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Post by 3piggles on Jul 17, 2014 15:52:05 GMT
They are a sneaky lot, that's for sure Glad he came out!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jul 17, 2014 18:11:06 GMT
Yes they are love and not as daft as we think they are LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by faafaa on Jul 18, 2014 13:32:01 GMT
I'm sorry that the boys are going at it a little. Even the best of friends will have a little tiff from time to time, especially with the boys. It is best to leave them together though to work it out. I know this part is REALLY HARD, trust me. If they get to facing off and chattering have the dustpan handy incase you need to split them up. (This advise came from Bean I believe) If they look like they may lunge or if one of them gets up on their hind legs then you separate. A little chasing and mounting is OK. They are just trying to work out the hierarchy. If you keep breaking it up, they will never be able to work it out. Just my .02, you know your boys best I don't know what I would do if one of my boys got out! I can't even imagine how you must have felt! I am so glad that you didn't have to wait too long, although I am sure it felt like an eternity. I am going to stash your handy tips in the back of my brain somewhere, hopefully I will remember them if I ever have the same problem.
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 18, 2014 15:34:12 GMT
Thanks for the advice faafaa. It is much appreciated. I have to admit that it has been tough leaving them at it and I do usually let them be. The mama in me wants to help, but I know that it would only make things worse. When I separated them the other day it was because Weasley was making a new distress sound, Harry was trapping him and extremely aggressive. What had concerned me was the distress sound. All of the other times Harry would chase Weasley or mount Weasley, etc. he would make noises but not this particular sound. I knew it was best that they get back together ASAP, so I tried three more times to bring them back together that evening. It wasn't until after the 3rd try that Weasley stopped making the new sound at which I left them together. I had taken this new sound as a call for help. Since then, Harry continues to chase and mount Weasley and the new sound hasn't returned.
I know...those few hours of Harry missing made my heart ache. I'm so glad that you haven't had to experience it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
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Post by faafaa on Jul 18, 2014 15:38:57 GMT
Well I am glad that you were able to get them back together quickly, and that you didn't have to keep them apart for too long. I hate that they make it so hard sometimes for us to have more than one. I just want them to all get along! Watching them pick on each other and carry on like they do sometimes is heart wrenching!
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 18, 2014 16:24:16 GMT
Training Piggies Okay, so I've decided to start training my boys. They are both very comfortable with me, but they still don't like being picked up or petted when they are in Hogwarts, Quidditch or The Burrow. If we have a towel on the bed, they have to problem being petted there or if we are holding them. So here is how I'm tackling it... 1. Being picked up...every time I pick them up to move them, check on them, give medicine, cuddle them, etc, I give them a few bites of a carrot. I only give them carrots (their absolute favorite veggie) when I or hubby holds them. That way they can learn to relate being held/picked up with the yummy carrot. I've been doing this for a little over a week. They now don't make me chase them as much in Hogwarts (on a desk), but the other places (which are on the floor), they still run away. 2. Being petted in one of their areas...Well, I started this a while ago where I hand feed them small pieces of veggies. I make them come to me to get them. This really helped them get comfy with me. It is quite funny now...for example, last night I had Harry hanging out on my chest. Hubby noticed that every time I moved my hand that Harry could see, he would pick up his head and reach his nose towards it. (My hand was resting on the armrest.) Hubby at first thought he was trying to catch a whiff of a smell, so we tested his theory...nope it was my hand. My hands have come to stand for the source of all things yummy. That being said, my hands also mean being petted and picked up, which are things they run away for. So yesterday while I was sitting with them in The Burrow, I decided to try feeding them a whole stem of parsley or cilantro with the stem held firmly in one hand and the other hand petting them. At first, they would run away every time I tried to pet them, but eventually they decided that they would put up with my petting if it meant getting the parsley or cilantro.
