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Post by 3piggles on Aug 22, 2014 15:23:55 GMT
They get used to the normal household noises, even to dogs barking and kids yelling. It's important to watch for signs of super stressed or frightened pigs, as they do come along and need to be out of the main noise a bit. Otherwise, they enjoy being part of whatever is happening I wish more people would get on the floor and bond with their pigs. We are so huge to them. Getting down on their level shows we're willing to do things their way, instead of them always having to do things our way. Such great reward for such a small gesture
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Post by SiLamb on Aug 22, 2014 17:08:09 GMT
3piggles, thanks for the advice. I have them in the office which is a long hallway with four doors...one to the master suite, one to the laundry room, one to the kitchen and one is the backdoor. I try to say hi to them every time I walk past.
I found that the boys were more skittish in Quidditch because it was on the floor. Hogwarts is on a desk, so, we don't tower over them like before. They seem to like that better. The Burrow wasn't as big of a problem, because I would sit on the floor to interact with them most of the time.
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 22, 2014 20:02:58 GMT
You are a great piggy mom
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Post by SiLamb on Aug 22, 2014 21:16:05 GMT
Thanks, I try hard to be
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Post by Bean on Aug 27, 2014 14:31:31 GMT
My two are definitely better since being in the C&C cage as they're more used to seeing people passing and it's much easier to pop a hand in to say hello - at first they were a bit unsure about the more exposed space above them but after a few unnecessary dives for cover, they figured out they could just stay put! We weighed them yesterday. Josh is now 2lb 9oz and Cadders is 2lb 8oz. I was quite surprised they were so similar as Josh looks much chunkier than Cadders. Also (I'll say this quietly so I don't jinx it) there's been much less squabbling lately which is great.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Aug 27, 2014 15:30:54 GMT
I am so glad they are getting on too love, but please don't tell them I said so LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 28, 2014 20:15:23 GMT
It's all piggy muscle Excellent weights
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Post by jolovespiggies on Aug 30, 2014 17:13:23 GMT
Ha ha, that's what I tell people LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on Aug 31, 2014 8:09:44 GMT
We're on day 3 of the fleece - for now I haven't cut it down or sewed it to fit because I wanted to see if it worked for them first. It's just clipped roughly to the sides of the cage with bulldog clips. Plus I've used newspaper underneath. I plan to use something better for absorbancy and odour in the long run but again, I wanted to make sure they didn't just chew up the fleece before I invested!
Anyway it's gone pretty well so far. I thought odour might be a problem at first but that was basically because they went nuts scenting and rumbling on the first day of it which created a bit of an aroma - since then it's been fine. And no chewing that I can see.
I have a few questions though, for anyone with a view.
They are moulting a lot and the fleece is covered with hair - do you just give the fleece a really good brush before you put it in the machine or is there some better way to keep on top of it?
I feel like the best way to secure the fleece would be to the clip it to the top edge of the correx to secure the corners against being weed on and also not give them nice edges of fleece to chew. I also think if there's any chance of them being able to burrow under something, they will! But when you're sweeping up with it this way, it doesn't stay still against the sides so comes away from the edge (does that make sense?) which makes it a bit annoying to sweep. Is there a way round it?
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Post by glittze2001 on Aug 31, 2014 14:17:25 GMT
I am quite lucky as my piggies don't really get hair all over it but most of it comes up with a good brush. I clip mine to the side with bulldog clips due to the fact as if they can find a way under it they will burrow. Lost count of the amount of times I have come downstairs in the morning with all of them snoozing underneath it lol! So I just make sure I have plenty of clips as honey used to pull the fleece down and burrow in!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Aug 31, 2014 16:50:18 GMT
The little monkey! Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 31, 2014 21:04:57 GMT
The weight of the quilted pad sewn tonthe fleece makes the whole thing heavy enough to vacuum with a regular vac. I use the duster brush attachment to my Dyson. Works great on poos and hair. Hay clogs it. So if anything, clip it so it's pulled tightly across the bottom of the cage, any don't go up the sides. Impossible if you don't have the pads.
Mine chew the fleece, but not badly. I've had all of my pads for years, and they all have a few chews in them.
Don't know how big a cage yiu have, but if you cut the quilted blanket to the exact bottom of the cage, and make the fleece several inches bigger all around, you can tuck the extra fleece under an extra piece of coroplast, and the pigs can't get under the fleece. Can't use anything like kitty litter, unless you poke a whole lot drainage holes in the coro.
