[Gpdd] Behavior: Migration Habits of OP's

Susi Eastin susiathome at sbcglobal.net
Mon Aug 8 09:41:30 EDT 2005


[Warning: You may want to read this before deciding to allow your pigs
to see it.]
 
In a recent note to a dear friend, I was discussing the blessings we receive from
our sweet little guys, and how they also know that they are loved.
 
They also know when they are in trouble! Buster has recently taken to 'migrating'
to wherever he wants to go, trying to become a 'free range' piggie. He must have
been reading about Brownie Bear, perhaps corresponding with her while I'm out!
He is currently sitting in a cage with a top and locking door - I discovered it 
wasn't enough to just close it - he stands on his hind legs and pushes the door
open, then climbs out and in with the girls in the nursery!  He is such a sweetie,
and really loves them all. But he is all boy, and I don't want the 'Curly Girls' ( 'Dalia
and Curly T. Bear)  'exposed', and not to a Coronet.  So I lock him in, and he pouts. 
 
Then yesterday evening I saw him whispering to 'Dalia through the side of his cage, 
and when I returned from a trip to the store, she was out, running around his cage! 
Little 'Dalia, just 2 months old! I checked her to be sure she was ok, and put her
back in the nursery, only to find her out again a little later, this time squeezed
between the nursery and his cage (I don't know if she thought she was stuck,
or was just hiding from me!). So before turning in for the night, I put a long wire
shelf over the front edge of the nursery. Then this morning, there was Jasper,
strolling around in the nursery! (he had gone over the side wall between them and
his own yard).  When I asked him what he thought he was doing in there, he gave 
me a sheepish look and looked like he was saying "I'm being good!" - I promised 
him he would be back with Moose shortly.
Of course, they have all been observing Buster as he easily scoots over the
wall, and others have occasionally gone visiting. So much for the C&C design!
 
Not only do we have to be careful about small guys squeezing through the
openings (or trying to!), we also have to watch for those athletic types who will
scale the walls!  I'm glad the pigs upstairs are content to stay home - that could
be a nasty fall.  
So everyone keep these possibilities in mind with your own. These guys have stayed
in place for months now, only recently taking up these visiting habits. And it seems 
that it is usually one boy going in with another boy, not just to see the girls. Probably 
a result of a long running argument or challenge, who knows. They may take bets on it!
I've found those wire utility shelves are great to sit along the front of the pens - they
keep the pig in, but you can still reach in to feed, etc. And they come in different
lengths. Actually, with the lip they have on one edge, I'm thinking about using them
for the cage walls - maybe that lip would deter climbing.
Maybe I'll set up a spycam (pigcam?)  to capture their antics and share with you!
We may need to join forces on this one! 
Susi, OP Warden



Susi and the Okie Piggies
okie-piggies.blinkz.com





More information about the Gpdd mailing list