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Post by Bean on Sept 30, 2013 10:00:20 GMT
Don't know if Fella can do joinery like that. Haha, err not quite! We don't have too much experience of it really, but fella's not too bad and just did a shelving unit which turned out better than we expected! Perhaps we should invest in a few quality carpentry bits and bobs as we have a few other jobs to get done too. We bought some decent drills etc when our old ones died, and they do make jobs *so* much easier, so I definitely think having naff tools doesn't help! I'm not sure how big I'll make it Margaret - I think I'll just work out what I can fit in to the space it's going to go in! I do like the idea of a small upper level - I think especially with boys, having a little place for one of them to have some time alone will be welcome. As for the outdoor run... I was initially thinking of one similar to this. Attachment DeletedBut now I'm thinking one more like this would be great and easier to move around the garden. More fiddly to make though, I expect. Attachment DeletedWhat would you go for? I like the idea of a built in bit of cover - save me setting up hideys for them. I know I'm a little late to this thread but the piggies are extremely cute! And, the photography is great... They look like little models (lol). Thanks 2littlepigs! I got wet knees from kneeling on the grass for those, so glad they are appreciated haha!
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 30, 2013 18:59:32 GMT
If you have lumber yards that also sell nails, screws, etc., check for pre-made joining pieces. They are pieces of metal with holes drilled for screws. They come in different lengths and widths, flat and angled. You should be able to get ones to fasten together your corners, and pretty much anything else you want to do. No joinery needed. They are usually with lumber, in building supplies. Not the prettiest option, but solid. I couldn't find a photo for you, as I have to know what they are called, and I can't remember.
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Post by Bean on Oct 1, 2013 9:23:23 GMT
Yeah my local merchant sells all that gubbins and I think I know the things you mean and will definitely keep than in mind, thanks. I'd much rather 'stays together' to be the main feature rather than 'looks pretty'!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 1, 2013 23:24:36 GMT
Yes. Oops is not something you want to hear when moving it into place!
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Post by Bean on Oct 4, 2013 8:16:40 GMT
I have never had such a pair of chewers as these boys - with other pigs I've always tried the willow balls etc and they've largely been left untouched (unless I've stuck hay in them, then they've pulled that out before leaving them ignored) but these two are annihilating everything I put out/up for them and are having a jolly good time doing it!
They seem to prefer woody textures to cardboard stuff - aside from the different textured willow/straw balls and fruit tree branches, any ideas for new things to try?
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Post by monkeyandthechimp on Oct 4, 2013 11:18:47 GMT
How about those bird toys you get with wood and loofah... The hang, so are a little harder to annihilate as they swing around too...
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 4, 2013 20:46:11 GMT
Different pigs seem to prefer different types of chewing, and different chewing sounds. The sound is as important as the wearing down of the teeth, to them, though I have no idea why. Mine love paper bags for the sound they make when chewed. I have a chew log in Momo's cage, which she loves to chew. All the pigs seemed to love it, but I haven't been able to find another one. I have found the chew shack, sort of like a tiki hut, and may get that for Mia and Morty. They all loved to chew on the wooden houses. All around the door and window was totally chewed, but the houses are built are survive that. Mostly, I think they like things they don't have to chase around to chew.
Momo chews the cage divider between the living and dining areas. We figured out quickly that she does it to get attention. If she chews on it (can't really get purchase to do damage), we tell her to stop. The more we told her to stop, the more she chewed. I started picking her up and giving her snuggles if she chewed, and now she only chews when she wants snuggles. Her way of telling me it's time, on her terms!
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Post by Bean on Oct 7, 2013 9:59:10 GMT
Those chewable huts are good but not the ones with bases - they get gross and smelly too quickly!
So far I've been letting the boys out for exercise in a big run made from cubes with a blanket underneath. As they have calmed down a lot (and are a lot bigger so can't get into as many small spaces) I tried letting them out in the whole living room this weekend. They loved it, but are still a bit too incontinent for it to work for me.... However they loved being able to pop in and out of the cage so I'm setting up the run just outside their cage and leaving the door open so I can leave them to it for longer. I'm hoping that (as with other pigs I've had), with a bit of encouragement, as they get older they'll get better at holding their wee and more discriminating about where to do it! They're already so much better when they're on your lap and rarely pop anything out now, but I think they're so excited about gadding about they feel the need to leave a dribbly trail! I did have to snap my fingers a few times to stop them chewing the furniture too, so this way will work out best for now!
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Post by monkeyandthechimp on Oct 7, 2013 10:31:54 GMT
Lucky boys! I'm getting closer to moving mine into their own shed! Hubby and I started painting today! Then have to put the Lino down next weekend... Then... Eeeeeeeeeep! We move in!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 8, 2013 19:37:50 GMT
Do love lino for piggy areas. The carpeting we have is totally the wrong thing, so I have to keep it clean. That shed sounds great, M&TC.
