Can my herd smell there's a new pig upstairs?

PigglePuggle

PigglePuggle

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Just wondered if anyone who has had a new pig in quarantine in a different room has noticed their herd behaving differently like they can smell there's someone new in the house?
Boss lady Clover and husboar Theo are strangely working together to rumble-strut patrol the playpen perimeter, noses in the air, searching in all the hidey houses and under the newspaper, sniffing everypig and everything to check who's around... normally at playpen time they just wander around randomly eating hay and veggies then take a nap...there's a lot of rather intense piggy conversation too...
Fascinating to watch, they dont seem stressed just very vigilant and busy!
 
PigglePuggle said:
Just wondered if anyone who has had a new pig in quarantine in a different room has noticed their herd behaving differently like they can smell there's someone new in the house?
Boss lady Clover and husboar Theo are strangely working together to rumble-strut patrol the playpen perimeter, noses in the air, searching in all the hidey houses and under the newspaper, sniffing everypig and everything to check who's around... normally at playpen time they just wander around randomly eating hay and veggies then take a nap...there's a lot of rather intense piggy conversation too...
Fascinating to watch, they dont seem stressed just very vigilant and busy!
Click to expand...

Piggies have much finer noses and ears than us humans; they can indeed smell each other, and also smell the pheromones on you.
Mine always know when there is a new arrival and it is always causing a bit of excitement.
The smell and sounds from other piggies is also acting as a great soother for any new arrivals.

Please always feed, handle and groom your own piggies before you look after a quarantined piggy; this minimises the risk of accidental transmission through you, apart from good hygiene/hand-washing.
 
Can't smell new piggy on me I hope as she's in ringworm quarantine so she gets fed and handled last or by my husband and its surgical gloves for handling then a clothes change and a shower before going near the others!
 
The main herd are very excited about something anyway... Blodwen is upstairs in the spare room and all the others are in the playpen in the living room, Blodwen only comes down for syringe feeds when the other pigs are shut in the piggy room. Then I spray F10 around like crazy afterwards :)
 
Mine have always known when there's a new pig upstairs in quarantine, they live downstairs in the sitting room. Those little piggie noses have a very strong sense of smell.
 
Theo is rumblestrutting around with Clover and Piggle encouraging him to go find the new piggy. Favourite wife Puggle keeps herding him about and guarding him and shoving him in a hidey house and telling him he'll do no such thing! Jezebel doesnt get involved in any of this stuff at all which is why I think she'll appreciate a new scaredy pig passive floof friend- eventually, hopefully... they can just floof out together and avoid all the herd politics!
 
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