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Post by kilismom on Jan 19, 2015 14:31:55 GMT
I just became a piggy "mom", having brought home a 3 1/2 wk old peruvian boar yesterday! He is very sweet , but, of course, very skittish. I'm not sure how much handling & holding & cuddling is too much.....I want him to get used to human handling, but, I also don't want to over-do it & have him dread hearing me coming near his cage...any advice???
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 19, 2015 21:44:32 GMT
Hello and welcome There are many schools of thought on the handling. Most people say to give the pigs time to get used to their new environment. I start snuggling and petting from the very beginning, and haven't had a piggy have a nervous breakdown on my, yet I would say follow what your personality tells you to do. If he seems to be getting more skittish, back off a bit, but don't stop being you. Also, piggies are very social creatures, and normally live in herds. They love to be with their own kind, and having another pig often brings shy pigs out of their shells a lot faster. Piggies all have their own personalities, so once you get to know his, you'll have a good idea of how to interact with him. Welcome to the world of piggies, and good luck
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Post by Bean on Jan 20, 2015 9:22:39 GMT
A warm welcome to Wheekers, kilismom!
Ditto to all 3piggles has said, and with newbies I always use bribery - a little veggie treat when you approach or handle them will soon have them looking forward to hearing you approaching rather than cowering under a hidey!
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Post by kilismom on Jan 20, 2015 14:20:16 GMT
Thank you for the advice......tried the bribe & its working well!!! He will also be getting a little "brother" in a few day, we'll be bringing him home when he's weaned, they're only a week apart, so, I'm hoping they'll get along & be good companions to each other!
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Post by Bean on Jan 20, 2015 16:03:16 GMT
Some of us (myself included!) have found that having two boys going through adolescence together can be a rough road! They're both going through the lairy 'I'm the king of the world!' phase at the same time and it can cause squabbles and scuffles. Generally the advice, where possible, is to pair a more mature boar with a younger one so that a double dose of hormones doesn't exacerbate any dominance issues. That said, hopefully you will be lucky with your pair! I'm sure you already know the main thing for boars is that they do seem to need that extra bit of space - being able to get away from each other and run off any angst is so important to maximise the chances of them getting along, especially as they grow up. If you haven't seen them already, the C&C cages are an easy and inexpensive way to give them the space they need. Hope you have a camera btw - we will be needing to see these cuties!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jan 20, 2015 17:36:36 GMT
A very warm welcome to our happy family love.
Hugs
Jo xxx
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Post by kilismom on Jan 20, 2015 20:30:19 GMT
:-XThanx, Bean & Jo =) I'm keeping my fingers crossed they will be BFF's...the plan is to get a C&C cage, for right now, they'll be in a 40x 20, if there are squabbles, I have another 40 cage that I can put near the first 1, that way they can see each other ,but, not get into each others space. I can't wait to post photos here so all can see!!!
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Post by glittze2001 on Jan 20, 2015 21:06:53 GMT
Hello and welcome to wheekers, glad your getting you little boy a friend soon, let's hope they all get on well xx
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jan 21, 2015 17:41:06 GMT
Please keep us updated love, we want to know all about it.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 21, 2015 20:04:04 GMT
If you have anything like a low step stool or a solid cardboard box that's only about 5" off the cage floor, try creating a loft to expand the space in the cage. You can always go up, even if you can't go out
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