[Gpdd] HEALTH Oliver's surgery

[Penny Charlesworth]

Hi Bina,

You have done your research well and have been so lucky to find a specialist piggy surgeon. It takes three to four weeks post neuter for the sperm to be out of a boar's system. Best to wait the four weeks for absolute safety. You say that you have read up online about neutering. Have you seen this site which is very informative?

http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm#9Postop 

Having said that, there is no way that I would ever consider neutering one of my boars. The risk, in my opinion, is just too great. I have plenty of room and if a new boar is born or rescued, he can live with an resident single boar or wait until another one needs a home and I pair them up. If I bring two home I simply create a new pen for them to share. There is always another boar needing rehoming so no piggy stays alone for long.

My pens are similar to yours. A plastic sheet on the floor, covered with very thick newspapers, makes the base onto which several pens made of garden wire panels, cut to size, are arranged with the plastic sheet well out of reach. The pens can be made as large as I require, depending on how many boars and sows I have at any given time and can quickly be remade if necessary. I just "sew" the panels together with pliable garden wire and can undo them if needed. Inside these pens I have newspaper lining covered with hay and containing assorted pipes and hidey boxes. They are quick to clean out as the top newspapers can be rolled up with the old hay inside and new papers and fresh hay put in their place. A kind army of newspaper savers help out here.

My herd lives indoors but in the summer, on what I call a deck chair day, they can go out into pens on the lawn for a run and to keep the grass mown. Always under strict supervision of course.

I do have neutered boars here at Piggyfriends but they came that way, the decision for surgery having been made by someone else. My local rescue neuter their boars before rehoming them ( unless my son, who works there, signs them out to me and brings them home intact before anyone notices). My lovely Texel, Shadow, was sneaked out in that way.

I think that your pen is plenty big enough for six piggies. I find that a group will often use only a part of a large pen, preferring to nap in a heap in corner together but there is always room for those that want to run around.

Wishing Oliver all the best at his Well Pig check up and subsequent surgery.

Paws crossed. Do let us all know how he gets on.

Good luck.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.