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Small pets

Adding new GPs to a now lone one, whats best?

29 replies

Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 17:53

We now have a lone GP since the death of one of our piggies yesterday. Shes 3.

Ive got the chance of getting one baby, ( for £20)

or 3 adopted ones who are six months ( for £25)

what would be best?

Part of me thinks the singular one would be best, as its more likely to bond quicker with the other one, and then ill have to add another baby in a few months time ( as i want 3 now)

BUT, the 3 adopted gps are such a good price, are 6 months old, i know they get on, my only resevation is they might not bond with the one we already have as they are a group.

Im just after any advice

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 18:18

Are they all girls?
Where are you getting them from?

I bought a very little boar (from a Rescue) when our adult boar was bereaved, there were younger pigs but they were still with mum and our boar took a shine to the little pig.
Piglet is now 10 months (and twice the size of StepDad) and they are lovely.

When I was a teen, we had a Mum/Sow Piglet pair and we bought another young female. The older pig didn't like her at all. Fortunately (in the long run) new sow was pg and had a single female.
So we had Mum/ Piglet + Mum/Piglet in two accommodations.

Head says get the piglet, your pig has a better chance of bonding with a baby. If you get the established trio, they might get on, but you run the risk of your pig being pushed out .
Later on you could introduce a new girl if you wanted, or give a home to a neutered boar if you fancied a lovely male love sponge to head the hareem.

Good Luck

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Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 18:25

they are at the local pets at home, yes, they are all girls. I want them to share the same hutch really. I can split it temp, while they get used to each other, but i want them all together really.

two gp friends have said get the group.

the man at the petshop says there is always the risk they wont get on, and its more likely they wont, than they will.

i dont know what to do

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 18:39

Theoretically , it's easier with sows but they can be funny tempered and like to form a 'pecking order'

fortifiedwithtea has a trio of girls (she had two boys, then boy+2 girls but living apart, then the girls. One sow died, she got two new girls)

Do you feel that you can offer a home to these 3 girls and if neccessary re-jig the living arrangements (you could end up with a 2+2 set-up)

P@H won't be any back-up if it doesn't work (whereas the Rescues I got my boys from have a lifetime "returns policy" - I make sure the adoption paper is on the fridge magnet to keep GP3 from getting too bolshy )

The way I look at these things - even if it goes Pete Tong your pig will have company to chat to, (if you have to side-by-side them )and the other pigs will have a good home.

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Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 18:45

or, do i just get the lone baby then, and stick with two. What are the chances of them not bonding in this situation?

The baby is from a breeder and said she will always accept returns.

the most important thing for me, is to make sure my current gp is happy.

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Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 18:50

Or, i could get one one year old girl, from the same breeder who will always take her back and offers full refunds.

Im thinking that maybe this is the best option actually, to go with that or the baby.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 19:20

If you are going to a breeder, they will want you to take your pig along and let her chose.
She might be fine with the one year old (is she an ex-breeding sow? ) or she might take to the baby.

Our boar was just so happy to have company ( his brother died on a Sunday, I sourced the new pig on the Monday and we got him on the Saturday).
The new boy was a bit shellshocked - he'd been rescued, in Rescue with his cagemates then meeting our lardy boar .

See what your pig wants and take it from there

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 19:23

(If the one year old is ex-breeding stock you might get her for less than a baby pig ? Emphasise "I can see you want a good home and company for the pig," you might be lucky

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 19:27

Or if you really want three pigs, you could see how the baby, the one year old and your girl get along,

The breeder will have a neutral cage for introductions

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Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 19:32

Im going with the breeder, i cant be doing with pets at home, i dont trust pet shops.

The breeder has lots of 1 year to 18 month olds. some rex ones too, which would be lovely. and yes, they are cheaper than the babies.

But, it kind of doesnt matter what we want, i just want my current piggy to be happy. Shes the quieter one of the two i had. She doesnt like to be handled as much and is much more submissive.

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mercibucket · 23/04/2014 19:33

neither?
two babies might work better
or a neutered bore

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mercibucket · 23/04/2014 19:33

bore lol
sorry
boar

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Needsmorecake · 23/04/2014 19:41

i hadnt thought about a boar. maybe ill just go see the breeder, take my piggy and see what she says

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 19:45

My DD 3.6 yo smooth boar -who is a bit saggy and bony weighs 2lb 6oz

The 10 month old Rex boar weighs 2lb 13oz and he hasn't stopped growing yet I reckon.

