Behavior: How difficult are your pigs to pick up?

[Jojojo]

My piggies are getting impossible ... when they were little I used to be able to corner them and scoop them up with one hand. Now I'm finding I have to remove every single hiding place, then turn a pigloo upside down and scoop a pig up with that. Now they're even finding ways to avoid this method, like butting it out of the way, squishing themselves up into a corner etc.

Sometimes I wish they had a convenient handle on their backs so I could lift them out like that.

[Yoshi&Sebastian]

Yoshi doesn't care. Sebby will run a lap, complaining the whole time, then let us pick him up. Anubis is still very skittish and will not stop running until I can corner him.

[Rachelle15]

Bello runs around like a wild animal and wont let me pick him up I have to trick him by getting him into his hidey and picking him up that way, but patches doesnt really care that much he will run a lap or two and then give in.

[JD In Van]

Baby doesn't run but he screams, kicks and bites the second his feet are off the ground. Buddy runs but as soon as I catch him he calms down.

I flip over one of thier hidies and use it as a piggie elevator to lift them up they'll get into it voluntarily and this way I'm not covered in scratches.

[xoLauraox09]

I have to remove all the hideys first. I have to corner Molly but Milly is ok. If I sit in their free range area they will keep running in between my legs. It's so funny!

[Duffinvt]

It is the one thing I find distressing about ownership. My girls run like crazy and I feel awful to corner them. So I put their tunnel down and tap it and talk to them in a high voice.. "who wants to go ooout??" for floortime and "who wants to go hooome" when it is over. They have learned to march into the tunnel, I cover the ends with my hands and put them on the floor or back in their c&c home. The only drawback is I have not had a lot of time to actually hold them, but I will try to do that in good time. The previous owner picked them up a lot. They tolerated it, but I cannot say they like being held.

[Sugar&Ellie]

If I let Sugar know that I'm there she'll crawl up the grids and try to sniff If I have anything. If I don't she'll get down, popcorn a couple times and start to 'wheet'. If I pet her she'll start to pur and let me pick her up.
Ellie... does many many laps and I eventually have to corner her and scoop her up. She cuddles once she's out of the cage but sugar explores too much to cuddle.

Putting them back INTO the cage hurts!! Sugar kicks and jumps and Ellie does the same. Next time I'm going to put them in 'rump first'.

[Holly&Fred]

I have to take all the hideys out of Fred's cage, and after two or so laps he'll stop running and try to climb up the side of the cage. I can then scoop a hand under him and lift him out with minimal complaint. My boyfriend is able to simply put one hand in front of Fred, and while Fred's sniffing it he can scoop him up with the other hand.... I haven't quite mastered that feat yet, but it seems most piggy stress-free.

[Katie_Kutthroat]

It's a task. I have to take out Piggy's Igloo and tunnel thing and chase him around a couple times. He likes being held, it's just he really doesn't enjoy being picked up. We used the tunnel for an elevator for a bit but he got smart to that. Oh if they only had little pig handles!

[princesspoppy]

Depends on the mood thay are in. Sometimes they really put up a fight. Other times they couldn't care less.

[Heady]

Like Duffinvt, I find it distressing as well. Before I was given Barney, Santino wasn't too difficult to pick up. He would run a bit, but after a couple of runs, he'd stop and let me pick him up. Now that he has Barney as a buddy, he has learned "how to be a guinea pig" and will run and run until I catch him. Knocking things over, squeezing behind litter boxes, etc... Neither of them scream or anything, just run away.

I've noticed that if I calmly approach the cage and act like all I'm doing is giving a pat on the head, I'm able to quickly scoop them up without a struggle. Barney doesn't allow petting while he's in the cage, but will come running up to me if I go near it (expecting treats, I believe). So he's still a bit difficult for me to get. However, he is my husband's little man, so he'll tolerate Jer much better than me

I like the idea of a pig elevator, but it's hard to get both of them in the same box, as they don't seem to like that. They love each other, but typically won't chill in the same igloo or hidey. So I find that being calm and being quick seems to be easier for me and them.

[1frankie7]

Impossible jake squeals squirms and throws a fit!

but with Charlie its more like a game of tag and I am it I chase him all around his cage and I have taken more than 10 minutes to get a hold of him!

[bpatters]

We've got two new 7-week-old girls (I'll introduce us properly and post pigtures as soon as I get some decent ones) in a big cage, and they were nearly impossible to catch -- I was worried about giving them heart attacks while trying to get hold of them.

