From their powerful sense of smell to their speed and agility, these extraordinary animals are full of surprises.
Here’s our pick of the best pig facts…
A pig’s tail can show their mood: a curly or relaxed tail can indicate a pig is happy, whereas stressed pigs may tuck their tails between their legs. Pig tails are not always curly – some breeds have straight tails.
You can find pigs on every continent, except Antarctica.
There are upwards of 80 different pig breeds found across the world, and approximately 20 different breeds in the UK. However, four pig breeds (large white, landrace, duroc and Pietrain) make up 95% of the pig genetics in the UK, as they’re most commonly used in commercial farming.
Pigs are fast! They’re capable of running a seven-minute mile, which is faster than most humans.
Pigs belong to the scientific genus known as Suidae, a group of hoofed mammals commonly referred to as pigs, hogs or boars, who appeared on Earth sometime between 20 and 35 million years ago!
A pig's squeal can be as loud as 115 decibels – three decibels louder than a jet engine.
Pigs have dichromatic vision, meaning they see in shades of blue and green, but are considered virtually blind to the colour red. They also struggle to go between light and dark, and are near-sighted.
Pigs are good navigators; they can find their way home over large distances.
Pigs are very social and stay connected by sleeping close together, often making sure to touch their friends while they drift off.
Pigs have excellent memories, especially when it comes to object-location. If they find a great spot for food, they’ll remember to look at that exact spot again!
Pig behaviour
Pigs are incredibly smart animals, often ranked among the most intelligent in the world, with the cognitive ability of a human toddler. They possess strong memories and are sometimes considered faster learners than dogs. This high level of intelligence is the root of their complex natural behaviours, which are essential to their wellbeing.
They learn quickly and have feelings and emotions that matter to them. Pigs form deep social bonds with each other and will ‘spoon’ and sleep in close contact with their friends and family members. They experience positive and negative emotions just like us, including joy and sadness, and have empathy for each other, showing signs of stress if they witness another pig in distress.
Throughout this section, you’ll learn about the normal behaviour in pigs, including why they engage in mud wallowing, how their sophisticated oinking and vocalisations allow them to communicate over 20 distinct meanings, and why rooting is so important. We will also explore the fun side of these fascinating creatures, understanding why playing is vital for their social development.
Why do pigs wallow in mud?
If you’ve ever wondered why pigs wallow in mud, the answer isn’t about being ‘dirty’. It’s actually a clever way for them to stay healthy and comfortable. We know that the primary reason they wallow is to help regulate their temperature.
Do pigs sweat? In short, no. Pigs have very few functional sweat glands, except on their snouts, making it nearly impossible for them to cool off through evaporation like we do. For wallowing pigs, a layer of mud acts like a high-performance air conditioner, cooling their bodies much more effectively than water alone.
Beyond cooling, mud acts as a natural sunscreen to prevent painful sunburns on their sensitive skin. A dried mud coating also provides a protective barrier against biting insects and lice, offering some parasite control.
In fact, pigs are remarkably clean animals. Pigs will naturally choose a specific, separate area for their toilet needs, often far away from where they live and eat, from a very young age. They don’t really smell, as a rule. Any odour you might smell at a farm is likely to be from their waste if they don’t have enough space to express their instinctive behaviour.
What noises do pigs make?
Pigs are very vocal and use a range of different sounds to communicate how they’re feeling. They have a vocabulary of over 20 distinct grunts and squeals, each with its own meaning: such as calling for mates, warnings and greetings.
Pigs make high-pitched, excited squeals or soft, rhythmic grunts when they're happy. They also squeal out of anticipation for food, and during play. But squeals can also indicate fear, pain or frustration, so context is key. They also use specific noises to communicate with humans, that they wouldn’t typically use with other pigs.
What is rooting?
For pigs, rooting is a natural behaviour and they will happily spend up to 60% of their waking time doing it. They push their strong, muscular snout into the ground, and sometimes use their teeth and feet to turn over the surface looking for roots and other nutrients like iron, which they’re naturally deficient in.
Sometimes, pigs rooting can be a form of comfort or even to cool off, but the main driver is usually food.
They have a truly amazing sense of smell – it's around 2,000 times more sensitive than a human's. They can typically detect scents up to three feet underground (1m), which is why people have traditionally used pigs to root for truffles, dating back to at least Roman times. Nowadays, dogs are preferred as they won't eat the expensive fungus and they tend to cause less damage to the landscape.
When pigs are kept in systems without straw or rooting materials, which is the case for approximately 40% of UK farms, the resulting frustration can lead to harmful behaviours like tail biting.
Do pigs play?
