Famous Pig -- HGTV's Payin' Me $5,000 to Ham It Up!

Talk about bringin' home the bacon -- "Young and the Restless" star Kevin Schmidt just scored a solid $5,000 payday after his famous pig booked a television gig with HGTV.

TMZ has learned ... the network booked Kevin's micropig Yuma for an upcoming show called "A-List Pets."

Sources close to Kevin tells us ... Yuma spent the day on the set with the host Ian Ziering ... who took a serious liking to the unkosher creature.

Of course, Yuma's blossoming career was almost torpedoed when he appeared on "TMZ Live" ... and FELL OFF THE STAGE!!!

Fortunately, Yuma's tough -- she got right back on her hooves and finished the show like a true champ ... unlike our fearless leader who squealed like a little piggie when NFL star Adrian Peterson squeezed his hand a little too hard a while back.