Bean, do not think because they are big, they can't get into small places. I had to stop floor time in the last room, because no matter how much I blocked areas, no matter what I used to block the areas, Morty found a way in. I was trying to keep them out of the areas that were hard for me to get into to clean, and he found every one of them. As soon as he found the one possible way through, the girls were right behind him. Morty weighs about 5 pounds, and he got into the tiniest spots!
I wouldn't expect them to be too conscious of the bathroom habits when out in the run. They tend to get so busy exploring and playing, they pay little attention to anything else. Best to have an easy clean area, or absorbent fabric underneath. I used the vinyl table cloths and the thicker painters plastic drop cloths, and just protected the floors under the whole run. Both are washable, and both are really inexpensive.
I think the run outside the open cage is going to be great. Pigs will use all the space they have and more, and the more exercise they get, generally the healthier they are.
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Post by Bean on Oct 9, 2013 9:52:54 GMT
I'll go with the flow of what works with these guys, but my favourite set up has always been being able to leave the cage open while I'm around, and let them free roam the living room - saves setting stuff up and having to pack it away/ wash it! I've been pretty lucky so far having pigs who have caught on to the whole 'go back to the cage to wee and poop' thing so it's worked well (I've never had any luck getting them to use a litter tray in the cage, mind!), but we'll see. These boys are a bit too boisterous to be left unsupervised while roaming at the moment anyway so the add-on pen works well! I can't believe they're only 3 months old as they've grown so much and it feels like they've been here much longer than 6-7 weeks - Josh is already quite the chunk!
Exciting times M&TC - hope the painting went well?
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Post by monkeyandthechimp on Oct 9, 2013 10:52:58 GMT
I can't wait to let my boys have the shed to roam! The painting went well... Until we ran out of paint... I can't believe how much we needed... Going to Finnish it after work tomorrow...
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Post by Bean on Oct 9, 2013 13:23:43 GMT
Oh how annoying! I guess there's nothing like new plaster to drink up paint. Still, sounds like you'll be back on track soon!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 9, 2013 23:16:23 GMT
It does beat painting yourselves into a corner, but that's about it. Glad you can get more paint!
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Post by monkeyandthechimp on Oct 10, 2013 11:45:10 GMT
Haha Laurie, funny you should say that... Hubby had to go to three stores to get more of the paint... It was a special buy in, and everyone had sold out! Bean, I'd love to be able to let my boys run in the living room! Unfortunately with Monkey still kicking around, I couldn't risk it... Even though she's blind as a bat with cataracts...
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Post by Bean on Oct 10, 2013 18:23:37 GMT
Indeed, it's better to be safe than sorry. Before we had kids, we used to pretty much have our pigs free range on the downstairs floor during the day - if they could hear me cooking in the kitchen, they'd all trundle through from the living room and line up by the fridge standing on their back legs and wheeking - it was too cute! If I was carrying a plastic bag of some sort, I'd be like the pied piper with them all trailing hopefully after me! Of course having kids, we had to curtail all that as toddlers and small roaming animals aren't a recipe for happiness, so we've had to pen them in more for exercise - they enjoy that too of course, but I did really love having them pottering about!
Oh no about the paint hunt! Glad he tracked some down eventually though.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Oct 15, 2013 16:45:16 GMT
Oh bless them, I bet they are getting really excited LOL!!
Hugs
JO xx
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Post by Bean on Oct 16, 2013 8:04:46 GMT
These boys are so messy and really enjoy being destructive - I think without a lady to show them a more becoming way of behaving, they are basically acting like lads out on the lager!
I'm going to enter them in some kind of hurdling event - when I set the pen up just outside their cage, I was setting up ramps for them to come in and out. But they have forcefully shoved them out of the way and just love leaping in and out continuously! It seems to go - lap of the cage, leap out, bullet through the cardboard tube in the pen before leaping back in and starting all over, and they keep going for ages! It's a good 8" to vault in and out so I expect it's keeping them fit!
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Post by margaret6 on Oct 16, 2013 10:07:35 GMT
Glad you got the paint M&TC, all that work to maybe not finished how you would have liked would have been a nightmare, did you ever find the wallpaper? Bean, do you know I have never thought of letting my piggies have a wee roam in the living room. This sounds daft now but the piggies were in a temporary cage in the living room after their baths. I just wanted to make sure they were dry and settled before they went back outside. Anyway one 'escaped' and had a run around, hubby and I got in a panic, saying oh no it's escaped where is it etc. can't understand why we made it such an issue, nothing was going to happen. Crazy reaction xx
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 16, 2013 13:18:26 GMT
Zoomies!!! Momo sets up her cage for zoomies several times a day. Has to be just right, then she's off and running. It's always up and over through and around under and repeat, or some such sequence. Ooh, happy boys!!! I don't think the ladies are any less messy. If anything, I think age is more of a factor. You have two adolescent boys. They will outgrow this
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