[Gpdd] [care] introducing new pigs to my old pig; finicky about pellets

Karen Century kscentury at yahoo.com
Sat Jun 12 02:09:45 EDT 2004


Hi all,

I recently got two new piggies, Tribble and Puca.  They are both girls
who are about one year old and were owner-surrendered to our local
shelter.  I have a couple of questions and I'm hoping someone who's had
experience with these issues can give me some advice.

The first question I have is about introducing the new girls to my
older pig, Oopsie.  Oopsie is 4.5 years old and he's neutered.  He used
to live with his mom and two sisters, but unfortunately he's the only
one left.  I've been keeping Oopsie's cage right next to the girls'
cage and they're all very interested in each other, "talking", chewing
on the bars, etc.  However, when I put them together (even on "neutral"
territory), they start chattering and then start fighting.  Tribble is
dominant over Puca, and she seems to be rather vicious towards Oopsie. 
I separate them pretty quickly if they start fighting, so I don't know
if it will work itself out eventually.  I'd like to have them all in
the same large cage together.  Does anyone have advice about
introducing new pigs?  Do I need to just let them work out the pecking
order, even if it means a bit of squabbling in the beginning?  Should I
wait longer for them to get used to each other in the side-be-side
cages (it's been about three weeks)? Or is it just a bad sign that
they're fighting with each other, and it's likely they will never be
able to stay all together?

The second question is about food.  The new pigs don't seem to eat
their pellets at all, but they eat a ton of hay and also eat a lot of
veggies (though pickier than Oopsie about those too).  I'm worried
about them not eating the pellets--do I need to just try other brands? 
I use Cavy Cuisine, and I don't really want to put them on an
alfalfa-based diet, but I will if they won't eat other pellets.  Does
anyone have a pig that never eats pellets?

Sorry for the long post.  Happy weekend to everyone, and thanks in
advance for any advice!

Karen



	
		
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