Pigs are naturally playful. They’re very curious and love to explore their environments, and play is an important part of building tight bonds with other pigs. Piglets have a lot in common with puppies; they’ll playfight, and chase each other around to learn social skills and develop co-ordination. Pigs also love to play with toys like balls, ropes and sticks, and will bond more with humans who play with them.
Happy pigs get the zoomies and do a joyful run, twist and jump, which can be a good indicator of their wellbeing. Because of their natural intelligence, pigs can learn to play games and have even learned how to use a joystick to play on a video game and solve puzzles.
Pigs are wonderful animals who have deep and complex lives. Their natural behaviours are so important, yet they’re often misunderstood or not met, which can cause them to suffer. They truly deserve – and need – our respect and kindness, now more than ever.
Pig lifespan and gestation
The natural lifecycle of pigs goes through several distinct phases, from birth to adolescence, adulthood, motherhood (if they’re female) and old age. They can live up to 20 years in a pet setting. This changes depending on the breed of pig. Some pigs who’ve been bred to have exaggerated size or features, like micro-pigs, may have a shorter lifespan of around 12 years.
Pigs make excellent mothers and can produce up to about a dozen piglets in a litter. They can get pregnant around three times a year and would normally keep their piglets with them for three to four months. Male pigs (boars) generally don’t raise their piglets and are not involved in caring for them. In fact, keeping a boar with a sow and her new piglets is risky, as the boar may kill or injure the piglets.
If left, mothers and daughters would happily live together in the same herd, whereas males usually go off to form their own groups.
did you know?
The average life expectancy for a pig in the UK is around six months.
As more than 95% of pigs are bred for meat, the majority of pigs living in the UK won’t live more than a year before they’re slaughtered.
What is the average life expectancy for pigs?
If left to age naturally, the average pig lifespan is between 15 and 20 years. If a pig is able to live out its natural lifespan, it will go through six distinct stages:
What does a healthy cub look like?
Foxes have cubs in the spring (March to April) in their den below ground.
Urban foxes may give birth under a shed or other outbuildings.
Newborn
(0–1 week)
Piglets are highly vulnerable, relying on their mother's milk for their immune system and spending most of their time sleeping for warmth.
Piglet / Weaning
(1 week – 3 months)
They become curious and social, starting to nibble on grass and soil around two weeks old. Natural weaning gradually finishes by week 12.
Juvenile
(3–8 months)
This is the period of most rapid growth. They develop social hierarchies and spend their days rooting and foraging. The meat industry refers to this as the ‘fattening/finishing phase’.
Sexual maturity
(8 months – 1.5 years)
Pigs are physically capable of breeding early but are not fully grown, continuing to gain muscle and bone density.
Adulthood
(1.5 years – 10 years)
Considered full adults around age two, they’re intelligent and capable of complex problem-solving.
Senior
(10–20 years)
Older pigs move more slowly, may develop arthritis, and favour rest over active foraging.
Average gestation period for pigs
The average gestation length of a pig is usually three months, three weeks, and three days (or 115 days). After around six weeks, a mother pig (sow) will develop a rounder belly and swollen teats.
Shortly before giving birth, known as farrowing, sows have a strong desire to build nests from materials like straw or twigs. It’s a vital natural instinct that we must respect.
Giving birth is usually quite quick, typically taking around two to three hours.
Sows are wonderful mothers and will ‘sing’ to their babies with soft grunts while nursing. Before lying down, sows minimise the risk of crushing by gathering piglets through a turning motion or by lowering themselves front-legs first.
What is the average life expectancy for pigs?
Naturally, a sow would have a litter of between six and 12 piglets. However, some breeding practices result in litters of up to 25. This isn't sustainable because sows only have 14 teats, so the piglets struggle to compete for food and are more at risk of starvation, hypothermia and crushing by the sow due to lack of energy to move out of the way.
Most farmed sows will have about six litters in their lifetimes.
Piglets
Piglets are quite advanced at birth, born with their eyes and ears open. They’re usually very small, weighing around one to 1.5kg, but are naturally intelligent and fast-developers. They can stand and walk within minutes. Piglets grow exceptionally fast, often doubling their birth weight in just seven days.
Their first instinct is to find a teat, often by following the scent of their mother as they have poor eyesight. Each piglet will have their own teat while they nurse, ranked in a ‘teat order’. They can recognise their mother’s voice and communicate with each other within hours of birth. Piglets can learn their names in just a few days, especially if trained with treats, and can learn to come running when called.
Initially, they spend 18 to 20 hours a day sleeping, huddled with littermates. They’re very social creatures, often cuddling together for warmth and comfort, and can even dream while sleeping.
