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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2009 1:52:01 GMT
That's great!!! Wendi seems to know how to successfully place pigs with you, so they're off to a great start.
Just do the regular things, clean the cage and everything in it, give them a buddy bath and have them spend most of the day in a neutral place that has no existing dominance established. When you put the cage back together, rearrange things so the layout isn't the same as before the new ones joined the herd. Then stand back and let them work out their differences, lol. Good luck. I can't wait for the pigtures.
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 1, 2009 16:40:26 GMT
Here they are! I got them out very briefly this afternoon to start getting them used to me handling them and to tidy the cage. Didn't want to disturb them too much so only one photo so far. At least one of them is a mjor muncher - they're in my spare room at the moment and I had to shut them in last night cos of the noise they were making munching on theor log cabin!
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Post by Val Amirault-Vale on Feb 1, 2009 16:47:24 GMT
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 1, 2009 17:14:52 GMT
I have everything I need to build a bigger C&C cage and will have everything ready before hand and then put it all together when the four of them are getting to know each other out on the floor next weekend. I might enlist my lovely neighbours' assistance to help me keep an eye on them while I'm busy. I haven't really thought about names yet. I have slight problem though as I have a niece called Rory! Not sure if she'll be impressed at having a piggie namesake! So I have asked whether he is allowed to keep his name or whether she and her sister would like to suggest a list of new names for him for me to choose from. I'm not all that keen on the name Rhea so I think I will change hers. I like Winnie (hijacked from your list Val!) cos I think she looks like a wee teddy bear! Any suggestions anyone would like to chip in will all be carefully considered!
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Post by Val Amirault-Vale on Feb 1, 2009 17:25:03 GMT
I like Winnie (hijacked from your list Val!) cos I think she looks like a wee teddy bear! Any suggestions anyone would like to chip in will all be carefully considered! I love the name Winnie! I confess, I hijacked it from Anna's thread! LOL Anna has a piggy named Winnie, her real name is Winter but she calls her Winnie! Hey, maybe I should re-name Miss Piggy to Miss Winnie, and then all three of us would have a Winnie. I really love that name too! I would have Wookiee, Weebez, and Winnie.....Plus Miss GeeGee and Miss PP Lily. lol
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 1, 2009 18:55:26 GMT
I'll see if anyone else comes up with any other suggested names for her to add to my list to choose from - but I do like Winnie, like Winnie the Pooh, but not quite the same colour obviously! I'll be watching your thread for the inroductions to see how they go. I really hope all our new pigs like their new friends and can get along OK! Do you need a hairdrier for bathing pigs? Bearing in mind I live in Scotland and its kinda chilly here!
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Post by Val Amirault-Vale on Feb 1, 2009 19:59:40 GMT
Do you need a hairdrier for bathing pigs? Bearing in mind I live in Scotland and its kinda chilly here! I use a hair dryer on Miss GeeGee no matter what the weather is here. Her hair is so thick, it takes forever to dry on it's own. When it is warmer weather though, I don't dry it all the way and will let her hair air dry part way. In the winter time I use a hair dryer on both Miss Gee Gee and Miss PP Lily plus keep them in a room with space heater until they are fully dried. When I bathed Wookie and Weebez, it was a warm day so I just used the hair dryer to dry them slightly, then kept them in the room with a space heater until fully dried. Oh, by the way, I read your thread to my granddaughter who is here visiting me and she loves your new piggies too! She also loves the name Winnie and really wants me to re-name Miss Piggy to Winnie now. I think I may do that for her? When my granddaughter was a baby, her nursery was decorated with all Winnie the Pooh stuff, so when you mentioned Winnie the Pooh, that cinched it for her! lol If you decide on the name Winnie, then we will have three Winnie's here. That would be cool!
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Post by Pigjes on Feb 1, 2009 20:03:37 GMT
awwww they are so sweet!!!!
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2009 22:10:01 GMT
Ah, they are so cute. What little sweethearts.
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Post by piggiepop on Feb 1, 2009 22:55:05 GMT
Cute little piggies! Congrats!
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Post by gogoplant2 on Feb 2, 2009 1:10:39 GMT
Aww, nice piggies you have there. The grey one does look kind of like a Winnie. I'm not sure about the other one though.
