Diet and foraging Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume both plants and animals. In the wild, they are foragers, searching through their habitat for food (which, for pigs, often includes digging with their snouts). Wild pigs eat roots, tubers, leaves, fruits, mushrooms, and flowers, in addition to some insects (especially insect grubs) and fish. Pigs are famously fond of truffle mushrooms, which grow underground; pigs find them by scent and unearth them with their snouts. In Europe, trained "truffle pigs" find these valuable fungi for humans. Pigs do not hunt, but will readily eat carrion, eggs, and other animal foods that they can find. As livestock, pigs were once fed all manner of mixed household food scraps (called "slops"), but on large modern farms are now fed mostly corn and soybean meal with a mixture of vitamins and minerals added. Traditionally, pigs were raised on dairy farms and fed any excess milk and the whey left over from cheese and butter making. Pigs brought so much extra income to these farms that they earned the nickname "mortgage lifters". Older pigs will consume three to five gallons of water per day. When kept as pets, the optimal healthy diet consists mainly of a balanced diet of raw vegetables, although some may give their pigs commercial mini pig pellet feed.
Diet and foraging Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume ,both plants and animals. In the wild, they are foragers, searching through their habitat for food (which, for pigs often includes digging with their snouts). Wild pigs eat roots, tube,rs, leaves, fruits, mushrooms, and flowers, in addition to some insects (especially insect grubs) and fish. Pigs are famously fond of truffle mushrooms, which grow underground,; pigs find them by scent and unearth them with their snouts. In Europe, trained "truffle pigs" find these valuable fungi for humans. Pigs do not hunt but will readily eat carrion, eggs, and other animal foods that they can find. As livestock, pigs were once fed all manner of mixed household food scraps (called "slops"), but on large modern farms are now fed mostly corn and soybean meal with a mixture of vitamins and minerals added. Traditionally, pigs were raised on dairy farms and fed any excess milk and the whey left over from cheese and butter making. Pigs brought so much extra income to these farms that they earned the nickname "mortgage lifters". Older pigs will consume three to five gallons of water per day. When kept as pets, the optimal healthy diet consists mainly of a balanced diet of raw vegetables although some may give their pigs commercial mini pig pellet feed.