Of course we need/want to see Pigtures of the new arrivals ('tis The Law) 
And feel free to ask any questions and somewhere amongst the collective powers of Small Pets/ Super Furry Animals, there will be answers.
There are loads of food threads. What they can/cannot eat. How often.
Bedding- what's good/what isn't.
How to cut their pesky claws
How to bath them and tell the tale
Weird things about sows . They go into season. They can pee out the back 
at a 90 degree angle. They can get various cysts and mammary ,ovarian or uterine growths.
Weird things about boars. They are space greedy. They can get impaction. They will dominance mount a male cagemate. Grease glands. Boar Glue.
Take time to get to know them.
Their noises. What do they mean?
What are they like when they're well, you'll pick up quicker when they're ill. They can do the Well-To-Dead very quickly 
What do they need in Winter? In Summer?
Do you know the nearest Guinea-Savvy vet? You hopefully will never need one, but in case you do.
Weigh them. Keep a note. Every week if you can. Often weight loss is one of the first signs of illness.
Feel their coars and bodies. My girl has a lump under her armpit, hasn't changed , we monitor it.
Love them. They are shy. They are prey.
They will pee you, but 99% of the time they'll let you know, you have to read the signs. Ours 'dance' backwards , that's our cue.
They are the most vunerable, easy going, good tempered animals. Even my piggie who is feisty (mine are all Rescues) isn't mean but she's like a spring.
They thrive on routine. If breakfast is 8am, it's 8am. They will happily wheek if the fridge door opens or you have a bag of crisps.
They are lucky to be with you. There are 10000s in Rescue but also 10000s on gumtree who are waiting to be "got rid of" because The Kids Lost Interest/I Want a Puppy/ I Haven't Got Time.
You though, are lucky to have the unending love of these little animals who WILL take over your life.
For the next few years , if you are lucky, 8-9 years.
Mumsnet does not check the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you're worried about the health of your pet, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
Small pets
There are lots of new piggies on Small Pets- Welcome :)
70isaLimitNotaTarget · 07/05/2016 18:45
too greedy to be fly that's my kind of piggie
Ours went out today once DD got home, so had about 4 hours grazing, but in the evening they become more active (and uncatchable) chasing round the run.
GP6 was trying it on with my piggie, she was not having it. (She was in season last week, he missed his chance. The fact he hasn't got bollocks doesn't cross his mind , Bless Him)
Trevor and Rubble will settle into Lardy Boar Status , enjoy them while they're tiny (and barmy)
Rubble has taken to standing sadly by his food bowl glaring at me. Currentbun does this, but if I don't pay enough attention, he picks up his heavy ceramic bowl and throws it across his cage
. Luckily the piggies aren't strong enough to do this, they rattle the water bottle instead.
Piggies thought I'd forgotten them the other day. I'd left them out as it was so nice. So they were out from 10 am and they were still out at 8pm. They were very 
at being left out so long and jumped straight into their box to go inside. Also, they were starving as they'd missed second breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (conveniently forgetting they'd been moved to fresh grass every couple of hours and had mowed the lawn to bowling green standards). Apparently they needed a very substantial supper to make up for the missed meals.
We don't have a lawn, so Ginger and Ninja won't be able to go out and graze, and it wouldn't be wise for them to be out grazing anyway with the location of our "garden". So I have to make it up to them by cutting grass for them at work and bringing it home. I cut it from a wonderful patch of unkempt grass behind the sports hall, where no lawnmower has ever been round there, no pupils go back there, and nobody walks their dog there either. They get a pretty good bagful every afternoon when I come in, with dandelions as well.
Ours are ALWAYS hungry, especially for carrot or broccoli stalks (they don't like the florets 
), but lettuce, tomatoes and peppers are acceptable as well.
If you have an expandable tunnel for them, one of the plastic ones with grooves in, how on earth do you get all the poo out without it being a completely gross stick your hand in to get them out? We tried having a ramp with a tunnel attached (because they won't use the ramp if it's exposed) and they were happily running up and down it but pooed like crazy and it's really difficult to get it properly clean. Any ideas?
I have a red tunnel (like a continous spring wire spiral covered in plastic) they are little gits to get out of it 
. We have to compress it smaller without catching their limbs.
