new member with adopted pig

[Leanne 71]

Hello I am a 40 something mom of a 7 year old and we just adopted a thin 823g pig who is about 15 months. He is a shelty mix with medium long hair. He seems to love to eat so we are hopeful his weight will improve soon. I have ordered a Midwest cage which will be here Friday. Now he is in a bin with time in the kiddie pool when we are home. He can jump out of the pool so it has to be with supervision.
He has always been alone but I am keeping my eyes open for a friend for him. I would like him to be a little less bony before we find another.
Coco is what my daughter has named him I call him wheeker pig lol.
We are using fleece in his large areas and carefresh in his kitchen with newspaper.
I look forward to being involved on the forum.
Thanks,
Leanne

 

[piggydaddy1]

Welcome and you have a very handsome fellow there.

 

[nakedwheekers]

Welcome! You're going to love it here! A GREAT source for everything piggy! And fun too!!

 

[Princess_Piggie]

I have to be honest, 823 doesn't sound massively underweight to me! My girls are about that weight, and while they are younger, weight's a very individual thing in pigs. You can have some very small, but very heavy ones, and very large, but rather light ones, and they're equally as healthy. Is he underweight to the point where you can see/obviously feel bone? He looks lovely and healthy in that picture!

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for rescuing and not buying!

 

[Starthecavy123]

Hi and welcome if there are any questions you have, you've come to the right place.

He is really cute by the way and love the name. Hope everything goes well.

 

[Rywen]

Welcome to the forum! My Ferb is a small adult male, only 730g. It depends on the piggie's frame. Coco/Wheeker is adorable!

 

[Leanne 71]

Thank you all for the welcomes. Yes I can feel his ribs hips and tail bones very prominently. He looks great with all the hair. His belly is rounded now, and I think he was just not fed enough. I have always offered guinea pigs as much as they wanted in the past as I do him. I don't think he had that opportunity in his last home. He is up to 829 today and I will just keep charting. I weigh him daily just before his morning salad.
He is very loving and sweet. He will lick and groom my arm when I hold him. He acts kind of like a very small dog. One who wheeks hello instead of barking. My daughter thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. He likes to crawl up onto her lap and lay down. We do place him back into his playpen at least every 30 minutes or so, that way he can potty and eat if he wants. My last pigs were a trio who only cared that we gave them fresh greens every day but we're not loving to us.
Leanne

 

[Starthecavy123]

I think I speak for all of us when I say "thank you for adopting"

 

[Leanne 71]

Just wanted to do a quick update. Coco weighed in at 871 on Sunday. We shopped for some more fleece and he got a new cuddle sack and I hope to have made a new cuddle cup for him by the end of the day. It was fun to dust off the sewing machine I am amazedmost 50 grams in a week. Just unlimited Timothy hay and pellets and a cup of veggies a day.

 

[bpatters]

I'd slow down on the unlimited pellets when he hits 1 kg. Adult pigs only need 1/8 cup per day, and you don't want him to come to prefer pellets over veggies and hay. Now that he's got good food, he'll continue to slowly gain until he hits an adult weight.

 

[Leanne 71]

Thank you for the heads up. I will watch him close if his weight stabilizes before 1 kg I will make sure to cut him back. I will start measuring his food now so I know how much he's eating. I have been just filling up his bowl.