Mr Quigley is a wild or feral pig, his ancestors were domestic pigs who ran away and lived in the wild. Wild pigs often have thick black bristly coats and straight tails. Many wild pigs have a ridge of hair in the middle of their back, this is why they are called razorback pigs in some places. Ecologically, wild pigs are not a good thing as they do a lot of damage to the environment.
When Mr Quigley arrived he was one or two days old. He was covered in nasty bugs, sick and a very hungry boy. I took care of the hungry first with lamb milk replacer, then the bugs and asked our veterinarian for medicine. Mr Quigley weighed less than two pounds and he had pneumonia. I made him tiny T-shirts from the rag bag to help him stay warm.
Once upon a time, on an island far, far away, the man who sees everything was driving through a pasture checking that everything was as it should be, when he spotted a small black shadow lying where no shadow should be, so he went to see what it was. He found a tiny wild pig and took it home for his wife to take care of, and that is how Mr Quintus E. Quigley came to live with us.
Mr Quigley did not like his T-shirt at all, he squealed very loudly every time it was changed. He did like to eat and did not mind taking his banana flavored medicine.
Pretty soon he grew out of his shirts. Then he grew out of his cat carrier, so we got a bigger crate, a small water trough..
Pigs are very intelligent. By the time Mr Quigley was two weeks old he knew his name and how to 'sit' so he could have a treat. On sunny days he liked to wander around the garden and use his strong nose to dig holes and rootle for yummy things in the grass.