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Post by 3piggles on Jul 18, 2014 16:51:46 GMT
Sounds as if you're making great progress. It is hard not to interfere and make it all right between our babies. I start handling my pigs from the very beginning, no settling in period. I also put my hand in the cage and let them come to it, sniff, lick and even sometimes nip it. No pig likes being picked up. It is the whole trapping/capturing/killing scenario their prey animal instincts tell them is bad. Knowing the smell of the safe hand helps, but ultimately they'd prefer to not go through it and just get the treats
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 22, 2014 3:04:11 GMT
TRAINING UPDATE My training techniques seem to be working. Rarely do I have to chase a piggie anymore to pick one up. Plus I've been practicing on my picking up skills to make them the most comfortable in the process. CAGE UPDATE As I posted in Aymee's page, I'm making the conversion to fleece. I've tried towels, Carefresh, recycled newspaper pellets, newspaper, and pee pads. Using Carefresh or the recycled newspaper pellets made it difficult to clean up poop daily. The Carefresh stuck to their toe nails. I've just not been happy with anything I've done so far. So the people who seems the most content use fleece, so I thought I'd give that a shot. 3piggles' advice came in handy when I thought through the design. So thank you very much! 1st floor has Mimi Litter covered by an over-sized fleece layer. I put a little thicker layer of litter in the back portion as that is their favorite place to pee. The top floor, I cut out a hole for the ramp access but didn't put anything underneath. I've been watching them this last week and I haven't been finding pee anywhere upstairs except in their hay bin. (Watch they will prove me wrong the first time I don't put something that absorbs liquid and deodorizes.) In the hay bin, I put the recycled newspaper pellets in the three corners (that is where I've been finding the pee) and then piled it with up with hay. I have them in The Burrow (bathroom, there all time favorite place to be) right now. I'm really trying to resist the urge to bring them to Hogwarts (described above) to see what they think about it. But since they love The Burrow so much, I'm letting them stay until it is bedtime. HAY UPDATE I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm starting to use the hay from Wal-Mart. I'm noticing that they are rejecting more of it than the Kaytee hay they had previously. The Wal-Mart one is put out by Kaytee though. Hubby suspects that these are the reject hay that they wouldn't put directly under Kaytee's brand name. I'm trying to figure out with they rejecting more hay if the Wal-Mart hay is still cheaper. Possibly so. They do like eating this hay though. Their favorite hay so far has been Vitakraft's Premium Sweet Hay. It was like candy. I save that hay for more stressful situations. Otherwise, the boys are doing great. Loving being a piggie mama!!! When they run to the edge of their pin to see me (I know they really want veggies), it melts my heart. Attachments:
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 22, 2014 3:51:12 GMT
TRAINING UPDATE Of course, right after I posted the above, I went to get the piggies from The Burrow...do you think they were good little boys? Nope, they made me chase them. Argh! They've been easy to get for over a week. They like to keep me on my toes.
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Post by Bean on Jul 22, 2014 12:23:45 GMT
Glad the handling is coming along nicely, bar a few minor setbacks. Cadders loves to splodge on your lap and have a good fuss but if you try to stroke him in the cage (unless he's eating) he's off! Josh is the opposite and loves a good fuss in the cage (he has a cute thing of sort of turning over onto his back sometimes!) but unless he's eating on your lap, he's just a fidget monster. He'll climb everywhere - back/ arms of sofa and walk over your legs onto the footrest if you have your feet up! He used to be a real cuddle pig so he might change again, but for now he's far too busy for cuddles!
Oooh the missing pig situation must have given you a fright, glad it all ended well! When I was a kid and we had a family of pigs, we had them out in a run in the garden and then came back to find they'd all escaped through a loose bit of wire and were nowhere to be seen. We eventually found them hiding under the shed (the base of which was a bit rotten so there were several chambers underneath it) and they were very resistant to being caught. We did out best to block off anything else getting in or them being able to escape from that area of the garden but it took us a few days of baiting with veggie treats to get them all back - they looked to be having rather a good time but it certainly wasn't for us! I'd probably have a heart attack if that happened now but it takes a lot to flap my mum!
How are the boys getting along? If I can hear my two squawking a lot and things getting a bit tense, I sometimes chuck a few veg in to distract them. They eat, then usually have a little rest and when they get up, whatever it was is forgotten. My two aren't clever enough to figure out if they act up intentionally they'll get treats or they'd do it a lot more!
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Post by faafaa on Jul 22, 2014 13:41:10 GMT
Oh switching to fleece! You will love the fleece! It's so easy. Not to mention that you can pick out all sorts of fun colors and patterns. I bet you could find some Harry Potter themed fleece somewhere. Can I ask why you aren't using towels under the fleece? I have only ever used towels, so I am wondering if there is something better out there.
