Adopting Expanding the family! Intro and herd stuff

[ciaraelise]

Picking up two boars Wednesday evening!!!!
Chester seems toonky cough because of dust and allergies like that and I've decided to start looking for some piggies who need a new home.

A woman on craigslist had an ad up for two boys in separate cages who she doesn't have time for any more after having two kids and getting a dog.

I won't know until I see them but I think they are in good health and I'm fairly certain they have their cages right next to each other so they are familar.

Eventually I am going to try and bond the two newbies (Max a old feller and Hershey anotheryoung guy) with my sweetheart chester. And have them all in one cage. Any tips on introducing them? Should I do intros with Max and Hershey first? I don't need to quarintine them away from each other because they lived right next to each other so I figured I could see if they will bond while they are in quarantine from Chester.

Does that seem like a good idea or should I keep them all in separate cages until the big day to introduce all three??

Also what are the first few things I should be caucious of when rescuing piggies? I believe they come from a loving home but you never know if the previous owners were ignorant until you actually get there. I can start them on vitamin c immediately and they will have access to unlimited fresh leafy timothy and veggies and good oxbow pellets.

Also any tips with large cage making or stacking cages!!!

She is giving me all of her supplies and their cages for free with the furbabies. But her larger cage she said is about 1.5x2 ft and the other cage is much smaller. I'd like to get each pig into an decent size ASAP.

okay dokes!!! I will definitely post Wednesday night when the babies come home <3

 

[sierralj97]

Good luck! I just rescued two boars today as well. Sadly, mine weren't in the best shape. The one is super thin, and when I went to clip his nails, they were VERY soft, so I think he's got a lot of bulking up to do. The other boy is plump as can be, but he was described as "annoying" and I guess they didn't give him much attention because he's VERY shy compared to his brother. You can tell he wasn't played with because he wasn't the favorite :/ Their cages are so small, the equivalent to 2 1x2 c&c cages... I want to try and find some coro tomorrow and if I can, a new cage will be in the works ASAP. I hope yours are in better condition!

 

[ciaraelise]

Yikes ! I'm so glad they found you! I'm sure they will turn around soon enough and well both have cute and tame little guys )

 

[sweetpea123]

I have three boars who are all happy together and have never drawn blood with each other or bit. Two of mine were brothers from the start and had always been together, but did have the frequent rumble strutting and mounting. They were in a 2x3 and I expanded to 2x4 and the difference between the two caged vastly improved their behaviour. They are much happier together and spend time together huddled in their pigloo. I got another little guy from and friend who couldnt care for it any more and I kept him separate for a quarantine period. I thought he could have mites or something and he went to the vets but received a clean bill of health. When I first introduced them in a neutral area, my older dominant pig was constantly teeth chattering at the new boy and I had read I should separate. I received info from a member here that teeth chattering was perfectly normal and not to separate unless there was blood or physical fighting. So I re-cleaned everything to make sure it was scent neutral, and gave them a bonding bath with guinea shampoo. They were all so freaked by the water that they were huddled up together. Then moved them to my hallway and let them meet on blankets with three different piles of hay and romaine. There was a few teeth chatterings but nothing as serious as before. After an hour with no incidents I moved them to the cage which had already been completely cleaned so everything smelled brand new. I also bought enough water bottles, food dishes, and pigloos that they all had one. I watched them for the rest of the day and there was no incident. They are all happy together, no fighting, the little one already sleeps in the pigloo with the submissive older pig. Even though my young pig is dominant, and tries to mount my submissive big pig, he doesnt get in fights with the old dominant pig because of the size difference I think. My big pig seems a little protective over the little one. So thats my story of how I introduced three boars and had it work out very well. Also some people on the forum say boys need more space, and that was true for mine from the 2x3 to 2x4 size cage. I was thinking of expanding mine to a 3x5 and I will eventually, but I dont feel a lot of pressure from the pigs as they are behaving so nicely, still very active running around and popcorning, so it doesnt seem behaviour wise I need to give them any more space than they currently have. This would make it the same space requirements that three sows would have, so I dont know if there is a lot of difference in space requirements between sows and boars or not. I hope your introductions go well!

