I feel like a first time mom all over again lol
After losing my soul-sister Ruby in May, and then recently our Copper (very sudden, unexpected, and QUICK), our herd has gone from 4 to 2 piggies. It’s been a very difficult thing to come down in the morning and see two quiet (probably grieving) sweet pigs instead of the utter chaos that used to ensue at breakfast time with four happy pigs.
Anyhow, the opportunity to take on a 8-week old baby female came across my lap and I could not resist. I didn’t plan on adding back to my herd, but I saw her and my heart leaped out of my chest. She’s the sweetest little JellyBean (in fact, that’s what we named her!) - very quiet and timid, which I expected.
I feel a bit underexperienced here. My other pigs all came to me as adults well over 1 year of age, and I’ve no real experience with babies. I’m wondering if I’m on the right track with my approach here (and if anyone has tips or things I could/should be doing I would be truly grateful):
-She’s in a ‘quarantine cage’ right now (I’ve read two weeks, so that’s what I was aiming for but if it should be more/less I’d love to hear opinions on that). How long should she be kept separate?
-I’ve not been handling her too much, I take her out for a quick snuggle once per day while we clean up her cage a little and such. I’d love for JellyBean to adjust well to us handling her - my Ruby and also Copper were both really affectionate, our surviving two come from less-than-stellar conditions, and even after 2+ years with us don’t like to be handled or even a pet on the nose. How much handling should we be doing at this stage?
-Feeding: She has a small piece of lettuce, with a small strip of pepper or one or two little carrot shreds, each morning but otherwise I’ve been keeping a good mound of hay in her cage (she likes to burrow into it to sleep) as well as a wee tiny sprinkle of pellets. At 8 weeks does she still need the alfalfa hay?
-My plan is to keep her in her own habitat for a while (2 weeks), and then when I move her over to the big habitat (which is currently housing 2 pigs and is 3 x 4 grids in size) I’m planning to start her in there with a separation wall between the bigger pigs and her, so she has a safe area. Should I immediately put her in the big cage with the other two? Or is my idea to have a wall up for a while the better way to do it?
I have been googling and meandering around all my favourite cavy sites and I still feel utterly overwhelmed. I would like to make sure she’s happy, comfortable, healthy, and safe. Any advice is mucho appreciated!
After losing my soul-sister Ruby in May, and then recently our Copper (very sudden, unexpected, and QUICK), our herd has gone from 4 to 2 piggies. It’s been a very difficult thing to come down in the morning and see two quiet (probably grieving) sweet pigs instead of the utter chaos that used to ensue at breakfast time with four happy pigs.
Anyhow, the opportunity to take on a 8-week old baby female came across my lap and I could not resist. I didn’t plan on adding back to my herd, but I saw her and my heart leaped out of my chest. She’s the sweetest little JellyBean (in fact, that’s what we named her!) - very quiet and timid, which I expected.
I feel a bit underexperienced here. My other pigs all came to me as adults well over 1 year of age, and I’ve no real experience with babies. I’m wondering if I’m on the right track with my approach here (and if anyone has tips or things I could/should be doing I would be truly grateful):
-She’s in a ‘quarantine cage’ right now (I’ve read two weeks, so that’s what I was aiming for but if it should be more/less I’d love to hear opinions on that). How long should she be kept separate?
-I’ve not been handling her too much, I take her out for a quick snuggle once per day while we clean up her cage a little and such. I’d love for JellyBean to adjust well to us handling her - my Ruby and also Copper were both really affectionate, our surviving two come from less-than-stellar conditions, and even after 2+ years with us don’t like to be handled or even a pet on the nose. How much handling should we be doing at this stage?
-Feeding: She has a small piece of lettuce, with a small strip of pepper or one or two little carrot shreds, each morning but otherwise I’ve been keeping a good mound of hay in her cage (she likes to burrow into it to sleep) as well as a wee tiny sprinkle of pellets. At 8 weeks does she still need the alfalfa hay?
-My plan is to keep her in her own habitat for a while (2 weeks), and then when I move her over to the big habitat (which is currently housing 2 pigs and is 3 x 4 grids in size) I’m planning to start her in there with a separation wall between the bigger pigs and her, so she has a safe area. Should I immediately put her in the big cage with the other two? Or is my idea to have a wall up for a while the better way to do it?
I have been googling and meandering around all my favourite cavy sites and I still feel utterly overwhelmed. I would like to make sure she’s happy, comfortable, healthy, and safe. Any advice is mucho appreciated!