Rex's are lovely, big, chunky pigs

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 19:55

If you get a boar you'd need to allow the extra £ for neutering, plus the time to let him become sterile - about 4 weeks ish. It's unlikely they'd rotinely castrate the boars - it's a risk with the anaesthetic and they don't need it (unlike rabbits) unless it's to stop them breeding.

Or she might have some retired stud males that she's neutered to rehome. But a neutered male thinks the same as an entire (mine have never been near females ) I'd worry that he'd pester a female, even if he couldn't get them pg.

Our little boy tried to bonk the older boy when he was about 3 months old but GP1 put him straight - "I'm not that sort of pig "

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mercibucket · 23/04/2014 19:59

yes, i was thinking more 'rescue piggy boar'. we have one with a harem. he does try to bonk them but is very loving and kind with them. the girls are horrible to each other - peck peck peck

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/04/2014 20:03

We had 4 girls at one time, when the eldest one died, her remaining cagemate (her piglet) thought "Why not" and got on fine with the younger two.

The old girl was really possessive , a bit snappy and narky with the tyoung one and ate her carpet when it slipped through the divider.

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Needsmorecake · 24/04/2014 15:46

Im off to see a breeder later on today, we are going to take our piggy with us, and maybe see what happens.

Im totally open minded to what we end up with, but i do want them to be cagemates.

The downstairs level of the hutch is all ready for the new one too, so we are a bit excited.
I will report back!

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 24/04/2014 16:11

Good Luck with your new one (or new ones whatever your piggie decides)

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Needsmorecake · 24/04/2014 19:26

We have just brought two girls. Ginger is a rex and is 11 months. Her coat is a bit crap due to a recent ish litter....

the other one is a long haired thing, i forget the type, and is 18 months.

We put them in a run and they were fine, they travelled home in the same box, due to my bad planning and were fine. I have now put them in different hutches... and we will see how they get on, and do it gradually. but i think its going to be ok.

We are also going back for a baby in a few weeks time.

Adding new GPs to a now lone one, whats best?

Adding new GPs to a now lone one, whats best?

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 24/04/2014 20:03

Ahhh they are gorgeous
The little ginger girl has a lovely colour , and a really sweet face.
The long haired ( maybe Peruvian but there are so many breeds now, I struggle to keep up) has beautiful markings.

YY to quarentining them (I must admit I didn't quarentine the new pig, GP1 was so stressy when he was away from him. I thought "Heck, I'll deal with anything that crops up" but he'd had a vet check, wormed, mite treatment and bath before I got him.

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Needsmorecake · 24/04/2014 20:33

its a sheltie, i remembered :) Both are really calm and lovely.

its 2- 3 weeks to quarantine, isnt it?

they are in the same hutch, just on different levels.. im presuming this is enough of a split?

Am i not allowed to put them together at all in that time?

What about when i get the baby? is that going to have to be in on its own too :(

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 24/04/2014 21:48

I reckon you can let them interact with each other (supervised) , different levels would be fine.

When I got piglet, the Rescue had taken a load of GPs a couple of days before and they would have been transported then housed in those multilevel cages . When they go on holidays they are in wheeking distance of other pigs.

As you got yours from a breeder, you can gauge how they keep their piggies, they'd be health checked and monitored.

(When we took ours in the car, GP1 was in the front seat in his box, DD sat in the back with GP3 in his , GP1 was shredding his newspaper and squeaking. "Where is he, you showed me a pig, I liked him and he's gone "
So we took a chance and put them together at home (brand new paddling pool that was completely neutral )

When you get the baby, you could put her in a smaller cage inside the main one so that they can get used to each other.

Do you do routine worming and mite treatments? (I use Zeno 450 drops on the space behind the shoulder blades where they can't lick, Not everyone agrees with this, some reports of reactions. And if you are multi-pig treating you need to make sure they don't groom each other and ingest from their cagemate)

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mercibucket · 25/04/2014 22:00

how are they doing?

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Needsmorecake · 26/04/2014 17:11

they are doing fine, the hairy one is very confident, the ginger one im a little worried about as she doesnt come out of the sleeping area much and im not sure has eaten all that much.

my other one is still alive :)

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Needsmorecake · 26/04/2014 17:12

i havent put them together at all yet as i want to make sure they are settled in and feel ok. im going to try and make it to two weeks.

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