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Post by Bean on Apr 22, 2016 8:40:01 GMT
Before I go on, I have to say these five pigs were just amazing. As I'd had them all from being quite young and they lived semi free range (I couldn't let them all out at the same time because of the boys!) they were all really bold and more like dogs than guinea pigs in how they interacted with people. If they heard someone in the kitchen, they'd run through and stand on their back legs by the fridge, wheeking! They were all toilet trained and although I had a couple of pigloos (with bases) around the room for them to use, they'd just go back to their cages to do their business. Fred (who was the cleverest pig I've ever had, and probably secretly my all time favourite as I loved her confident, strumpy personality!) Charlie, who was a little fluffy bear of a pig, and a real sweetie. Tefal, my alpha male - he was lots of fun and very bold (he'd walk up to people walking along, so we had to keep our eyes open!). I loved the ginger bits under his eyes - we used to say it was like he was crying caramel!
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Post by Bean on Apr 22, 2016 8:46:05 GMT
Ziggy, who was hilarious - really good natured but not always the brightest! And Chas, who was so sweet and earnest, and more of a follower than a leader. She was probably the lowest ranking female (until any newbies came and she'd always have a bash at bossing them around!) but was the loudest wheeker ever! She had a wonderful battenburg bottom!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 22, 2016 12:11:01 GMT
Awwwww They are a lovely crew, and having such radically different personalities in just five piggies proves my case that they are as individual as people are. Gorgeous group of guineas Love Chas's divided bottom I think the color variations on animals are so cool. People are so boring, lol
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Post by Bean on Apr 22, 2016 16:18:12 GMT
Haha yes, I don't know a single person with a battenburg bottom! They are definitely all so very different, personality-wise - it's a shame when people pay them so little attention that they never realise that.
I think not having kids at this point made a difference to how much time and energy I had to invest in this lot - plus the fact that I could let them free-range which I'd not risk with kids bumbling around. That combined with the herd dynamics from having groups rather than just pairs, really made them so much fun!
It's so nice remembering this lovely lot, looking through the photos does tug on your heart strings a bit, but so many happy memories of my crew!
Still got quite a few pigs to go too, will continue later!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 23, 2016 19:58:20 GMT
They are just gorgeous Bean love, thank you for sharing your wonderful stories with us and the pictures and wonderful. I look forward to the next piggies.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 23, 2016 23:20:59 GMT
I loved having mine free range. It brought out so many aspects of their personalities they didn't get much chance to show in the cage. Before my back got bad and when we still had carpeting that needed to be replaced, I didn't mind then abusing the flooring while they ran around. Having them all line up in the open bathroom door while I was going to the bathroom was a funny. Being home alone, I didn't bother to close the door. They're worse than cats and dogs
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Post by Bean on Apr 24, 2016 7:28:54 GMT
Haha! Our bathroom was upstairs so I never got that - I get it now with the kids lining up to wait to ask me something and that actually gets quite annoying!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 24, 2016 20:27:03 GMT
I would love to have ours completely free range although knowing me, I would fall over a piggy, not that I care about me but I wouldn't want to hurt the little fellow. I remember Peter Gurney having a free range piggy called Free Range Fred, I thought it was lovely. To have them lining up in the bathroom with you must have been so very special. Oh Bean love, you can't even get any peace in there LOL!!
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Apr 25, 2016 8:52:31 GMT
After I'd had these 5 for a bit, I'd started going online and met some fellow piggy people, one of which was Lisa, who originally started up this forum with me - she had a guinea pig rescue within an hour of me and used to tell me about all her little charges. She had a little white pig in who had been bred for the first time at 3 years of age, which of course is very dangerous for them. She'd got into awful trouble delivering and needed lots of help. Both babies were born dead and mum nearly died too, but luckily pulled back and seemed to be putting on weight and doing well. Once she seemed to have stabilised, she came to live with us and make some new friends. Meet Frank! We'd planned to do quarantine, but she was so nervy, that knowing she'd been at Lisa's for weeks, we decided to introduce her to the gang straight away. She got on well with everyone and it was ace seeing her have fun with her new friends after all she'd been through. However, we can't have had her with us much more than a week, and one day I came into find her fitting, and she died within the hour. It was so sad, and of course I was kicking myself for not having done any quarantine period and potentially exposed my lot to something. But they were all fine, I think Frank's body had just had enough. She was a cutie (albeit a neurotic one) and I hope she enjoyed her last few days with her new pals. Lisa used to get quite a few pigs dumped on her by breeders, who said they weren't up to scratch and that they'd put them to sleep if she didn't take them in. Nice! So one time she told us about Bob, who had been brought in because although she had really good markings for her breed, her feet were deformed - she could walk fine and didn't seem in any way uncomfortable, but she had toes missing and others that were fused together or malformed. So Bob came to live with us! She was a real live wire and did actually try to challenge Fred for the top spot, so it wasn't the smoothest of intros as all the other females got in a flap along with Fred, and the boys were simultaneously excited and confused, but within a few weeks they were all pals. Bob was a pig's pig and although she was happy to come out for cuddles and treats, she was in her element surrounded by her piggy pals. Bob with Teef. So we had this lot for many years, and Charlie was the longest lived, making it to 7 years. By this time I had two human kids (I have such fond memories of one of the pigs having a post-op abscess just after one of the kids was born, and having to put down my new, clean, fresh-smelling baby to squeeze out manky pus from an guinea pig's abscess several times a day!) and was kind of up to my ears looking after people, so after Charlie died, we decided to have a pig-free period. It didn't last that long though!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 25, 2016 12:30:36 GMT
Sweet stories! I find it so hard not to be angry at the people who cause pigs to be deformed or to have shortened lives. I've fought too hard to help too many through sicknesses, not to be angered by the total lack of consideration for their well-being. For any animals well being! Your pigs were gorgeous, and it's been fun getting to know them Jo, Zippy was my explorer pig. He would wander off all over the house. The first time he left the room where he and Dallas normally stayed, I thought I'd lost him, and totally panicked. I was calling him over and over, and finally I heard a wheek from a distance, then the clickity click of little piggy nails on wood floors. He came running from the opposite end of the house. Once I stopped panicking, I realized I only had to follow the poo trail, lol Hanzel and Gretel had nothing on an explorer piggy, for leaving a trail back home
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 25, 2016 15:18:49 GMT
I am so very sorry to hear about the babies but I am pleased to hear that mum survived due to a lot of love and attention. Thank you for the continuing stories Bean hunny, you certainly have some wonderful memories and I would like to thank you for sharing them all with us. Oh love Zippy, he was playing hide and seek with you. That is what would worry me love, loosing a piggy but as you say, follow the poo trail lol!
