[Gpdd] MISC Welcome Lynn

[Penny Charlesworth]

Hello Lynn and welcome to the wonderful world of guinea pigs and the GPDD, where you will meet lots of friendly people, eager to help with any problems that you might have with your little ones and to share stories.

I see that Joan has already mentioned the possibility of mites, which are very common in piggies but easily treated with Ivermectin. All of my herd ( a little piggy sanctuary in England ) have this treatment every 3 months to make sure that they never get any trouble.

You could try holding a carrot when you put your hand over the side of the playpen. Little piggies can be very curious and Tabitha might prefer the carrot to your fingers. They are also very fast and, as you said, can be very hard to catch but the more that you can handle them at this stage, the tamer they will become.

As for your friend's Sara, has she been an "only" pig for some time? Joan could tell you stories of how she tried to get her Lady Bug to accept some little friends. The occasional piggy just doesn't want company and Sara may well consider that your friend is her "herd" of which she is boss. You have done just the right thing in advising her to keep them separated for now. I could write a book on this subject but I don't want this first post to you to be overwhelmingly long ( and neither does anyone else - cries of "Oh no, it's her again!" ).

When a new sow piggy arrives here, I can usually put her into one of my groups ( after quarantine ) without any problems. It is easier to add one to an existing group than pair up two singles. Have your friend keep her piggies side by side in their cages so that they can interact through the wire but not fight. They need to get used to each other in a safe situation. Careful introductions can then be made in a neutral area under close supervision and they can be separated at the first sign of trouble.

Most sows love a friend or three with whom to gossip. My girls, when they are not eating, are often standing around in groups discussing the day's events. Boars are different and take a lot of care when introductions are made. Your friend might like to try the boar method with her two. When I introduce a new boar to an existing one, I shampoo them both so that they both smell "new". I set up a neutral pen with everything fresh so that there are no smells to distract either of them ( after having had them live side by side for some time ). When they are put into the neutral pen I watch them very carefully to make sure that there is no dominance. Often they hit it off right away and can be left together but sometimes they end up living side by side in a divided pen but that way, they have the company and can chat through the wire without any aggression.

Piggies in season can behave like Sara with Hannah but it shouldn't involve biting and injuries, just a bit of hormonal disruption for a day and is then forgotten. Silly question, but is your friend absolutely sure that Sara is a she? Many babes have arrived here from just such a scenario, when slaves thought that they had two sows and they weren't.................

I read the Digest out to the Piggyfriends and they love a happy ending so do let us know how you and your friend get on.

Sorry fellow digesters, I did try to keep this short.

Welcome Lynn, Tabitha and Samantha ( and Sara and little Hannah too.)

Best wishes and wheeks from Penny and the Piggyfriends.

Living vicariously through guinea pigs.