Pigs like to snuggle under soft fabric, so a couple of small pieces of fleece serve the purpose well. Even draping fleece over their houses creating a tent works well. My fleece isn't clipped down, and mine don't go under it.
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Post by Bean on Sept 3, 2014 20:00:03 GMT
When I cut my fleece down, I will definitely use the offcuts for some fun drapes.
I've had a litter tray in the cage for a while (which I pile hay on) and they used it, but far from exclusively. Since I started using the fleece, I'd say more than 80% of their wees and half of the poos go in there which is great. I change the litter tray out every day and do a quick sweep up in the cage, but am not seeming to need to change the paper under the fleece very often. I'm happy just to stick with it for now anyway - goodness knows how long it'd take me to get round to making pads given my record so far! I need to get some more fleece though - the weather's so good at the moment I can wash it while they're out in the run and have it back on before they go home. But I expect that won't be the case for long!
I need a better way of giving them hay so they can't just pull it everywhere so easily. I'm thinking if I can just make a partial cover for the litter trays, so they're hideys too, that'll work. I'm sure having the hay is a big help for the litter training as they're too lazy to move from where they're eating!
I was around today and saw a few instances of magpies trying to get to the pigs when they were in the run. They squawk at them and try to stick their beaks through the mesh (they can't fit!) or sit on top of it watching them. The pigs ignore them now anyway. It's just so odd how they pay so much attention to the pigs yet ignore the rabbits - even the tiny babies, so it can't just be their size.
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Post by SiLamb on Sept 4, 2014 7:11:15 GMT
My fleece is loose in the cage with towels underneath. My boys shed quite a bit of hair and once a week I use a firm brush to brush the hair gone. I don't use a vacuum because the fleece would come up. I prefer to pick up the poop by hand (with our without a glove). I find it helps me to monitor their poo health and feel where they are peeing so that I can adjust anything.
That would be scary to watch the magpies try to get the boys even with the cage. I am in shock that the boys just ignore them.
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Post by Bean on Sept 4, 2014 8:15:14 GMT
At first these two would run and hide from them - I think it was the noise more than anything. But I guess after a while they realised nothing came of it so just look at them bemused now! Same with cats - the cats just sit and watch them sometimes and the pigs just carry on munching.
With my past pigs and a run with slightly wider mesh (hence why I got such small mesh this time), the pigs didn't give too hoots and would even go over to see them. Until a magpie managed to pull a bit of fur on one of the rex type pigs so they learnt a quick lesson after that.
I was a bit worried about foxes with the rabbits being outside - we used to get them a lot and although the hutch and run are secure, I was concerned they'd stress the rabbits. But I haven't seen one in out garden in well over a year. We did block off one place they used to pass through so they probably found another way around.
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 4, 2014 15:04:41 GMT
I wonder if the cats and Magpie are attracted to a certain type of movement pigs do but buns don't? I know nothing about Magpie or foxes, but I've seen things to put in gardens to keep out pests, ranging from owl statues you can mount anywhere, to things that move in the wind. Maybe the garden center has something that would work.
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Post by Bean on Sept 8, 2014 8:33:19 GMT
I'll definitely consider it if something starts bothering them but for now they're not bothered by any wildlife that's passing through.
I've got round to cutting my fleece down. It overlaps the top of the correx slightly and is clipped in place. So that should make getting it back on slicker. I also bought a new litter tray so I have two (well, it's actually a paint tray but it does the job!) and put a couple of upside down shoe boxes over the litter trays so they're hideys too as well as providing something to chew. The hay is staying in much better and they're barely even doing any poos out of them now - didn't think these messy boys were capable of being so organised! I need to find a way of securing the boxes on a bit from being knocked off (but something easy to remove when I muck them out). Can't use string incase they break it and chew on long strands, and haven't thought of anything else yet.
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 8, 2014 15:23:48 GMT
Are they close enough to the sides to hinge them with zip ties or something non chewable? Sounds like a great set up
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Post by Bean on Sept 10, 2014 9:08:30 GMT
Hmm it's a good idea - they don't go over the height of the correx to attach to the grids though and I don't want to have to poke something through the fleece and correx. I'm thinking about getting these pigloos. I had some years ago and really liked them - it's great you can wash them too. If I line them with newspaper and fill them with hay, they'll be fun and nutritious little hideaways.
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 10, 2014 12:37:36 GMT
I like those. We're finally seeing them in the US. definitely worth a try. I'm interested in how well they work. I'm convinced there's no way to efficiently provide hay for them, so ease of handling is the next best thing.
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