My rescue Piggy has had babies...

[RabbitsMakeBrownEggs]

Four sweet little things. I have added pictures if you want a nose

I am new to Cavy Parenting, so any advice would be welcome.

Getting some alfalfa hay as apparently it is good for lactating females and growing pigs. Anything else they need?

Well, Tuck has survived and thrived with a little extra care, I have to soften her food for her and occasionally spoon feed, but other than that, she has found the water bottle and likes to join in trying to nibble away at the fresh food they get in the evenings. I find this amazing considering she is mostly blind and deaf, but she knows her way around and gets what she wants.

We are seeing the vet on Monday, my surgery is being updated and there were limited hours, so I've not managed to organise me and the kids and my carer to get there. I am going to ask if there is a better feeding method, right now I soften pellets with water and mash up banana to sweeten (all of them have a go at it, so it must taste alright). I have heard there is something called critical care which might be better suited to her GI tract, but it is needed on vet prescription.

They were a rescue from a family who were getting rid of them, I saw them and noted that they weren't being best cared for and offered, rather than from an animal rescue, although I got some advice from our local rescue NANNAs. When I got them they were being kept in a tiny little cage absolutely saturated in their own urine. I had to give the female weeks of grooming and a full hair cut to get the stained fur off from around her bottom, she has big bald patches in places too (which my research says are most likely hormonal, will treat with ivermectin if vet recommends mite treatment) . I've gotten her into a much better condition, simply through proper care and clean environment.

All the babies are doing well. Gained loads of weight and have been sexed into two male and one female. Believe Tuck is female too, but haven't gotten her for sure. So it's nearly time for the boys to be separated from the girls, which is sad as it seems so little at three weeks old to be going off with dad (who seems certain they are ladies sent for his pleasure, tsk).

I am keeping a facebook page for their progress if you were interested.

www.facebook.com/SmallFurryHome?ref=hl

You can get small sachets of Critical Care from the vets but you can also buy online

www.amazon.co.uk/Oxbow-Critical-Care-Herbivores-Pack/dp/B004W7511K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344102630&sr=8-2

It sounds like your rescue pair had a horrendous start to life, so kudos to you for turning them round - sometimes with guinea pigs it's too late for them to recuperate.

See what your vet says about your little white pig. There's a few USA websites regarding LWs and their extra care.Their teeth would need regular checks, their diet carefully balanced and everything in their pen kept roughly in the same place so nothing surprises her by being in the way.

Critical Care is available online. We bought a pack of Fine Grind and some syringes to go in the Hogs' First Aid Box.

So are the boys going to live with DadPig?

I think I want to keep all the pigs, simply because I feel like I owe it to them to make sure they have a good life, I took them on, so I should see it out sort of thing.

Mum and Dad love each other to pieces though, so I don't want to separate them permanently, you should have see them chattering excitedly to each other through the bars the other day. So I think a neuter for dad, then he stays with the girls, and the boys kept as a pair separately. What do you think?

I only went and had rabbit babies too, same week as the piggies. So I'm having to be very careful with regards to money management and space management. Going to have to re-home seven kits round about the end of September time.

My eventual set up will hopefully see two neutered pairs of rabbits out in the back garden with a double hutch each and access to a run from that. Then I have the guinea enclosure in my front room, plus room for another in the kitchen.

I have a shed out back that could convert but I prefer having the piggies at home, listening to them chatter away is so lovely, so perhaps for the rabbits/storage for hay and food instead.

The only trouble with having the 2 boys is when they reach maturity they will see their mum and sisters as potential mates.
So if you kept the two boar piglets completely out of smelling distance of the girls they'd be fine as a pair.

But if you did rehome the piglet boars together as a pair they'd be good together provided the owner knows about boars and how to maintain them.
I've got 2 rescue brothers and they are lovely but need room, things to keep them busy and active and no excuse to squabble. So enough food, space so that one can't trap each other and accept that they do sometimes have a ruck- barging each other out of the way and stealing food from each others faces.
The rescue you got them from might know someone who is looking for piglets.Always worth asking them to bear in mind.

Three boars can work ( dad and 2 boys) if they are all used to each other, but you'd need to watch the dynamics when the piglets become mature and posssibly try to overthrow Dad.Some websites advice duos not trios for boars but some MNetters have trios of boars.

Neutering dad and letting him live with the girls would be lovely ( but only one boar with a 'hareem'..)You'd need to make sure there was no bullying of the LW.And remember neutering doesn't change their behaviour.He might still try it on with the girls, he'd just be firing blanks.
Having the hay/feed in a store is good idea. I keep cardboard, fleece, newspaper and hay in my garage (car doesn't live there).
I keep a huge plastic dustbin with locking handles outside the pighouse full of hay .Then I can clean their cage and lob the hay in.
Otherwise their stuff slowly takes over.

That sounds lovely if you can afford it (they are expensive for tiny furries!!)
I keep mine out in summer and in the house in winter. The boys do need more running round space and can get a bit physical - I wash them if they get too stroppy with each other - they hate it and cuddle back up afterwards