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 2, 2009 20:04:55 GMT
Thank you all! I love telling people all about my animals and showing them pictures (or boring them to death, some would say!), and love it even more when other people show such kind interest! They were very brave pigs this evening as they allowed me to stand in the doorway and watch them whilst they ate their dinner and some hay.
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Post by newpig on Feb 3, 2009 9:18:46 GMT
Just saw the update!
They are stunning and look so healthy and well cared for. I bet you are thrilled to have them home with you. Can't wait to hear how it all goes.
Your weather is pretty similar to ours. I don't bath my piggys regularly. I do give them a bath in Spring and use the coconeem melt to help ward off any Springtime fungal infections as the weather starts to warm. In Springtime when I bath them I dry them with a hairdryer and keep them inside for a long part of the day.
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Post by 5boars on Feb 4, 2009 17:10:56 GMT
What lovely new girls Hope the intros go well for you.
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 8, 2009 20:02:51 GMT
Thanks for all the kind comments and encouragement. All my pigs are very special. Winnie it is - no-one suggested anything esle which knocked it off the top of my list. And given that my niece hasn't yet complained, I think Rory can keep his name too. Tried the introductions today and am a bit disappointed that it didn't quite go to plan. I got them all out on the floor in a big pen with 4 pigloos and sat in with the - with my newspaper and a towel! Instead of bathing them or putting perfume on my hands, I rubbed a wee spot of gorgeous guineas 4 oil shampoo on my hands before picking up each pig to put them in the pen. I don't yet have a hairdrier and have never bathed them before - I thought that and introductions all in one day would be a bit too much for them and me! It started off quite weel but after 5 or ten minutes they started really annoying each other. Winnie just hid in a pigloo and peed a lot, she didn't bother the others and they didn't bother her. She was never going to be in the dominance battle as she is the smallest, the youngest and the scarediest of the four! There was lots of teeth chattering, posturing, nipping and foot stamping amongst the other three - Woolly and Bingo chasing and nipping poor Rory (he didn't puit up much of a fight except to make at least as much noise!). And then Woolly and Bingo seemed to get quite upset with each other. Overall there quite a bit of fur flying. I persevered for about three quarters of an hour and then put them all into the nice new big cage but with a divider in the middle. So far they seem OK with this arramgement. I have got a really pleasant surrise from all this though - Winnie seems much happier and more confident now than she was this morning! She is out and about in the cage, chatting with the other girls through the divider. Before she mostly hid in the pigloo. So, what do you think I should do next? I thought I could try taking the divider out next weekend, after they've had time to get to know each other through it. Sorry - bit of a long one, but lots to tell!
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 8, 2009 21:53:50 GMT
I would still recommend the buddy bath. The idea is to totally level the playing field. No one dominates in the bath. Once they've all been through that together, put them in the big, neutral area on the floor while you totally clean the cage of all scent, and get it ready for all of them.
It seems like a big production, but unless there are some major problems, it works. There will always be a dominance dance to some degree, as they are establishing a herd hierarchy to keep the herd functioning. They basically have to elect a leader, and the process can seem rather brutal to us, but to them, it's part of piggy herd life, and they expect it.
Don't be disappointed. Sometimes not all of the steps are needed for a successful integration. Your's wasn't that way, so you'll have to do all the steps to make sure you get them off to a good start. I think having them talking through the divider is a good thing, as it shows that Winnie's starting to adjust to the other pigs, and there's a good chance the merger will work out just fine.
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 8, 2009 22:16:24 GMT
That's it then, job for this week is to acquire a hairdrier and I'll go for the whole bathing thing next weekend! Is it that they might just all join together in mutual indignity at being bathed?! Thanks for the encouragement 3piggles - I was a bit downhearted, even it was only because I just want everything to perfect straight away! Not that I'm impatient or anything... I am really pleasantly surprised at Winnie though, and that's a bonus - she is a different pig since before the introductions. I've seen more of her since they've been in the new cage than I have all week!