 

[ciaraelise]

Thank you!! That's reassuring. I'm so nervous, but really excited about the idea of having a little herd for the boys.

 

[bpatters]

Read https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html first.

 

[frNzR4evr]

I have friends in the sign business, they are giving me a big 4'x8' sheet of 3mm coro for $35

 

[sweetpea123]

Just an fyi because I see you are from Toronto, if you go to the Home Depot, you can get that size coro in white for $22 and that size in clear for $28. Unfortunately there is no colours of coro at the store and so for those you have to go to a sign business like you said. But if you are getting white or clear, you can check out Home Depot to save

*ps I dont know how to tag a name, this was for the previous poster*

 

[ciaraelise]

The boys are home! It was hectic driving through down town Cle since the President was here today, but after the hour drive there with a friend of mine, we met the boys and their humans!

The family seemed so friendly and loving but unfortunately they were only educated by pet stores. . . They gave me all of their accessories along with the piggies for free!! They were very adamant their babies went to a loving home. I think I surprised them with my knowledge of piggies!!

They gave me two harness/leashed and yellow hard hay, and a BUNCH of yogurt treats which will be thrown out today.
They fed the babies kaytee and gave me their bag of food to which I will wean them off of and on to Oxbow.
And I now have two more small cages that will be donated.

The biggest problem I see is in their diet and nails. They gave them unlimited kaytee pellets and hay and one carrot or celery stick a day. She informed me that I had to 'file their nails down and that their nails will curl under but it doesn't effect them"… The one pigs nails are super gnarly and may be past saving, abut the young pigs nails can be cut down no problem. She apparently got this information about not clipping their nails from the pet store. Ugh pet stores.

Any way, they are WAY bigger than I expected. But super cute. I am wondering if their sheer size will be a problem with caging them with my little Chester. Chester is like HALF the size. Granted that Chester is only 8ish months old and I believe is still growing. But the younger pig they said i also under a year but could eat Chester for breakfast. And the only pig who is two years old is ENORMOUS. If anyone has any thoughts on that, please let me know! Also if there are any heard out there with different sized pigs, I'd love to hear your experiences!!!

I will be posting pictures VERY soon!

 

[ciaraelise]

Meet Max!!
2 years old, on the obese side of things, and super duper snuggl









His feet are gnarly right now, but I already was able to cut his nails down so they aren't curling back up. He has a hilarious fat fold under his chin and his sides are just melting with fat. With all his new space in his cage and a healthy diet, he will be back down to a good size soon!!
All he wants to do is snuggle with you and give you kisses.!!

 

[ciaraelise]

Meet Hershey!!

Under a year old and whole lot of piggie!!







He is calm for nail clippings which was great since his were growing crooked and loves to do zoomies in all this new space i set up for him.

 

[ciaraelise]

I am in the midst of the 'official' introductions of Max and Hershey. It's pretty mild *knock on wood*. Hershey is definitely a dominant piggie. Max isn't laying down and taking it though, he challenges Hersh to 'nose offs' and if Hersh mounts Max's face, he will throw him off. But the boys have chilled out after a little over an hour and they are taking naps and sometimes laying together. Both are enjoying the hay piles and bell pepper I gave them. They aren't really fighting over anything just establishing whose the big boss pig.

I was wondering when the introductions are officially over? Right now Hershey is napping and Max is munching on some hay. But there is still the occasional mounting and nose off and little nibble.

There was one moment that worried me a bit. Hershey mounted Max and got boar glue ALL over Max. Is this okay? I didn't interfere even though i desperately wanted to clean off Max and shoe Hersh away (because ew thats gross). I have not gotten involved at all except for to move the grids I have set up because eMax like sot pick them up and move them.

