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Post by maxiemojo on Dec 9, 2015 11:57:09 GMT
Our gorgeous boys Max and Mojo will be 15 weeks old this week so I've been wondering about the GP teenage years and watching them for any signs of funny business. The coast is clear so far! I think it helps that they are brothers and have never been apart. I hate the thought of having a separate them for part of the day should one need a break from the other, mainly because of a lack of space. We have a rental inspection tomorrow so the boys will be having a temporary change of scenery in the morning. Hopefully they will enjoy some time out on the deck under the palm trees for a few hours, whist we pretend that they don't usually live inside with us. We are building a house next year so I will definitely be moving them into a custom made c&c cage. At the moment they live in a regular 2 storey wooden hutch with an extended lower level floor space.
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Post by 3piggles on Dec 9, 2015 21:15:17 GMT
Maxiemojo, can you post a picture of the hutch, or a link to a similar one? We'll be moving to a smaller place next year, so I'm looking for good up/down options, as I doubt I'm going to have 8 feet of space for a long cage, at the new place. The boys are well into piggy puberty, so if they haven't at least gotten on each others nerves, you're very lucky. Maybe they won't, but it's usually the case. Being brothers, never being apart, have nothing to do with how they get once they enter puberty. They become extremely territorial, and really fight for dominance, so just keep a close eye on them, and keep a dust pan or something handy to put between them, should the fur start to fly. Also, watch for nips on their fur, tears on their ears, bites on noses, etc. Once that starts, it usually escalates. I'm glad it's going so well, so far, and I'm keeping all digits crossed that it continues
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Post by jolovespiggies on Dec 10, 2015 20:00:58 GMT
Haha when we first rented somewhere when moving to Cornwall, ur bunnies and guinea pigs moved out for a day too love so grotty landlord didn't see them LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by maxiemojo on Dec 11, 2015 21:30:41 GMT
Tried to upload a pic but my mobile reception is lousy at the moment!
It's just a regular hutch that I bought from ebay. I was horrified at how small is was once we set it up so we got an old chest of drawers and removed the drawers and runners and laid it flat and put the hutch inside it to give them more space. For their run time I use a "puppy pen" which pops up and then folds flat for when we are not using it.
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Post by 3piggles on Dec 12, 2015 20:41:00 GMT
We have a play pen that is decent enough for their running space, but I will probably need a smaller actual cage, and something that looks like furniture. I'm looking at ideas, but compared to the C&C cages, OY are they expensive to get anything nice!
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Post by maxiemojo on Dec 13, 2015 20:19:57 GMT
I like the ideas on Pinterest where people "repurpose" furniture into indoor hutches. There are some really nice ones.
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Post by 3piggles on Dec 13, 2015 22:07:01 GMT
I'm not sure how much we can do, as we've given all our tools to our daughter and mate, and are now in our 60s. We're moving to a place with even less space for repurposing furniture than we have here, so having to do very much could be a problem. I would like to find a great hutch set up, but the only one's I've seen are in Europe. Way too expensive to buy and have shipped here, if they even ship to the US. Any repurposing would have to be relatively easy.
I'll also have the piggies in the main living area instead of the basement family room, so won't need their separate fridge, bedding storage, and a lot of other things that can just go out into a storage shed. It will be a very different set up than what I have now, I'm sure.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Dec 14, 2015 18:52:41 GMT
Our piggies are permanently in our living room, in a large pen It means we cannot switch the fire on but hey ho, piggies come first LOL!
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by maxiemojo on Jan 16, 2016 1:08:03 GMT
So it begins! No scraps so far but lots of rumblestrutting (I think that's the right name) butt wagging and mounting coming from Mojo now. It's quite funny to watch as Max doesn't really pay much attention to it unless Mojo is trying to jump on his head. I'm surprised that Mojo is turning out to be the one trying to be boss, as he is very timid compared to Max. Physically Mojo is bigger I don't know if that has anything to do with it though. Funny little creatures they are!
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 16, 2016 15:52:53 GMT
There are two reasons pigs show dominance. One is to actually establish their dominance, done by the dominant pig. The other is to head off the worst of the dominance from the dominant pig. Boars tend to be more outwardly dominant, lots of mounting, rumblestrutting, etc. I've known of sows who were nasty leaders, nipping and generally bullying the others into submission. I've had more sows who were very quiet leaders, but who's authority wasn't challenged. Size has nothing to do with it. Most of my dominant pigs weren't the biggest pigs in the herd.I hope it stops at some rumblestrutting and mounting. Being brothers also doesn't help, as the closest of brothers have turned on each other once they reached puberty. It's more important to establish a herd hierarchy than to be brotherly, and herd hierarchies are very important to guinea pigs.
