Cavy slave checking in!

[faitch]

Thought I’d introduce myself as a fellow guinea pig slave.

I’ve got 3 pigs - 1 boar, 2 sows who all live together (bollocks chopped, fear not!) My Boy is 4 and the girls and both just a year old. Bless his bones - they run circles round him

I’m always interested in boredom buster ideas and picking brains so please come and say hi!

Hiya and welcome
I've two sows. One nearly 3 and a 13 week old piglet - we recently lost our 6 year old.

Always had girls but heartened by the stories if lovely board on here, I rather hoped we'd go for a boar rather than another girl.
Sadly when we went on a play date to our local rescue to meet a lovely boar called Roger ... Sadie behaved so badly we had to call time. Hence we now have little Nessa to run rings round her. Serves Sadie right!

Heartened by stories of lovely boars

Aggghhh this phone autocorrects during posting

Hello a boar and 2 sows set up is super. Had that combo myself but elderly boar wasn't neutered so lusted from afar?

Food and tunnels keep boredom away.

Welcome to the board

YY To food, tunnels, boxes and paper bags (though my Himmy was in a Primark bag of hay and her ratbag cagemates sat on the edge and trapped her in it) . Bags with the handles cut off are safest.

We have three pigs now all about 3yo.
Lovely neutered boar GP6 had two wives GP4/GP5 , he was their 2nd husband after GP3. They went to the Bridge but GP6 has not managed to bond with our other two sows GP7/GP8 because GP8 (my guinea) attacks him

So they are a 2+1 in chattering range, half the pighouse per group and side-by-side cages indoors.

They are messy.
They are greedy.
They are demanding
DD and I adore them.

I did say to DH this morning if it wasn't for the fact GP8 was my last piggie I really wanted a Californian

I have two boars. I absolutely love watching them pottering about, chatting to each other. Mine love running through tunnels and boxes filled with hay more than anything else. Also eating. They like eating a lot. I change the way things are arranged in their pen and cage every day and they notice it's all different and get excited exploring.

I find it very hard not to get more guinea pigs on a daily basis. I think when the children grow older I'll be in danger of becoming a crazy guinea pig lady with a massive herd or two.

Thanks for the replies, all. Good to hear from other GP fanatics!

I’ve got 2 Abys (boar and sow) and an Agouti (other sow). My boy lost his best mate, it was heartbreaking, so we sent him to a rescue place for a bonding holiday and he came back with his 2 baby girls 

They have an abundance of shoe boxes, pipes, tubes, wooden log rolls... they have a huge cage with RunAround tubes leading to a run. We’re trying to put off putting them in the garage, as once they’re in, mornings get dull not having them outside squeaking at me!

They are truly fantastic pets, but if anyone thinks they’re cheap and easy to look after, they need to think again! They cost me a fortune, eat better than us, and need daily attention! Love ‘em!

Now that mine are in at night I have to rediscover the art of 'Eating a bag of crisps silently' 'Opening the fridge noiselessly' and 'Packing a binbag without any rustling' or we get a chorus of "We have mouths y'know"

Every year I hope for Singing Piggies.
Last year we had one of them singing on the day that we were taking GP5 to be PTS , it might have been her ?

In the Summer we were cleaning the Pighouse, the piggies were in their runs very near where we were and GP3 (boar) just sat in the middle of his run, chirping for a good few minutes. No idea why. Nothing scared him. Not ill. Just sang. (He's an odd little rodent anyway)

GP2 sometimes chirps, sounds just like a bird. Never sure what it means though?

Oops not GP3 , it was GP6 (our present boar)

All my Singers were females , I've never heard a boar sing until he did.

No idea why they do it, years ago we had very pregnant sows who sand (at 2am ) but they weren't in any stress , just standing by the bars , heads up, chirping.

When I heard one of my piggies earlier this year, I'd just travelled overnight from my Parents knowing I was taking GP5 to have her put to sleep. My Mum has a clock that has birdsong not chimes, I thought for a minute it was that? Then realised I was in my own house (without that bloody clock !)

GP6 (our boy Bert) is neither female,pregnant or stressed !

I've not had experience of chirping as a distress , its weird, they do it when they like. But it doesn't seem to be happy like purring or "Look Out" like wheeking .

I love them so much! I’d have them inside more but my daughter is allergic to them. So sad.

Allergies are tough
My DD was fine with GP1/GP2 slight allergy to GP3 (Rex) ok with GP4/GP5
Got GP6 (after checking she was ok with Teddy)..................she is really sensitive to his fur, gets a rash in minutes.
I've offered to have him but she puts up with the rash !

There's no question of the pigs leaving us but I do need to minimise DD reaction to him ( little bugger goes right up to her neck though and his fur gets everywhere )