Miniature pigs delight in playing mini piano at Victoria children's farm

Sawatsky Sign-Off: Pink Piano "[The pigs] love to play." Adam finds out how a little piano turned into a big inspiration for a band of farm animals.

Although the Little Pink Piano couldn’t be further from Carnegie Hall, one wonders if the anticipation of its upcoming concert at the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm feels just as momentous.

"They have discovered music," Claudia Laube smiles, playing random notes on the toy instrument. "They love to play."

And when the farm manager says "they," she’s referring to a trio of miniature pigs.

"There’s Poppy. There’s Petunia," Claudia says, as each black and white pig snorts and wags their tail in recognition. "And there’s Punk, because not everyone can be a flower."

And while not every piano can be a Steinway, the Little Pink Piano has never stopped striving for excellence.

"A little girl donated her piano to us," Claudia recalls.

The Little Pink Piano’s first player no doubt set high standards for performance before graciously offering her instrument to an aspiring band of chickens.

"It’s animal enrichment," Claudia explains, before carrying the Little Pink Piano over to an eclectic flock of birds. "Something to make it more interesting for the chickens to play."

Although the chickens spent the past few years attempting to impress the public by appearing for every performance dressed in dynamic feathered stage costumes, no one ever seemed to come close to rivalling the musical talents of a Liberace or Elton John.

"They’re not as musical in my opinion," Claudia says, as the colourful chickens peck at the black and white keys, but rarely make a sound.

So Claudia decided to pair the Little Pink Piano with players who had more potential.

"Pigs are some of the smartest animals," Claudia says.

Pigs regularly rank in the top five on lists of world’s smartest animals, and are said to have the intelligence of a three-year-old human, and are more trainable than dogs.

Also, the first time she played the Little Pink Piano, Punk the pig performed way more notes than a whole flock of chickens.

"They put their little noses on it," Claudia says, showing me video of the piglets’ first performance. "They seem to like the idea that it makes sounds."

As Poppy, Petunia and Punk have grown into teenagers, the sisters’ musical tastes have evolved with them.

"It’s freestyle I would say," Claudia laughs, as the pigs pound on the keys with gusto.

While the pigs’ performance is certainly more Rock than Rachmaninov, the little piano seems to be tickled pink.

"I think the piano is happy to be played," Claudia smiles. "Happy being an active part of the farm."

Because no matter which animal is performing the soundtrack to smiles, the Little Pink Piano ensures they’re hitting all the right notes.