As they grow, their behaviour changes from solely nursing to exploring, rooting with their snouts, and playing after about two weeks. Most farmed piglets will be weaned from milk and taken from their mothers at around three to four weeks old.
Pig diet
Pigs are omnivores, so they can eat a mix of plants and meat. Originally descended from wild boars, their diet would have been foraged from woodland including acorns, grubs and insects, roots, fungi and even eggs and small animals.
When they were domesticated, their diets would have been made from a mix of vegetables, fruit, farm scraps and mast (a mix of nuts and berries).
Over the centuries, this flexitarian approach to food has meant they were often fed scraps, which included pork. This led to the development of some modern diseases like Foot and Mouth disease. It’s been illegal to feed pigs scraps from human diets in the UK since May 2001.
What do pigs eat?
Modern farming means their diet has changed to now include high-energy commercial feeds, typically consisting of corn, soy and grain, allowing for faster maturation in about six months.
Common UK pig breeds
The UK historically has a rich diversity of pig breeds, including rare native pedigree breeds, traditional hardy outdoor pigs and commercial white breeds.
In modern farming, pigs are now mostly cross-bred to be heavier, to have bigger litters and be more docile, so they’re easier to handle in large numbers.
Learn about the most common pig breeds in the UK below:
Tamworth
With their striking red-gold hair, Tamworths are one of the most recognisable traditional British breeds. They’re thought to be the closest descendants of the Old English forest pig. Tamworth sows make wonderful mothers; they’re gentle, protective and excellent at nursing their young.
Like other traditional farmed animals, Tamworths are hardy and thrive in varied environments, from meadows to rougher pastures. They’re also particularly resistant to sunburn, compared to other native breeds.
Gloucestershire old spot
Meet the Gloucestershire old spot (GOS), a native British pig breed that dates back to the early 19th century. They’re easily recognised by their distinctive white coat and will always have at least one black spot, large lop ears that fall forward over their eyes and a dished nose.
Often nicknamed the ‘orchard pig’, they’d historically forage around fruit trees and on farms, eating anything that had dropped to the ground. According to folklore, their black spots are said to look like bruises caused by falling apples.
They’re renowned for having a calm nature, preferring to live outdoors. Adult males (boars) can reach weights of 270kg, with sows typically reaching 226kg. The breed's popularity declined after World War II with the rise of intensive farming, which favoured breeds more suited to being raised indoors.
Oxford sandy & black
With their thick ginger fur and almost Dalmation-like smattering of spots, the Oxford sandy & black pig is quite lovely to look at. They’re sometimes known as the ‘plum pudding pig’, as their coat looks like the dark fruit baked into the golden sponge of this traditional cake.
As one of Britain's oldest pig breeds — dating back 200–300 years in Oxfordshire — they were traditionally kept as cottage pigs, valued for their foraging ability.
After dodging near extinction more than once, there are now around 450 breeding sows in the UK. Their calm and friendly nature and affinity for living outdoors mean they’re still a popular choice for individual farmers and small holdings.
Duroc pigs
The duroc is an old breed of pig that first appeared in the United States. Its history goes back to 1812 and the early red hogs of New York and New Jersey.
Thanks to a thick, auburn winter coat and tough skin, durocs are well-equipped to handle cold and wet British winters. In the summer, they shed this coat, making them look nearly bald, which allows them to cope just as well with hot, dry weather.
From the start, durocs were known for having large litters and growing quickly. Duroc sows are excellent mothers who look after their young with great dedication. When they don't have a litter to care for, they’re typically calm and enjoy spending time outdoors.
Berkshire pigs
Berkshire pigs are medium-sized heritage pigs known for their hairy black coats with contrasting white feet, face and tail tip. They’re thought to be the oldest recorded breed in the UK and originate from Reading, England.
These pigs are particularly intelligent, friendly and so gentle that they’re nicknamed 'lady pigs'. They love to forage and live outdoors, rooting and exploring their environment. When they have litters of between eight to 10 piglets, they make excellent mothers. Berkshires can form really strong bonds with their human caretakers, too. If they’re healthy and looked after, they can live to between 12 and 15 years.
Welfare issues
Pigs are intensively farmed in the UK and we’re concerned about many serious welfare issues. As curious, active and social animals, pigs often suffer as a result of their physical and emotional needs not being met.
Methods like farrowing crates restrict their natural behaviours, and lead to frustration, stress and negative behaviours, such as bar-biting. Their instinct to root and explore their environment means indoor pigs on slats have a vastly reduced quality of life compared to outdoor reared pigs. We believe all farmed animals should be reared in higher-welfare systems where they can express these natural behaviours and lead happy, healthy lives.
