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Do Pigs Fart? All You Need to Know

Pigs are very extraordinary animals, smart, interesting, and curious. Their anatomy is no exception. If you study it, you’ll be surprised at their capacity.

As you might know, some animals fart and others don’t, but what about pigs?. In this article, I explain whether or not pigs can fart and what could be the potential causes. 

Do pigs fart? Yes, pigs can release gasses, or as many will say, “fart” this is part of their digestion process. The breakdown of food will produce gasses in humans but also in animals. This is normal behavior for pigs and other animals.

Some types of food can produce more gasses than others, so if for some reason you notice your pigs are farting a lot, you might have to take a look at the type of food you’re feeding them. 

For example, pigs that are grass-fed have a high probability of farting a lot; this is due to fermentation. The same happens with pigs that eat large amounts of red meat, as it contains sulfur and many other smelling components. 

Do Pigs Fart? All You Need to Know

But depending on the animal, there may be different reasons for why they fart. 

Some animals will fart just because they swallow air; other animals like the zebras will fart when startled. 

Even the octopus have what many call the pseudo-fart, which is basically a jet of water that, when expelled, will propel themselves through the ocean. 

The process of farting can be quite interesting to study when looking at different types of animals. 

But going back to the pigs, if you’re just trying to avoid this type of habit, you should know it is part of their nature, so there is no fixing it. You can reduce the frequency with a proper diet, but it is something you’ll have to get used to.

Do All Animals Fart?

No, not all animals can fart, and the simple reason for this is that depending on the species, you will find different digestive systems, which implies different ways of processing foods. 

For example:

Pigs have a monogastric digestive system, which means it has a single stomach. This stomach has a low pH, which means that it destroys most bacteria and breaks down what the pig has eaten. This digestive system adapts to feeds with high energy and low fiber, like oil meals and cereal grain. So it is definitely prone to produce or experience gasses.

Chickens or poultry have an avian digestive system, which is a big difference compared to others. Since this type of animal doesn’t have teeth, they typically break the food into small pieces and swallow. The swallowed food travels to the esophagus and directly into the crop; this is where the food is soaked and stored. After this, the food moves into the proventriculus, which is the birds stomach, where acids are secreted. From the proventriculus, the food moves to the gizzard, which grinds the food.

Cattle, sheep, goats, and deers have a ruminant digestive system which has a large stomach divided into four compartments. This type of animal has a roughages diet; this type of animal swallows their food in large quantities. After this, they will ruminate and swallow it again.

Horses, alpacas, rabbits, guinea pigs have a pseudo ruminant digestive system which is similar to the ruminant digestive system, but the difference is it doesn’t have a stomach with several compartments. It does have similar functions, but pseudo ruminants can eat grains, forages, and other concentrated feeds

Do Pigs Fart a Lot?

Depending on the pigs diet, there could be instances where pigs will go through long periods of fartings. This could be mitigated by changing their diet and understanding it’s a good thing they can release these types of gasses as they can be toxic. 

And that farting is part of their nature, just like humans. Even you might go through a period of gasses when you eat a particular food, the same happens with pigs.

Do Pigs Fart as Much as Cows?

The comparison, in this case, is irrelevant; pigs and cows will fart as much as they have to and for particular reasons. 

But if you’re asking because of the co2 emission, cows will definitely produce more co2.

Do Pig Farms Smell?

Yes, pigs farms smell a lot, but the main reason is not because of them farting, although it could be a cause. But in reality, the main reason pigs farm smell a lot is manure, decaying feed, and carcasses. 

It’s essential to keep the area where the pigs are feeding as clean as possible in order to mitigate the smell. I know it might be strange because people think pigs are disgusting animals, but in reality, they live in the conditions that their owner provides. 

They need separate areas to feed and to poop; this is one of the main reasons space is required in order to have a pig farm. 

Something that can help with the pigs smell is keeping the pig site far from your home, healthy foods, carcass disposals, and manure storage.

And when talking about a pet pig, just keep him and his living area as clean as possible. A daily cleaning routine will definitely help.  

Conclusion: Do Pigs Fart?

Yes, pigs fart; this is a normal process of their anatomy systems. Although farting a lot could be caused by the type of foods your pigs are eating. So if you’re looking to avoid this type of gasses as much as possible, make sure your pigs have a clean diet, but even then, it’s impossible to avoid it 100% as it’s part of their nature, and it’s definitely a good thing for them to do it. 

As explained in this article, there are different digestive systems within the animal kingdom, and depending on the animal, some can fart while others do not. 

So it is important to understand that if you’re looking to have a pet pig or a pig farm, this will be part of your everyday life, so get ready for the smell. 

This is one of the reasons why pigs farm smell, and although there are ways of mitigating the scent, it won’t be 100% clean air.