Megan
I so hope you made a typo and meant to say that your new girls are not 2
weeks old, but 2 MONTHS.
Not to attack you, but if they are really only 2 weeks old, they should
still be with their mommy. Piggies should be with their mother until they
are at least 3 weeks old OR weigh 300 grams (per piggie, that is).
If the piggies you have adopted are only 2 weeks old, they should still be
drinking at their mom's tit. At that age they aren't weened yet.
Please, please tell me you made a typo in all your excitement over the new
girls.
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Esther & the Bunch (Kayley, Zorra, Maycka, Beer, Hymba & Pip)
To email me personally, please remove SPAMBLOCK
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Michel
Scorpio schreef:
No typo. When we rang the animal park they said they had 5 piggies.
When we got there I didn't realise they were only babies and he said
they had been weened. So we took 2. They are inside and kept quiet.
They have been eating but seem very quiet now. Probably missing their
mummy. I've been giving them water with a dropper. Now you have me
even more worried that I was last night. Still, they survived the
night and have eaten grass and little pallets that the guy gave us.
Megan (worried more than ever now)
Kept them inside and will be keeping them inside until they are much
much bigger.
Scorpio schreef? well ok then... :)
Megan
Hi I just rang the wildlife park where I bought the girls and he said
yes they are 2 weeks old and have been weened. He said they can be
weened within 24 hours if you put a bit of milk in with their water.
He said if I have any problems he will replace them free of charge but
he wouldn't have let them go if they weren't ready. He also said they
mate as soon as they are born too.
Megan
It's a weird language, don't you think? :o)
They seem to be eating lots of grass and pallets that the seller gave
me and even a bit of carrot. They seem very sleepy and very quiet. I
hope they aren't too freaked out. I try to have quiet time with them
in the lounge. Last night I dimmed the lights and let them lie in my
lap, all sunnuggled in a blanket. They very nearly went to sleep like
that. They are indoors at all times now. When they get bigger they
will spend time in an outside hutch with a run and at night I will
bring them inside the garage. Our garage is very big with lots of air
flow, so don't panic about fumes. My partner is not prepared to have
them inside once they are fully grown and I have to respect that.
Just because I love piggies, doesn't mean he has to. I'm just pleased
he's allowed them inside now. I think once he saw how little they
were, he realised they had to come in. I would love to keep them
indoors permanently like you Brad. Our household is not set up for
that, what with having a cat and all. Oh I just love piggies though.
Are you on facebook? I'll be posting photos of Licorice and Allsorts
there soon.
Megan
Actually I do have a little bit of experience with the language. My
partner's parents came out from Holland 50 years ago. We love Opa's
croquettes for lunch while sitting at the table which has a floor rug
on it. (apparently that is very dutch). Oh yes and Opa makes a mean
Butter Cake. He has little dutch houses scattered around his house
and we hear lots of stories about the war. One day we hope to go and
visit the country we keep hearing so much about. Might see you and
your piggies there...
Megan
Megan
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Well, that person obviously doesn't know anything about piggies. They cannot
be weaned "on command" (no mammal can). They need their mother's milk so
they get all kinds of antibodies against diseases (just like human babies).
And it is the mother that weans them, not man.
Weaning simply means, that mom will less and less allow them to drink, so
they eat pellets and other things more and more. But this weaning will
happen only after 2 to 3 weeks. Mom knows when they are ready to start
making the transition from her milk to pellets. When they are about 3 weeks
old, mommy won't let them near her milk factory anymore and by then they can
(and should) fully live on piggie food, greens and veggies.
And forgive me for laughing out very loud now. But mating right after birth?
I think he gets some things mixed up. It is true, that the mother is willing
to the male piggie, very soon after she gave birth. That is the reason why
their daddy (or any other adult male piggie) should not be allowed near the
female when she's having her litter. Best is to remove dad a week (at the
latest) before mom gives birth. She won't really miss him. She is only busy
getting ready for her kids to be born.
Baby piggies are sexually mature in about 5 weeks (the girls) and 7 to 8
weeks (the boys). So there really is nothing to worry about, that son will
mount mommy, or his sister(s) right after he takes his first breath of air.
This simply won't happen. When you have a litter with both girls and boys in
it, you can keep mother and all her kids together for 6 weeks, before you
need to separate the boys from the girls. Yes, I typed 6 weeks, no typo. In
this way you play it safe and you avoid any "accidents" between brother and
sister(s) or mother and son.
The last piggie I took home, Maycka, was pregnant. She had a beautiful
litter of 3 babies: two girls (Hymba and Pip) and one boy (Beer, which is
Dutch for Bear). They all lived happily together until Beer reached the age
of 6 weeks. Since then, Beer has lived solo. Coming Tuesday he will be
neutered and when he is no longer fertile (beginning of August), he will be
reintroduced in the pack and than he can start his job as a harem leader.
Your explanation sounds more plausable. I probably misinterpreted
him.
Anyway, it's nearly a week since we got the girls and they are
thriving. They eat breakfast and dinner while on my lap. They're
like two peas in a pod.
Megan
Anyway, it's nearly a week since we got the girls and they are
thriving. They eat breakfast and dinner while on my lap. They're
like two peas in a pod.
Megan
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I did make one little mistake though. Beer will not be infertile by
beginning of August, but beginning of September. I miscalculated. I must
have thought it was the beginning of June, right now LOL. After neutering it
takes between 6 to 8 weeks for a piggie to become infertile, so it will be
the beginning of September, before he can be rejoined with his mother,
sisters, and the other two girls.
Well, maths never was my best subject at school ...... LOL
And it's good to read, that your girls are thriving, even though they were
separated from their mother too soon. I think they did get enough of
antibodies from their mother's milk and will live a happy long live.