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Apr 26, 2016 8:33:35 GMT
Each generation of inbreeding makes a weaker set of genes, whether it's intentional inbreeding to further certain traits, or accidental because sexes haven't been separated.
There was a lot of anger after Crufts this year, as the ideal examples of certain breeds seem to be getting more and more distant from a strong, healthy dog.
Charlie outlived all her babies by a couple of years, and they died of different conditions - liver failure, cancer and a URI. They just weren't as robust. Chas had extra toes too, which is a lot more common in inbred pigs.
Zippy sounds ace, it's great fun when you can give them the space and time to truly show their characters. When mine were free range we had wooden flooring with rugs and if I needed to put any home but couldn't see them, I'd call them and hear a patter of claws on the wood in reply!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 26, 2016 13:50:43 GMT
There's a British dog breed, can't remember exactly, but it has the name English in it, that can no longer breed without help. That's really taking a breed to the end of its existence, if artificial insemination or test tube puppies is the only way to continue a breed. That's my first thought when I have a sick pig, or one that doesn't live very long. Their genes were far too messed up for them to have a decent life. Morty, my longest living pig, was a little bit of so many different breeds of pig, that may have been his saving grace. Enough good genes in with all the others, to let him have a great, long life Zippy was my teacher pig, the one who taught me so much about all pigs can be, given the chance. He was also a leader pig, as was Morty, with the others willing to follow his lead. I saw all of the different types of people in all of the different types of pigs, and realized we were different species, but very much alike. I think, once we have a place to start understanding another species, we can build on that understanding. Peter Gurney was a perfect example of that. I do miss him, and still visit his website quite often.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 26, 2016 20:15:14 GMT
Inbreeding has been going on for a long time because when I was 7, my parents bought me a golden retriever puppy and my mother said that on her pedigree papers, the same names appeared over and over again. She wasn't a very healthy dog. I have had piggies outlive their children Bean hun and it is very sad. My weakest looking piggy who was small and never looked really well, outlived the entire piggy herd. We thought she would be one of the first to go. Zippy sounds wonderful Piggles hun so did Morty. Yes, I too miss Peter Gurney. I so hope he is with piggies where ever he is.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Apr 27, 2016 8:31:24 GMT
That's a lovely though, Jo! I bet his family would love to have that image of him too.
I'll continue with the next generation of pigs soon, but it was much easier doing the old lot as I had all their photos saved together from when I had a website. It'll take a bit more digging for the next lot!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 27, 2016 12:49:11 GMT
I think he's with the piggies, definitely Peter Gurney definitely preferred their company to that of humans, and I think he often found humans to be amazingly dim and dull! I love piggy pictures, so the more the better I also love hearing about all the piggies and other pets people have had. Trips down memory lane are great, though I'm not sure I'd want to do it very often.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 27, 2016 19:33:12 GMT
I would agree with him, present company excepted. Looking forward to more piccies hun.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Apr 29, 2016 13:38:17 GMT
All the pigs have got cages full of hay today - it's Rocky's birthday (2 today, she's our baby) and although the kids always give the birthday pig a cucumber cake (with carrot candles) this is the main way we celebrate birthdays! (The girls' birthdays are just guesstimates as we got them when they were older.) There was lots of tunneling, running around and chomping this morning, but it's all gone quiet now! It's not a photo from today (I'm not that organised) but here's the lovely lady relaxing.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 29, 2016 19:31:42 GMT
Happy birthday Rocky hunny, lots of love from your Auntie Jo. She is gorgeous Bean love.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by bazookagoof on Apr 30, 2016 1:36:31 GMT
Bean, I truly am enjoying this thread- thanks for sharing; I'm trying to find time to let my daughter see your pictures, but she's been busy every time I have computer time!
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