Nails/Nail Trimming How many people does it take?!?!

The last time I did a nail trim, I used a full sized carrot. I didn't let the pigs finish it, of course, but their little brains were completely distracted by the sight of a treat almost as long as they are.

I have 4 pigs, 3 of them are complete angels when it comes to nail trims. I can do all 3 of them on my own, with no bribing in under 10 minutes.

Then there is my sassy pig Gretchen, who requires at least 2 people to do her nails. One to hold and apply carrot to mouth and then I try my best to clip without her flailing and biting. She can be very nippy when she's displeased and has bitten me a couple of times pretty hard.

I find the best method is to hold them up with their backs against your chest area so their little feet are sticking out in front of them.

I have one skittish one that gets wrapped up like a burrito when I do her nails. It calms her down and makes it a lot easier to do. The other three just sit like a lump on log and let me do my thing.

pinky said:

I have one skittish one that gets wrapped up like a burrito when I do her nails. It calms her down and makes it a lot easier to do. The other three just sit like a lump on log and let me do my thing.

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You are really lucky that most of your babies are cooperative![emoji3] I have tried the burrito thing..she throws a fit..lol..I guess I get kinda nervois too because I'm worried I will hurt her if I hold too tight or cut too close to the wick in her nail..

sallyvh said:

I have 4 pigs, 3 of them are complete angels when it comes to nail trims. I can do all 3 of them on my own, with no bribing in under 10 minutes.

Then there is my sassy pig Gretchen, who requires at least 2 people to do her nails. One to hold and apply carrot to mouth and then I try my best to clip without her flailing and biting. She can be very nippy when she's displeased and has bitten me a couple of times pretty hard.

I find the best method is to hold them up with their backs against your chest area so their little feet are sticking out in front of them.

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Ahh..I will have to try that! Thanks[emoji106]

It takes about 10 people. I need one just to wipe the sweat from my forehead, lol. None of mine love it, so my husband holds them and I cut.

I do my three pigs all myself. I've found it easiest if I sit with my legs straight out in front of me and have the pig on my lap sideways. I use my left forearm to hold the pig down and left hand to hold the leg and my right hand to clip. Randy sits still like an angel. Lucy sits still for 2 minutes, so I just do whichever nails are longest. Snickers squirms and I can do just a few nails at a time. If any of my pigs get nippy, I wear an oven mitt on my left hand.

Right now, it takes me and my boyfriend, but a third person would definitely help. We've got one that doesn't move at all (I think mostly out of fear as he is a very skittish pig) and the other one will not stop moving whatsoever.

I have been able to clip both of my pigs nails by myself - I've found that the harder I try to hold or restrain them the more they fight it. Now I just lightly "hug" them with my left forearm while I use my left hand to hold their paws. I clip a paw with my right hand and give them a sprig of cilantro as a reward after each paw. Malachite will squirm a bit and whine during the process but after the first paw (and reward) he calms down. Hematite will whine and even chatter but stay perfectly still - I think he just gets annoyed at how long the clipping takes. Maybe he is just impatient and wants the cilantro right away.

I also clip nails alone, if Andrew is in the room they're too fussy. I do it quickly, put them on my lap, put a thin blanket or part of my sweater over their heads, grab a foot, snip snip snip snip. It takes 5 min to do Luna, but Stella is more wormy so it takes 10 for her. It's like if they don't see it they don't feel it

Saylavi said:

I also clip nails alone, if Andrew is in the room they're too fussy. I do it quickly, put them on my lap, put a thin blanket or part of my sweater over their heads, grab a foot, snip snip snip snip. It takes 5 min to do Luna, but Stella is more wormy so it takes 10 for her. It's like if they don't see it they don't feel it

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I haven't tried that..maybe if Juliet doesn't see it coming, she will be more cooperative..[emoji3]

Kelly9 said:

It takes about 10 people. I need one just to wipe the sweat from my forehead, lol. None of mine love it, so my husband holds them and I cut.

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It's great having an awesome and patient hubby![emoji177]

This cartoon is exactly how it is! Lol!

purpletulip4u said:

It's great having an awesome and patient hubby![emoji177]

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He doesn't really like having pets, but will do it to save money, lol. Otherwise, the vet is the only way to do it. But he is still awesome.

I love that cartoon! He sure gets it right.

So glad to hear stories of others that have the same problem as I do. My wife is a nurse, she cuts the nails and I try and hold the squirming piggies. I hate it more then the piggies.