Is it okay to touch pigs' poos?

[cutie puff]

I have just received a piggy but I haven't had time to get her permanent cage yet, it will be in a few weeks, so she has a temporary cage on the ground with a blanket/towel as her bedding.
She's learning to use her potty corner but her poos often fall through the wires and I have to pick them up by hand.
Is it, in any way, (for lack of a better word) toxic?
Of course one should wash his/her hands after handling piggy stuff, but I was just wondering.
Is it better to try to scoop them, even though it's a lot harder?
Thanks!

 

[i-love-nev]

I hope there not toxic, everyday I pick out my piggies poops, some people use a hand held hover to get them out as its loads faster and when I build my piggies new cage I will get one to hover poops of the fleece and just clean the kitchen level (that will have carefresh or pine) every 3 days or so.


Hope this helps


Megs + the pigs .

 

[thalestral]

They're not toxic no, I think a lot of people here will be used to picking up piggie poos from all over! I'm often finding "presents" all over the house... I can literally have just hoovered and bam, there one is.

I have no idea how they manage it. Ninja pigs?

 

[cutie puff]

Thanks for your replies!
What is a hand held hover? Like a vacuum cleaner? Won't it scare the pigs because it's loud?

 

[tpals]

I bought a hand held cone vac because it's so much easier than hauling out the big vacuum (and it's cool looking!). The nose doesn't bother Gus at all. Often he chases after it to keep an eye on what I'm doing.

 

[clotho]

It's a little hand held vacuum - I would call it a DustBuster but that's a brand name.

I use shavings as bedding, and I get my hands right in there with the poos, so there's nothing toxic. But definately wash your hands well after handling any.

 

[i-love-nev]

My piggies popcorn when I hover my room even by the cage when they are in it they popcorn like crazy, we used o have a hand held hover and it was preety quite .

 

[Love4Piggers]

She's learning to use her potty corner but her poos often fall through the wires and I have to pick them up by hand.
Thanks!

I know this post is supposed to be about poo, but this sentence concerns me. Does this mean that you have a wire bottom underneath your pig? If I just misunderstood what you meant I am so sorry, but just incase you didn't know this yet, guinea pigs should never have a wire bottom cage. Even though it is acceptable for rabbits, a guinea pigs' feet are very small, and walking on wire bottoms can very easily cause serious injury to your new piggy. Just incase she is walking on wires, please get her out of there immediately!!

Like I said, if this was a misunderstanding on my part, then just disreguard this post. But I just had to make sure just incase, you know?


P.S.- I recently invested in a handheld Hoover Wet/Dry Vac, and it seems to work great!

 

[Guinea_Piggin]

I have a little hand-vac that I use to pick up poops. My boys don't really seem to mind it, as long as I stay about a foot away from them. And, like everyone else said, the poos aren't toxic. If you think about it, it's all vegetable/organic matter...as that's all they eat. ^_^

 

[JennG]

I hope the poos aren't toxic because my dog snacks on them. Ewww! I'm hoping CP meant that the poos are falling through the sides of the cage.

 

[Chaos&Order]

My piggies kick poo out the sides of the cage all the time. Ninja pigs indeed!

 

[Love4Piggers]

I hope the poos aren't toxic because my dog snacks on them. Ewww! I'm hoping CP meant that the poos are falling through the sides of the cage.

Yeah, I probably just misunderstood. (I hope.)

And yes, I sure hope the poos aren't toxic as well, because my Border Collie and one of my cats eats them, too, lol! As soon as I take the piggers out of their floor time pin and put them back in their cage, the cat jumps in and starts chowing down on the poos. And he's quite a healthy boy, lol. So I doubt you have to worry about it.

 

[m&k.murphy]

Along with others who have posted, I've found a dog the best method of poo patrolling. We dont have one, however after our pigs have had a run I cover the top of their cage and sneak the dog from upstairs down for a visit. Two minutes and the floor is poo free! Makes life easier indeed.

In addition to this, the poos are healthy enough for the pigs themselves to eat. They have two types of poo, one is purely waste, the other is "recycling" a natural selection arrangement which wild pigs use as a food source. Safe for all the family, dogs cats and pigs!

 

[katiecavyNC]

Poos harmful??? As many fresh veggies that are 'processed' by my pigs, I'm thinking of adding their pellets to my kids' diets to sneak in the veggies... Just kidding of course!

 

[Love4Piggers]

Poos harmful??? As many fresh veggies that are 'processed' by my pigs, I'm thinking of adding their pellets to my kids' diets to sneak in the veggies... Just kidding of course!

Ha ha!! That's great! Thanks for the laugh.

Oh! Something I forgot to mention that your joke actually reminded me of, ha ha... Before I moved to Texas, I had a much larger yard and had an organic vegetable/herb garden for several years. And when I cleaned my pigs cage, everything in it, (newspaper, poo, and aspen,) went into the compost heap every week, and eventually was worked into the soil in my vegetable garden. My garden was completely chemical-free, but the plants would pull in such an amazing harvest! It made everything that grew in my garden very healthy and happy! So I don't see how they could possibly be toxic in any way. Hey, most people use cow manure, so I saw nothing wrong with doing it.

Congrats on being a new piggy owner by the way, you will be a piggy slave before you know it! So glad you found this site.

 

[Maisiepaisie]

Along with others who have posted, I've found a dog the best method of poo patrolling. We dont have one, however after our pigs have had a run I cover the top of their cage and sneak the dog from upstairs down for a visit. Two minutes and the floor is poo free! Makes life easier indeed.

I don't think thats very healthy for the poor dog. It might make him sick.

 

[pigsforlife]

I don't think thats very healthy for the poor dog. It might make him sick.

I don't think it will make him sick, you should see what my pups eat! Of course they have a healthy diet of dog food, but the things they bury and then dig up and then there is the sticks, pegs, you name it they eat it!

 

[Tulia&Susie]

I sure hope there's nothing wrong with it. One of my dogs like a little strange and eats or trys to eat my guineapig poo(are yours do) and likes to catches flys. She's good at it too. Hahaha silly dogs.

 

[m&k.murphy]

I don't think thats very healthy for the poor dog. It might make him sick.

It doesnt harm her, she's been eating guinea pig poo all her life as her owners have pigs too. It's not as though it's a full balanced diet choice that has been made for her - just a snack. Many dogs do it, and as pigs themselves re-consume some of their waste it cant contain toxicity.