They like the paper bags I keep in the cage, so this morning I took all the hideys out except one. When I started trying to catch them, they immediately ran in the remaining hidey. I put a paper bag right in front of one end, and poked my hand in the other end. They quickly ran in the bag, which I promptly closed up. Much less trauma, and much less wear and tear on my knees! (The cage is on the floor until I finish getting the table built.)

[distancel]

Originally Posted by princesspoppy

Depends on the mood thay are in. Sometimes they really put up a fight. Other times they couldn't care less.

Mine are the same, moody girls they are! I've taken to bribing them with treats lately so I can just pat them in the cage because I feel bad picking them up when they don't want to be.

[MadandSoapy]

Ours are very skittish! They have to be cornered with a cookie sheet and teased into an upside down hutt with cucumbers before we can scoop them out! It's very frustrating because I knwo they need the exercise and they love exploring so why not just stand still??

[angiekay]

Yea, I think I would agree with everyone that mine are the same pretty much, they will all three come up to the front of the cage and climb up on the grids, looking for a treat, but as soon as they see there are NO treats, OFF they go....I usually have to "corner" them into a hidey and get them out that way, I feel like it's important to have lap time and being held and all, plus I have to do their weigh ins weekly! I'm hoping the babies will calm down if I continue to hold them regularly, but who knows some (as they say) will always be skittish, it's just their nature.

[BellaBabyPuff]

Bella, who turns 1 this month, usually runs away, but she will sometimes let me pick her up. She loves my daughter to death, even purrs when she looks at her! She lets her pick her up more often than me, but she has to grab her quick. We just adopted a new piggie, Ella, who doesn't put up any sort of fight when I reach in the quarantine habitat to snuggle her. Her age is unknown, so I'm wondering is this typical of older pigs? She also doesn't like floor time, she just frantically runs for her house. She will contently sit still in my lap until I put her back. She doesn't wheek yet when I open the fridge or rustle a bag, even though I think she can hear Bella YELLING from the other room. I'm wondering if maybe this is just her personality due to age or possibly due to treatment from the family that surrendered her. Has anyone dealt with this?

[Heady]

Originally Posted by Jojojo

Sometimes I wish they had a convenient handle on their backs so I could lift them out like that.

I knew I responded to this thread and cannot believe that I did not give my thoughts on this specific comment, because that was the whole reason for me posting!!! The handle thing KILLS me! That is hilarious and oh, how I agree with you! When I first read it (days ago), I pictured that mouse back in '99 that they were growing an ear on and it always reminded me of a very creepy and strange mouse handle. While that kind of makes me want to vomit on my dress, picturing a nice furry and comfortable (for le pig) handle makes me giggle. I suppose in the same way I wish there was a hand crank installed on my husband's back, similar to the ones used on the Model Ts!

[Heady]

Originally Posted by BellaBabyPuff

We just adopted a new piggie, Ella, who doesn't put up any sort of fight when I reach in the quarantine habitat to snuggle her. Her age is unknown, so I'm wondering is this typical of older pigs? She also doesn't like floor time, she just frantically runs for her house. She will contently sit still in my lap until I put her back. She doesn't wheek yet when I open the fridge or rustle a bag, even though I think she can hear Bella YELLING from the other room. I'm wondering if maybe this is just her personality due to age or possibly due to treatment from the family that surrendered her. Has anyone dealt with this?

First of all, I love the names, Bella and Ella. That's sweet

I think you might be on to something, because similar to what I mentioned earlier, Santino was very easy to handle. The guy that I adopted him from had him by himself. He's 2 years old, and I really think that Barney is his first cage mate. Santino won't or can't wheek yet. At first (pre-Barney) Santino didn't like floor time either. He would just stay huddled up to me, even though he had an entire room to explore. But since Barn and Santino have been together, I think Barney is teaching him the "ropes" on how to be a guinea pig. Santino will now run from me and has been popcorning more. He even got a wheek or two out once. He's learning Perhaps your situation will be similar? I know for some pigs, especially those not used to it, floor time can be pretty overwhelming, but eventually they grow into it and start to enjoy it.

[EvelynsCavies]

I have one female pig in particular who takes literally an hour sometimes to catch! I try to only pick her up when I have to clean their cage because she acts like I'm killing her when I capture her . However she is the first pig to come to the grid walls when I approach the cage and believe it or not is the only pig that doesn't run like the wind when I stick my hand in the cage to give them their veggies I have come to terms that it's just her personality and have come to live with it. I adopted her from a woman on Craigslist and her age is unknown as is her history before she came to us. I imagine she wasn't leading the "good life" before she came to us and is the reason for her being so skittish.