Feeding and housing

Minipigs generally are meal fed with a low calory diet, to prevent obesity. Although minipigs mainly drink during and after feeding, drinking water should be available constantly. A typical minipig diet has following content per kg diet:
Energy (ME)    10.0 MJ  Crude Protein 13.9 % Crude Oil  2.4 % Crude Fibre  11.6 % Ash  6.7 % N.F.E.  56.4 % Calcium  1.02 % Phosphate  0.68 % Sodium  0.25 % Lysine  0.66 % Methionine  0.22 % Cystine  0.21 % Threonine  0.51 %

Standard minipig diets can be bought from commercial vendors such as Altromin , Extralabo, Harlan Teklad, Lactamin, Nafag Ecosan, Purina Mills,
SDS, Ssniff , or UAR. Actual nutrient analyses may vary from above.

Minipigs can be fed from a bowl or trough. When group feeding minipigs from a trough, a length of at least 0.25 m (10 inches) per adult animal
should be available. Alternatively, group housed minipigs can be floor fed from a clean surface, to reduce competition. Animals >7 months are fed only once daily.

Automated drinking systems are recommended for minipigs.
When using drinking niples, these should not be located higher than 0.3 m (1 foot) from the floor. Adjustable from 0.15 to 0.30 m is optimal. Drinking cups should be installed at 0.1 m (3 inches)
above the floor. If water is provided from opposite to the feeding area, the minipigs will keep the feeding area clean, since minipigs use wet areas for
defecation and urination.

Feeding rations are given below:

Age (Months)	Weight kg (lbs)	Daily Feeding (kg)
		male	female
2-3	5-7 (10-14 )	2 x 0.11	2 x 0.11
3-4	7-9 (14-19)	2 x 0.12	2 x 0.11
4-5	9-11 (18-22)	2 x 0.13	2 x 0.12
5-6	11-13 (22-26)	2 x 0.15	2 x 0.14
6-7	13-15 (26-30)	2 x 0.17	2 x 0.16
7-9	15-19 (30-38)	1 x 0.38	1 x 0,36
9-12	19-24 (38-48)	1 x 0.42	1 x 0,40
>12	24-30(49-60)	1 x 0.46	1 x 0,44
> 18	±30 (±60)	1 x 0.56	1 x 0,54
> 24	±35 (±70)	1 x 0.56*	1 x 0,54

*) Largely built minipigs (>35 kg) require 1 x 0.70 kg.

Regular weighing of minipigs is recommended to monitor weight gain, and feeding rations should be increased when growth is less than 0.4-0.5 kg (1 lbs) per week in young animals.

Housing of minipigs is described in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes, Appendix A: Guidelines for accomodation and care of animals.

Space requirements are given below:

Guidelines for accommodating pigs in pens
(in stock and during procedures in user establishments)

Species and weights (kg)	Minimum pen floor area (m²)	Minimum pen length (m)	Minimum pen partition height (m)	Minimum pen floor area for groups (m²/animal)	Minimum length of feed rack per head (m)
10-30	2	1,6	0.8	0,2	0,20
30-50	2	1,8	1,0	0,3	0,25

Source:
Council of Europe - ETS No. 123 Appendix A: Table 11

Guidelines for caging pigs
(in stock and during procedures)

Weight of pig (kg)	Minimum cage floor area per pig (m2)	Minimum cage height (cm)
5-15	0,35	50
15-25	0,55	60
25-40	0,80	80

Note:
The table would also apply to piglets. Pigs should not be kept in cages unless absolutely neccessary for the purpose of the procedure and then only for a minimum period of time.

"Cage height" means the vertical distance between the highest point on the floor and the lowest point in the top of the cage.

Source: Council of Europe - ETS No. 123 Appendix A: Table 10

Preferably, minipigs are kept on straw or wood shavings as bedding material, but pens with (partial) grid floors may be used. If pens with (partial) grid floors are used for housing, a rubber mat can be used for creating a comfortable sleeping quarter.
The environmnetal temperature should be raised with 1-2 °C, if no straw or wood shavings are supplied. N.B.: If minipigs are used in oral dosing studies, or studies in which gastric emptying is measured, no bedding, such as straw or wood shavings, nor roughage (hay), should be given. Ingested bedding material and roughage will delay gastric emptying substancially in minipigs.

Guidelines for environmental temperature, at a relative humidity of 50-70%, are given below:

4 weeks old animals	28°C
6 weeks old animals	26°C
3 months old animals	22-24°C
6 months old animals	20-22°C
Older animals	18-20°C