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Post by maxiemojo on Jan 28, 2016 3:38:48 GMT
Thank you for that info. Very informative! Were you able to arrange new housing for your GPs?
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 28, 2016 13:27:27 GMT
The general rule of thumb has been to not separate pigs unless blood is drawn. However, I think bullying can create such a miserable life for one pig, it's worth separating that pig, or the bully if you have a herd of pigs, so everyone can enjoy life. Bullying doesn't mean the dominant pig chases the submissive pig around a lot. That's normal piggy behavior. The submissive pig will often squeal in submission, which tells the dominant pig they understand. It seems cruel to us, but later you'll see them side by side, and that really tells the story. The dominant pig will push his or her dominance just far enough to have one of the herd members yell, and the dominant pigs job is done for now. Bullying means attacking with teeth (usually on the ears, shoulders and flanks). You'll see tattered edges on the ears, bite wounds that aren't too bad on the rest of the body. The problem is that biters don't stop biting, and the number of not-so-bad bite wounds keeps increasing. For the attacked pig, that is a constant torture. The attacked pig will start staying way clear of the biter, even if it means not getting the food, hay and water it needs to stay healthy. The bullied pig will lose weight, act skittish when you try to pick him/her up and check them, possibly develop health issues because he/she's not getting the needed food and water to maintain a strong immune system. That needs to be stopped before it becomes a problem, as a sick pig is an expensive pig. Your babies don't sound at all close to this situation, and I'm not trying to scare you. It's just that reading about possible problems and solutions rarely seem to prepare us for those situations actually happening, and it's always a possibility, and when they do, you'll get such varied advice from different sources, it will be hard to know exactly what action to take. We know our pigs better than anyone else knows them, and we know when one isn't acting right. I'm really pulling for your brothers not to have puberty problems. It would be wonderful
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Post by maxiemojo on Feb 1, 2016 11:39:55 GMT
Thank you for the info, I'm sure other people will read it too and gain invaluable advise, hence why I'm asking and learning too! Thank you for sharing!! It's been really hot here over the last few days (sunny+rainy+Feb=it's very humid)! The boys have been chilling out inside eating cold cucumber and lazing around in their indoor run. Otherwise it's been pretty quiet on the home front. Both are due for haircuts and nail clippings this week! Wish me luck!
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2016 15:36:00 GMT
Definitely good luck Nail clipping is my problem, as I've never had long haired piggies
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 1, 2016 21:34:17 GMT
I had a long haired piggy once who was gorgeous but he was such a big baby when it came to being groomed LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 2, 2016 15:42:19 GMT
One of our former members used to post before and after pictures of the summer hair dos she did for her long haired ladies. She did a great job of layering the hair and making it look great She had very calm ladies, though, and I imagine a pig who won't stay still could be a real problem for groomers.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 2, 2016 21:36:26 GMT
Ha ha,a he used to do a hop and wheek Piggles hunny, even though I barely touched him and was very gentle. I do love long haired piggies, in fact I love long haired things full stop but I imagine all piggies to be the same when it comes to grooming if they need to be LOL!!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 3, 2016 14:40:11 GMT
I love the hop and wheek description Morty was my drama king. Oh, you'd think I was killing him just holding onto his hand to clip his nails. He carried on as if he were being murdered No pig really likes having their nails clipped, but the girls were great until they saw how Morty acted, and then they decided he must know what he was doing, so they'd do the same thing
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 4, 2016 20:40:36 GMT
That is a shame hun, in other words the girls were nice and calm until they saw there was something to get upset about, typical man passing on his tantrums like that LOL!! You would think we were killing our long haired piggy Lewie that was, I only had to touch him with the brush.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 5, 2016 15:51:48 GMT
I don't think I've ever had a pig that didn't like being brushed. Only Molly, who was a Teddy and had a fungal skin condition didn't like it, and once her fungus was gone, she loved being petted. Teddies don't need brushing, anyway. They're more about the finger massages through their hair, than brushing
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