[Gpdd] CARE Piggies who reach 5+ years.

Penny Charlesworth piggyfriends at tesco.net
Sat Nov 10 08:03:35 EST 2007


Debbie. Many of the Piggyfriends have reached 5 years, some have gone on to be 6 and a few have made it to 7. At the moment, the ones that I know to be 5 are Satin and Pansy but as they are all rescues, unless I have had them as babes, I am never sure of their ages and more could have reached advance ages than I realise.

Questionnaire.

1, Main diet. All of the Piggyfriends have fresh cut grass every morning and evening ( unless the snow is too deep ). Like you, I forage for weeds, mostly dandelions, chickweed, clover, groundsel, shepherd's purse and the all time favourite, sow thistle. They have veggies in season from the garden supplemented by cauli leaves saved for me by a local farmer. Other veggies have to come from the supermarket and these are well washed before being fed. They have carrot, cucumber and celery daily, melon in season, tomatoes, cos ( romaine ) lettuce, green beans, kale, broccoli, parsley and the occasional beet and apple. I don't measure quantities just feed on demand.Nothing is ever left. 
Their dry food is a mixture of oats, dried peas, maize and grass pellets with a few locust beans. I have never used pelleted food and tried "Gerty Guinea Pig" for a while but was concerned about all the highly coloured bits. They also have a bowl of dried grass, usually Readigrass from Spillers Feeds. Plus, of course, copious amounts of meadow hay. They never have peppers as I detest them and wouldn't inflict them on anyone.

2. They all live indoors but go out on the lawn when the weather is suitable in summer. They are in pairs, trios, fours and sometimes more.

3. They are all regularly treated preventatively for mites and other parasites. My two recent 7 year olds, Ash and Sylive, were never ill in their lives so never saw the vet. Rowan, who lived to be 7, had dental surgery during his last few months, unfortunately under anaesthetic as Cavies' Castle were not around in those days. Squeak lived to be 6 without any illness. Bramble, a martyr to cystitis, died suddenly just short of her 6th. birthday. I lost Chloe aged 6 without any illness. Cloud, Rowans' mother lived to be 6 and died from a tumour. Ginger lived to be 7 despite giving birth to four babes in her fifth (!!) year and had dental treatment in her 6th. year. Jasmine was 6 and had two abscesses and dental problems before I found a competent vet who sorted her out. Mir was 6. She was treated for congestion with Lasix when she was 4. Parsley was 6 when he needed dental work and I could not get him up and running after the anaesthetic. His sister, Poppy was nearly 7 when she passed. She had sudden onset paralysis when she was 5, which cleared up quickly with calcium treatment. She died of kidney failure at Cavies' Castle. Rolo was 6 1/2. He suffered from impaction during his last few months and had a stiff leg due to arthritis, for which I gave him painkillers. His brother, Raffles died from what I suspect was a sudden heart attack when he was just 6. Snickers lived to be 6 1/4 and had a few small sebaceous cysts. Topaz lived to be 6 and a day. She was born with micropthalmia in one eye but had no other illness.

Looking back ( tearfully ) through many years of records, many more Piggyfriends have reached 5 than I can possibly list here. The first two piggies that I ever had both lived to be seven and both died from tumours, inoperable in those bygone days.

Having typed this, it occurs to me that I should have put it all in columns. Sorry.

4. Some of my elderly piggies have lost weight as they aged. I put a lot of this down to muscle wastage as they become more inactive as the years progress and the very old ones eat less as they sleep more and more. In the past, dental problems caused weight loss but now this can be dealt with without an anaesthetic, this does not happen. 

I have often collected poor neglected piggies, who have subsequently fattened up and lived to ripe old ages. On the other hand, piggies cared for from birth sometimes sadly depart before their time. I agree with Joan that genetics has a big part to play in all this. We read of seemingly fit and healthy guys collapsing and dying on the football field or in a fun run. The same goes for our piggies. Of Ginger's four babes, three are still with me but Peridot, a plump and healthy pig, after shovelling in a hearty supper was found dead in the morning surrounded by her family. As they moved away to collect their morning carrot, she was left in the hay, cold and stiff - such a shock.

I hope that you can work something out from all the info that slaves have posted. Another thought - some of my little ones have developed a dislike in old age for foods that they loved in their youth. Sylvie would happily empty her bowl of dry food but ignore most of the veggies and Rolo went off his previous favourite, carrots, but at that age they are entitled to a few foibles.

Lots of love and wheeks to the Dolly Mixtures.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.


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