New to Guinea Pigs. What do i need to know?

[SomethingNarstyInTheWoodshed]

I have raised 2 children, numerous dogs, cats and fish but not ventured into the world of pigs until now.

We have a hutch (nice and big). A run for the grass. Hay, food, a nice house, tube thing, and a fridge full of vegetables (for the humans, but the pigs can share).

All that is missing is the pigs. I’m waiting until it is warmer so they can go outside and then plan ahead for winter quarters.

What else do I need? What do I need to know?

Of course you can always go better than guinea pigs and consider having a colony of Capybaras

that's more like it !

Piglets 1 and 2 are in their hutch in the kitchen.

The plan is to move them outside for the summer.

Hahahahahahahahahahah. Ha. Never going to happen.

My guineas have a party piece.
We roll up the bedding ( hay/newspaper/puppy pads). They are used to this , but every time one or all will run into the roll as we're trying to lift it.

Then they think its cute to run under the new paper and toss it aside.
We have to move them out wen the hay goes down otherwise they'll run into a wedge of it.
It is easier to do it when DD is cuddling them TBH,

There are choruses of "Pigs , you don't get any better at this do you"?

(We've had GP6 3 years and GP7/GP8 nearly 2 years. I'm still waiting for them to cotton on)

Capybaras sound ace , but they'd chew through the fence and terrorise NDN dogs. The bottom of my garden is a lake right now , I think they'd feel right at home.

Capybaras would keep the grass down nicely.

Piglets 1 and 2 are in their hutch in the kitchen

Ahem, you have pigletty ones and NO PIGTURES ? Not in the spirit of Small Pets/SuperFurry Animals

They will love outside in Summer , they can hear the birdsong and wake up at dawn to be crepuscular.
Mine love to glamp in their Pighouse being wild and manky..

Pigtures required.

Pictures

Pigtures even

Should I be ignoring them and leaving to settle or trying to stroke/hold them?

Talk to them whilst giving veg treats by hand, regularly.
Then gradually smooth, pick up, give veg by hand.
Towel on lap, sit on sofa and cuddle. Option to hide under towel helps.

Repeat often!

Oh what cuties 😍😍

Oh they are so cute! What have you called them?

Just to note, if you don't hand feed them fast enough they will eventually take matters into their own paws..

Aww they are gorgeous Woodshed they will need MN NN too .

Chat and feed at the moment , let them find their way around. At the moment the only familiar thing is The Other Piggie.

When you catch them the easiest way is a tunnel or small box that they will run into and you can 'trap' them . Slide a hand defty under the belly , support the rump with the other and pop them on a cuddle towel (helps them feel secure , something more substantial to hold, helps the pee - they will pee until they cotton on to hold and give you warning- and the claws of a piglet are like needles )

Once they get to know you and that you offer food they'll rally.

Low our lardy GP1 did the same into a bag of parsley that DH offered him to take one stalk. Luckily GP1 was on my shoulder, I was sitting down. His ample rump was still on my shoulder (with me grabbing him) and his head and front legs in the bag.
This was the same hog that was invited to my Mothers Day Breakfast in Bed (well DD brought the pigs in) and he 'helped himself' to a slice of toast (he got a bit of crust, piggies aren't supposed to eat whole pieces of toast )

Enjoy your new piggies Woodshed are they boys or girls?

Low
We also have the hurry up we're starving, oh well we'd better help ourselves scenarios frequently😂😂

Sadie can extract a single stem of parsley out of a bagged chaotic mix of the stuff, scoff it down, (until only a tiny top of the last leaf is visible.) All before Nessa has realised the bag is open 😃 Nessa is a bit thick 😉

Our sows GP7/GP8 left their Tesco Gourmet Kale neatly at the side of the bowl, ate everything else and practically licked the plate clean....except the kale.
Usually they like kale, just not this one.
Fussy little mammals.

That's interesting about the Jake 70
We've found that if we get the same mixed bag of salad but from a different supermarket e.g. a bag from Morrisons rather than Tesco, the pair of them will ignore the salad .. almost go on hunger strike at the very thought.
We wonder if it smells different.

Jake ??? Who is Jake?
I really did type kale

The weird trance-like singing, it doesn't happen often, but it is a sight to behold.

They like willow twigs, the odd leaf off the end of a pineapple (minus the sharp pointy bit), melon skin, and they will kill for a whole corn on the cob and will play tug-of-war with it. One of mine used to kidnap the entire cob, wedge it into a corner of the run and go to sleep on top of it. They enjoy a good tug of war with a nice long runner bean as well. If you grow runner beans in the garden, they will demolish the leaves too.

My sows will strip a corn on the cob like piranhas , right to the bones (even better with leafy on corn )

GP6 (our boar) ears it apart from one end leaving a ring of kernals so it looks like an Ann Summers sex toy

Watermelon is a favourite , small bit of the fruit left on the rind .

GP6 sang in his outdoor run last Summer with DD and I cleaning the Pighouse we were 2 feet from him. No idea why he sang. Then he started doing some night singing over winter

Is it raw corn on the cob?

Beautiful pigs! Boys or girls?

They are very very addictive animals.

We have 4 hutches + 12 guinea pigs.

Look out for the popcorning to know you've truly pleased your animal. They will love being out on the grass in the summer, especially if you place them on the dandelions! Pigs love lots of space, preferably on one level as they are a bit dopey for heights, no spacial awareness.

Agree with a previous poster, pigs are not sharing your veggies (the horror!), you are occasionally (I recommend quietly via unwrapped items) stealing their veggies. You won't be able to eat a guilt free salad this summer!

Enjoy them, they're awesome pets!

I'm tempted to get piggies for my kids me really. We had them before but had an unfortunate incident with mother son pregnancy and then my friend took them for me. That was 5 years ago and I miss them. I don't know if I would have them indoor this time though. I've been looking at c and c cages. Eek, we don't have any pets. we also have an allotment so there would be hundreds of greens for them to eat. Argh, decisions decisions!

Is it raw corn on the cob?

Yes usually a half cob , it is a high sugar food.
Some petstores sell the dried cobs but that involves too much effort for too little gain.
When they get leafy corn they can eat the leaves,kernals and the silks (the fine strands under the leaf) mine just leave the inner bit , de-nuded

Our local market sells them 2/£1 in Summer .