Looking for home(s) for three male foster piggies in ND/MN

[Fujiko]

I took in three male piggies last August (well, and one female, but she is part of the permanent herd) from a horrible breeder who couldn't make a profit from them. These sweet guys were only ever meant to be temporary foster guys until I could find a new home for them, but I never looked because I took to them! Unfortunately, my husband and I are moving across the country this summer by ourselves, and I just can't think of a way we could move two sets of piggies (boys and girls), so it's time now that we look for a great permanent home for them.



The daddy, Boris, is a PEW texel. He's a bit of a grump, maybe because we took his wife away! (We had to!) He has never bitten or anything like that, though. He's just not as playful as the other piggies are. The other two boys are his sons.



Lambchop is a DEW texel, and was so named because when we got him as a pup, he looked like a guinea sheep! He's the most outgoing of the three and loves to popcorn!



Smalls is a pink-eyed silkie/sheltie with white and light-brown hair. He's named that because he has always been the runt. He's also quite shy, but he's so cute! When he was younger, for some reason he would not use one of his back legs when he walked around, but he would use it if he had to run. It didn't seem painful (we thoroughly examined him) and there wasn't any anatomical abnormalities, he was getting plenty of Vit. C, etc. but he outgrew it eventually anyway.

If possible I would like to find a single home for all three of these guys, as they are bonded together (I've never seen them fight or have dominance issues). Or, I wouldn't entirely be opposed to adopting out a pair, as long as the other one (should be one of the younger ones) gets adopted by someone who already has a male or fixed female.

A word of caution: These are long-haired piggies that need regular haircuts!

Also, their regular foods are oxbow timothy hay, oxbow pellets, green leaf lettuce, kale or mustard greens, cilantro or parsely, carrots, tomatoes, and green onions. They currently bed on aspen shavings, but should consider fleece as the shavings tend to get in their fur. Also, none of them are neutered.

Please email me at roxanne.f.rogers@ndsu.edu if you have an interest in these guys. I live in Fargo, ND but would be willing to drive a bit if needed. If you are willing to take in all three, I'll throw in the cubes (as the coroplast is getting old and the cage needs to be expanded anyway) and maybe some hay and pellets.

[chinnymom]

Out of curiousity where are you moving to?

[Carissa]

Oh that's sooo tempting. I live right on the Manitoba/North Dakota border and I'm having a hard time finding a pig to adopt. If they were girls I'd take them in a heartbeat.

[Fujiko]

We're moving to Oregon. I have a 2-door car and my husband has a station wagon, so I figured I'd put a reconfigured C&C cage in the back of his car for the girls, but I have no idea how I'd transport the boys.

[Cavyslavesteph]

If any of your boys were fixed, it'd really be tempting. I hope you find great homes for all them. By the way, what is your name from?

[Fujiko]

My name here is actually my middle name. I was named after my grandma, who moved to America from Japan in 1960.

These guys are really sweet. They've never been naughty, either.

[Cavyslavesteph]

Yeah, my boyfriend liked Smalls. I love Lambchop's hair and Boris's sweet face. Unfortunately, I'm in a one bedroom apartment with three unspayed sows, so I have no room for another cage. But, I have to admit, my boyfriend and I were eyeing up your pigs to see if we could take one, have him fixed, and put him in with the girls. Argh, if only you could just tell piggies to "behave" around eachother. Ok, we really have to stop looking at your pigtures. They are sweet. I hope you can find a home where all three can go together. Good luck.

[Fluffy]

Awwww they are adorable! My daughter got her first piggie 3 months ago and she loves him like a baby! His name is Fluffy, and he looks just like smalls-tiny little guy with long auburn hair. A couple of days ago, we went looking for a friend for Fluffy as we thought it would be nice for him to have a playmate, we got another very young piggie (also male) and when we put them together, Fluffy always tries to mount the baby and seems to be trying to mate with him. Is this normal since they are both boys? And how can we stop this behavior as it seems to scare Brownie (the baby) and so we have separated them, but are wondering if we should take Brownie back to the pet store as we do not want him to be unhappy with his new home. This was very unforseen as Fluffy is a very tame (and also small) piggie. Have any suggestions?
As far as your piggies, they are all gorgeous! How far are you from Wisconsin? And when do you need to get rid of them by? We just love our new piggies and would love to have a whole family of them! I hope they can all stay together wherever they go! Did you ever consider getting a cat carrier and taking them with you that way? That is what my daughter had for a temporary cage when we first got Fluffy and he adapted well to it. Just a suggestion, as I would sure hate to part with ours!

[Percy's Mom]

First of all, when (if) you decide to get a third pig, please adopt from a rescue or shelter instead of going to a pet store. There are many many threads on this already, so I won't hijack this one to give a full explanation.

Second, your new pig should have been quarantined for around 3 weeks before you introduced them. Cavies are notorious for hiding symptoms of illness, and those from pet stores are likely to have some sort of issues that might not show up right away. Since they have already been together this doesn't really matter anymore.

Third, mounting doesn't necessarily mean anything sexual. Fluffy is asserting his dominance over the cage, and mounting is one way that he has chosen to do that. You might also see him rumblestrut at brownie, slightly tug his hair, and probably try to take over the best sleeping/hiding spots. Unless they are lunging at each other, hair is flying and pigs are getting injured, you need to leave them together now, or they will never get through all of this and establish that Fluffy is indeed the dominant pig. Once that is taken care of, things should settle down as far as the mounting goes.

The only thing you might want to do, is check and make sure that both of your pigs are indeed male. It's extremely common for pet stores to mis-sex their animals.

[Fujiko]

Yup, I second everything that Percy's Mom said. It's exciting to get new pets, but please give them the best life possible (hey, don't they deserve it? ) by learning all you can on how to care for them. There's nothing like the feeling I get when I know that all of my guinea pigs are completely happy, healthy, and well-fed. You did excellent by getting your Fluffy a friend, albiet from a pet store, but I did that before too, before I realized why I shouldn't (gotta be a responsible consumer). Stick with it, search the forum for old threads that deal with the same problems that you have, and have fun with your piggies!


PS I hope to have newer pics of Boris, Lambchop and Smalls up soon!
PPS Oh yeah, I'm right on the border of MN/ND.

[Johanna]

I saw these pigs when you posted them before. I really love them. If I didnt have 5 males already I would definately help you out. It is so tempting, but I just wouldnt have the room or the time. If you still need someone to foster them when you move, I may be willing to help. I wouldnt want to see them end up in a bad home. I live in Fargo.