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 22, 2014 15:28:06 GMT
Oh switching to fleece! You will love the fleece! It's so easy. Not to mention that you can pick out all sorts of fun colors and patterns. I bet you could find some Harry Potter themed fleece somewhere. Can I ask why you aren't using towels under the fleece? I have only ever used towels, so I am wondering if there is something better out there. I can't believe I didn't think of that! Harry Potter fleece...oooo...I'm getting excited to go look. Thanks for the suggestion! As to why I'm not using towels under the fleece is because I have found the towels smell, so I'm following 3piggles advice...here is her latest advice. wheekers.proboards.com/post/316670/threadI saw that in the thread I'm referencing that you mentioned going out to try the kitty litter idea. Let me know what kind you get, I'm interested to see what is the best litter.
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 22, 2014 15:53:12 GMT
Glad the handling is coming along nicely, bar a few minor setbacks. Cadders loves to splodge on your lap and have a good fuss but if you try to stroke him in the cage (unless he's eating) he's off! Josh is the opposite and loves a good fuss in the cage (he has a cute thing of sort of turning over onto his back sometimes!) but unless he's eating on your lap, he's just a fidget monster. He'll climb everywhere - back/ arms of sofa and walk over your legs onto the footrest if you have your feet up! He used to be a real cuddle pig so he might change again, but for now he's far too busy for cuddles! Oooh the missing pig situation must have given you a fright, glad it all ended well! When I was a kid and we had a family of pigs, we had them out in a run in the garden and then came back to find they'd all escaped through a loose bit of wire and were nowhere to be seen. We eventually found them hiding under the shed (the base of which was a bit rotten so there were several chambers underneath it) and they were very resistant to being caught. We did out best to block off anything else getting in or them being able to escape from that area of the garden but it took us a few days of baiting with veggie treats to get them all back - they looked to be having rather a good time but it certainly wasn't for us! I'd probably have a heart attack if that happened now but it takes a lot to flap my mum! How are the boys getting along? If I can hear my two squawking a lot and things getting a bit tense, I sometimes chuck a few veg in to distract them. They eat, then usually have a little rest and when they get up, whatever it was is forgotten. My two aren't clever enough to figure out if they act up intentionally they'll get treats or they'd do it a lot more! I loved the mental picture you gave me about the life and times of Cadders. Okay, so I thought my missing pig was awful, I don't even want to imagine going through what you did. How awful! I'm so glad that you were able to get all of the piggies home safe and sound!!! The boys are getting along great again. Okay, great for guinea pigs. It is still sometimes hard to watch Harry exert his dominance on Weasley, but Weasley either takes it, runs away or nips back once. Once in a while Harry will prevent Weasley from the Hay or food, and at those times I make an additional spot for Weasley to get his hay or food. Maybe Harry's hormones where spiking on that day that I had to separate them. They are usually not far from the other. They are so fun to watch their interaction. Thanks for asking! I love your suggestion of throwing veggies in the cage when they are going at it. I'll have to try that next time.
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 22, 2014 18:30:18 GMT
I bet you could find some Harry Potter themed fleece somewhere. I can't believe I didn't think of that! Harry Potter fleece...oooo...I'm getting excited to go look. Thanks for the suggestion! The best I can find is a $55 fleece blanket. It seems no one is selling fleece by the yard in Harry Potter theme.
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Post by 3piggles on Jul 22, 2014 18:35:47 GMT
Pigs likecto be picked up sometimes. Then they totally change Momo is a real don't touch me pig, but out of the blue she'll want ro be snuggled. Don't take it personally The upgrades sound great. They're just beginning, lol! Once you start down that path, it gets addictive
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Post by faafaa on Jul 22, 2014 20:13:56 GMT
I can't believe I didn't think of that! Harry Potter fleece...oooo...I'm getting excited to go look. Thanks for the suggestion! The best I can find is a $55 fleece blanket. It seems no one is selling fleece by the yard in Harry Potter theme. Well that just stinks! Have you looked online? Sent from my SCH-I435 using proboards
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Post by SiLamb on Jul 23, 2014 1:13:35 GMT
Yes I have, and I'm in shock. They must be holding onto the rights really closely.
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Post by faafaa on Jul 23, 2014 1:44:20 GMT
Well that just stinks!
Sent from my SCH-I435 using proboards
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Post by Bean on Jul 23, 2014 6:45:00 GMT
Can you find something generic that would still fit the theme - lightning, wizard hats or spiders?!
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Post by faafaa on Jul 23, 2014 13:11:07 GMT
Oh Bean that is a great idea! (I vote for spiders. I love spiders. So pretty.)
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