Are things going well??

When do I know it's time for the cage?

Besides ensuring they are both eating and drinking(not guarding the food source and stuff) what else should I look for once they are in the cage?

Any help would be amazing!!

 

[ciaraelise]

Hershey and Max relaxing after a hard day. thankfully they were treated to lush hay, fresh veggies, and a much needed nail trimming. they seem pretty happy and how today turned out

 

[frNzR4evr]

Just an fyi because I see you are from Toronto, if you go to the Home Depot, you can get that size coro in white for $22 and that size in clear for $28. Unfortunately there is no colours of coro at the store and so for those you have to go to a sign business like you said. But if you are getting white or clear, you can check out Home Depot to save

*ps I dont know how to tag a name, this was for the previous poster*

 

[frNzR4evr]

Thank you for the tip, I will definitely want clear for anything I use to line the SIDEs (and the white actually looks nicer than black for the pigs' lofts & hideyboxes). This black sheet is for the very cage bottom, under all the bedding & aspen chips, but looks like my "friends in the sign business" are ripping me off big time, doesn't it? *sigh*. On expanding the family, intro and herd stuff: I will be fostering pigs & piglets just as soon as I create facilities for them... now THERE's motivation!

 

[AnnikasMommy]

@frNzR4evr, home depot was way cheaper when I started building my C&C Cage!!! I looked at the sign company. I know you can get colored coro from them but that's what I feel fleece is for, save the money. LOL
@ciaraelise you are awesome taking in and giving these boys a loving home. Sounds like with most males they just have to work out who is alpha lol They are both adorable AND HUGE

 

[PeanutnCookie]

@ciaraelise Intros are over once you put them in the new cage. I couldn't tell but are they in a pet store cage or a c&c? The smaller the space the more they may fight. If you are eventually going to introduce all three, they need a 2x6 C&C cage. Boys need more room than girls, but if you don't have the room, a 2x5 will probably work. If possible, at least try a 2x5 1/2.
It sounds like things are going good so far! By the way, are you quarantining them in a different room than Chester?

 

[ciaraelise]

@AnnikasMommy thank you! And seriously they are GIANT!!

The whole point of adopting them was to eventually introduce them to Chester. Does anyone thing the size difference will matter. Chester looks like a hampster compared to this boys. Lol
@PeanutnCookie thy cages I brought them home in are WAY too small. So right now they are in my biggest store bought. But I'm heading to home depot to pick up coro I'm am hour or so.

Once they have the extra space if they are still rumblestutting will that pose as a problem? Or are will they be fine?

They are so cite together though. They were cuddling on and off all night.

And unfortunately I don't have room in the condo for their cages to be in different rooms as chester. So I scooted themy littles mans cage over near my closet and bed, and the newbies are on the complete opposite side, probably 13ish feet away and the aide of Chester's cage that is faceing them has a blanket over it ( he likes to sleep in the covered area anyway)

 

[PeanutnCookie]

If the new pigs have any disease or anything, that might get to Chester, but I can't remember exactly what I read. So they might be fine as long as they are not right next to each other.

The rumblestrutting is fine, as long as they are not attacking each other. They are just determining who is boss.

As long as the new boys don't smother Chester, he should be fine. lol Just make sure when you introduce them that he isn't the one that gets picked on the most and make sure there are lots of hiding places for them. I wouldn't introduce the new boys to Chester for at least another couple weeks so they can understand who's boss and just get used to each other. And the because of the quarantine time too.

 

[ciaraelise]

@PeanutnCookie Yeah, I've been really good about washing my hands before touching chester after handling the boys and vise versa. I hear rumble strutting and a little tiff everyone in a while but the boys are getting along famously!! I'm so happy!!!!



And just to show off the difference in size here are some comparison photos of my babes on my lap. Max and Hersheys pictures were taken last night and Chesters was taken this morning.



Here they are littlest to biggest. These photos hardly do them justice though.