To learn more about welfare standards for pigs, visit the RSPCA Assured website.
Farrowing crates
These crates prevent the sow from turning around for up to five weeks around farrowing (giving birth). A sow is typically moved into a farrowing crate up to a week before giving birth and remains there until the piglets are weaned. The crates prevent the sow moving more than a foot in either direction, stopping her natural maternal behaviors like nest-building and gathering her young. This causes significant distress to the pigs, who are naturally excellent mothers.
Approximately 60% of sows in the UK farrow in these crates. We oppose the use of any confining crates, and all pigs on the RSPCA Assured scheme must be crate-free. There is a planned government consultation on farrowing crates and you can get involved with our campaign to end farm cages here.
Tail docking
This involves removing part of the pig's tail, without pain relief, in order to reduce the risk of tail biting in older pigs. Tail biting is often carried out by pigs who may be experiencing physical or mental stress. The pigs who are bitten experience pain and it can lead to serious injury.
Teeth clipping
This practice is used on piglets to reduce the size of their needle teeth, preventing them from injuring the mother's teats or each other during fights for milk. The procedure can lead to pain and discomfort for the piglets.
Nose ringing
Outdoor sows may have their noses ringed to try to reduce rooting of the ground, as rooting can lead to an increase in the death rates of piglets due to ‘chilling’ from draughts. Nose rings work by causing discomfort and pain to the sow as she goes to root with her snout, causing her to stop. Pigs also find the insertion of the ring painful and the handling stressful.
Fully slatted floors
Many pigs in the UK only have slatted floors to lie on and are kept in environments with little to do. Pigs are intelligent animals and not giving them things to interact with, such as straw or other suitable materials to root around in and express their natural behaviour, can lead to boredom. Bored pigs can become stressed and may start tail-biting, which is very painful.
CO2 stunning in slaughter
Most pigs in the UK are stunned and killed using CO2 gas during slaughter. During this process, pigs inhale high concentrations of gas and can experience distress before losing consciousness. There’s currently no humane, commercially viable alternative at scale, so we’re continuing to push for change while working to reduce suffering.
Worried about the welfare of a pig?
If you’ are worried about a pig’s welfare, you should contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). They’ are responsible for safeguarding the welfare of animals on commercial farms.
You can contact them on:
England: 03000 200 301 / customeradvice@apha.gov.uk
Wales: 0300 303 8268 / apha.cymruwales@apha.gov.uk
Before you contact APHA, it would be a good idea to gather some key information first:
- The name of the farm and precise location (the app what3words can help)
- Details of your concerns and the animals involved
- Photos or video showing your concerns
- The names of anyone involved, if available
How the RSPCA is helping to improve pig welfare
We're working to improve the welfare of pigs at all stages of their lives. Here are some of the things we're doing:
Developing welfare standards for pigs
We encourage pig producers to adopt our welfare standards for pigs, which we've developed to ensure higher standards of welfare at all stages of the pigs' lives. Here are some examples:.
- Bedding – all pigs must be provided with bedding and environmental enrichment, either straw or another similar, suitable material.
- Solid floors – pigs must have a solid floor for their lying area. Fully slatted, bare floors are not allowed.
- No farrowing crates – we don't permit farrowing crates. Equipment that has the potential to confine the sow for farrowing must not be used.
- More space – pigs must be provided with space greater than the legal requirement, allowing them to move around freely.
- No teeth clipping, nose ringing and tail docking – these aren't allowed except in exceptional circumstances. Even then, the herd vet and farmer must write to the RSPCA, setting out what other measures have been taken to avoid carrying out these practices. Certain other standards must also be met before permission will be granted.
- No castration – surgical castration is prohibited.
Working with governments and industry
Our scientific staff represent us on a number of government and industry committees, including the Pig Health and Welfare Council.
Pig welfare research projects
Research into pig welfare helps us develop our welfare standards and wider policy around the wellbeing of pigs and other animals. We've been involved in a number of pig welfare research projects (by providing funding and/or as members of the project steering group), including on:
- reducing tail biting in pigs
- higher-welfare indoor alternatives to the farrowing crate
- reducing aggression between pigs
- avoiding nose-ringing in outdoor pigs
Visit our research projects page to find out more about our animal welfare research.
Common UK pig breeds image credits
Attribution 1: Amanda Slater from Coventry, England, CC BY-SA 2.0 via
Wikimedia Commons
Attribution 2: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Attribution 3: Fabricio Cardenas, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Attribution 4: Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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