To clean it, yes hose , then a sluice with washing up liquid and stand on end. Till they go back in and pooh again.
They've got Hop In tunnels too which I scrub with an old washing up brush.
Our pigs are relaxing in their new Piggie Hutch (in their run) .GP6 (boar) was the last one to fathom out how to get in to the hutch , he pootled round the bars cooing at the girls who had worked out where the doors were.
He isn't the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer
Purple
The problem with the Free Ads and Gumtree is you have no way of telling if the sellers are geniune. If the reason why they're selling is they are moving/the children are allergic/the children have lost interest.
Or if the parents have just got sick of the rodents,the noise,the hay everywhere and having to nag the children to clean them.
Change in circumstances might mean some change in the family or they're getting a dog and want rid of the pigs.
Are there any health problems?
What are the temprements of the animals?
Do they want £££ to "ensure a 5 Star home" (which I'm always really at because obviously they paid money and the piggies didn't get a 5* home there). Usually it's to ensure they don't end up as snake food/dog fight bait , but TBH, if I was keeping rodent eating reptiles would I drive miles to pick up a cavy?
And , they always insist on collection, they obviously don't give a monkeys where they end up then.
If I was buying from a private seller, I'd check/double check that they are the gender they state.
And if I needed a cage, I might buy the one on offer (I have ample cage/housing so I wouldn't) but I'd offer to send a donation to a charity and have the reciept sent to the seller so they knew I was legit., if I was feeling generous (bear in mind you are taking on the lifetime of food,cleaning,boarding fees and vets bills)
A young adult pair would still have the appeal without the skittiness (though there are few things as beautiful as a piglet guinea)
When I got my GP5, she was very skitty, wouldn't sit still. It took a while but with routine and care, she's lovely, but I wouldn't say she'd make a childs pet (my DD has the other 2 pigs)
If you go to a Rescue, you get the back up. Advice at the end of a phone. If there's any problems they will take them back (a fact my guineas are well aware of, if they try to kill me in my sleep )
They'll be health checked, usually bathed and mite treated. Most ask a donation of £10-£15 (more for a neutered boar).
And the money goes back to the Rescue rather than refund a seller.
If you look into buying the sows, your DC will have years of piggies to enjoy (if the average is 5-8 years life)
But think about if your DC do lose interest, the care will fall on you .
Think about allergies too. Hay is a common allergen, and fur (my DD is okay with some pigs fur but not Rex or Teddy . Our GP3 was Rex, our GP6 is Teddy)
But she cuddles them, helps to clean,feed,bath,nailcut. I do 60% of the work even though I only own 33% of the pigs.
Shamelessly bumping this thread to add my two new furbabies onto the RollCall of new piggies.
Tilly (Matilda) and Tarragon (the Dragon- from 'The Herbs') joined us last week from Rescue.
Lovely little girls, had been living with other sows in Rescue.
Possibly a bit "When was THIS decided" when our boar tries to chat them up. Rumblestrutting, prowling, doing that funny little dance where they step from paw to paw.
He's all Hey Ladeez,there's enough Bert to go around
He's very vocal, quite protective of his sows so when he has another two wives (they aren't all together yet) he'll have his paws full
how old is Trevor? (Rubble is ? 12 weeks)
You can give a gentle squeeze on either side of their genitals, if it's a boar, the penis will be pushed out.
When we got GP3 he was 6 weeks old and didn't have bollocks but did have a willy.
If you're in doubt, get a vet to check them but I reckon separate them as quick as possible and get him checked as quick as possible. If he does turn out to be boar, you want to get them back together.
Hopefully , if 'he's' a 'she' nothing will have taken place .
Pregnancy in piggies takes 63-70 days and takes a while to get the really pg shape. He might just be a more lardy shape?
Cross fingers
Sounds like a good plan. If your DD sits still and offers food, they'll come to see her and get used to her. It's useful to have a few old towels about to put on your lap when cuddling pigs as they can get overexcited and don't always warn you when they're about to pee
- I speak from experience.
Young pigs are incredibly fast and skittish. As they get older and more lardy, they'll be easier to catch. They also get used to routine. I transport mine from their cage to their run in a cat litter tray and they're used to it now and will (mostly) jump into their box themselves.
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I grow parsley too and this year have two tubs of spinach on the go, just for the pigs
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