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Post by Val Amirault-Vale on Feb 9, 2009 5:16:08 GMT
Hi weesilvie! I'm sorry that your introductions have not gone as smoothly as you had hoped. Here is some information about the Buddy Bath that 3piggles mentioned. I got it from Cavy Spirit. Give it a try and see if it helps. I would not worry so much about everything going perfectly just yet. From everything I've read it may take a little time before they will actually begin to bond and truly get along together. Here is the link if you want to read about the social life of a guinea pig. You will find this "buddy bath" info all the way down at the bottom of the page. www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htmThe "Piggies who Bathe Together, Stay Together" Game
Here is another technique used for harder-to-introduce couples or trios, especially when adding a new male to a bonded male pair. You'll only want to try this method if you are already competent at handling guinea pigs and giving baths. bullet
When you are ready to "introduce" the three, take everybody out and put them on the floor. Lay a blanket down and enclose it so they can't escape. Make it big enough so they have room to roam around. They will all notice each other. bullet
Watch their behavior closely. You will notice some things right away. If they hate each other, it's apparent pretty quickly. There will be teeth chattering along with more serious fighting. They may leap at each other and start fighting (it looks like a levitating mass of squiggling piggies). This is bad. Make sure you have an oven mitt or dust pan or a towel you can wrap around your hand to separate them. DO NOT USE YOUR BARE HANDS. Fighting pigs will bite ANYTHING, and very very hard. It will draw blood. Even if they are not actively fighting but are in "fight mode" they can bite. Make sure no small children are around where they could try to stop it and get bitten. See the dating game behavior above to help you determine if they should be immediately separated.
If nobody fights right away, you can relax a bit. They may rumble around and mount each other. This is all normal. You'll notice a lot of bum-sniffing and chasing. This is ok. If they start fighting, refer to the above.
The last option is the best -- instant acceptance. They will run up to each other, sniff, maybe mount a few times, and then settle down to groom the other pigs' ears or something. This is fantastic, but unfortunately doesn't happen all that often right from the start. bullet
If the pigs fight, or fight after a little while, give them all a bath. You can put all three pigs in the bathtub (keep the oven mitt handy) and run about 1 inch of warm water. Soap them all up at the same time with something that smells good. Use a small-animal shampoo that is kitten or bunny-safe (not a baby or human shampoo). The pigs will be freaked out about the bath and will forget that they are mad with each other. Don't get any water in the eyes, nose, or ears. Rinse them off carefully and well making sure that you get all the soap out. bullet
Put them on some towels on the bathroom floor. Dry them off as much as possible with a towel first. Then finish drying them with a hairdryer. Make sure it's on the WARM setting and never get it too close to their skin. Make sure your hand is always on their fur so you can feel the level of heat you are giving them. They will run away. Keep chasing them around a bit until all three pigs are completely dry. When you're done, they will all smell exactly the same. bullet
Try the introductions again, this time on a new blanket that's just out of the dryer or is completely clean. They shouldn't fight. The bathroom scare will hopefully cause them to bond together, and they will group together out of necessity. bullet
If the introductions go well, clean the two boars' cage very thoroughly. Use a vinegar and water solution to clean the Coroplast and throw all other items (pigloo, food dish, etc.) in the dishwasher. Clean any other hidey boxes or toys. You want to remove ALL scents from the cage. When you replace all the items, move them around so that nothing is in the same place as it used to be. bullet
Then put all three boars in the new cage. They will feel that it's an entirely new home and won't be so territorial about defending it against the new boar.
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Post by piggiepop on Feb 10, 2009 4:47:53 GMT
Hopefully Winnie will continue to gain confidence and the bath time introductions will go better. Introductionsw can start kind of rocky, but get much better.
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Post by weesilvie on Feb 15, 2009 10:26:42 GMT
Thanks guys! Apologies for not responding sooner, have been away and busy and very tired this week! I'm off out shortly to acquire myself a cheap hair dryer - and some parsley for treats! My plants are getting a bit thin now. I think I will try what Val has posted - that is, go for the introductions again as I did last week and if they still don't like each other after that, try the bath. I've got loads of different shampoo - got free samples of GG stuff from Wendi with all the pigs and haven't used any yet! Wendi also suggested that I swap sides with them in the cage, without cleaning too much (they're currently in their nice new big cage but with a divider up the middle) so they can really get used to each others' smells. This seems to be working pretty well so far and they are not too upset by it. I'm hopeful that things will go better this week!
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