Can someone please tell my pigs that they are being spoilt NOT poisoned..

Hannah_xx

Hannah_xx

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My pigs all think I’m trying trying to poison them.
Olive went to the vets (with Newton for company) this arvo for a checkup for her tough UTI. Vet is happy with her health and is quite sure it’s a uti and not sludge or stones. Phew! Antibiotics for 10 more days.

Now bearing in mind her appointment was expensive..I still decided to treat them all to 2 new bags of pellets and a special bag of Timothy hay with echinacea and hibiscus!
Now I’ve just sprinkled a load of the timothy hay/chaff into their hay trays and everyone ran off! I offered Maude (who’d usually eat anything handed to her) a dried flower out of the bag and even SHE turned her nose up.

Now everyone is refusing to go into their hay trays because apparently it smells weird so I must have sprinkled poison and not $27 small bag of ridiculously expensive hay!

Let me guess, when I try them on the new oxbow pellets tonight everyone will turn their noses up at that too..

Pigs..so hard to please :eek::hmm:

I’ve also just gone and pulled a load of hay out of the horses new round bale (before they destroy it) as it looks nice stuff for the pigs to try! The horses thought the hay I’ve pulled out from their bale that I’ve put in a bucket must be better than the bale.. :doh:
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The treats..aka poison..
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Maude asking for something more appealing than a dried flower..
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Newton hiding from the ‘bad’ smell..
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Note NOBODY in their hay trays..
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And now there is a chicken at the back door whos clearly heard the word ‘unwanted food’ and wants IN!
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Pigs will be pigs 🥴. Years ago I adopted a cat who turned up at work in the back of an ambulance. Poor thing had rotton teeth and had to have them all removed. I tried various cat foods to see which she liked the best. She would eat a particular brand and seemed to enjoy it over the course of a couple of weeks. I went out and bought a pallet of 36 cans and the little monkey decided she wasn't having any of it. My loss RSPCA's gain. Good luck with the piggies ☺️
 
When one of my piggies was off his hay I bought 4 different bags and did a ’taste test’. He showed lots of enthusiasm for one brand in particular so off I go and buy and huge bag. Would he eat it? Nope. I gave it to my horse - he wasn’t fussy 🤣
 
Keep trying them with a little of the dried forage each day. Eventually one of mine tried it and then all of them decided it must be ok and started to eat it.

I gave my skinnies a new bed last week and neither of them would sleep in it for the first two days. They tried to share the other one so poor Ginger Pig was sleeping with his bum and back legs sticking out of the bed. They really are so funny.
 
When I gave Lexi and Thea grass for the first time last year (they'd never had any before) Lexi ran away from it as it was a funny colour and therefore dangerous. :yikes: Thea was a bit braver and tried a bit, decided it wasn't dangerous and started chomping away. Lexi saw Thea's reaction and came creeping towards the grass very carefully as if it might turn on her and chase her and very tentatively tried a bit, discovered it was very yummy stuff and started scoffing it down as fast as she could!
 
Whenever I used to give Eddi a new toy in his cage he would approach with caution and then rumble all the way around it to check it wasn't a mad piggy eating willow ball as opposed to something he could just destroy.
I am sorry to hear your poor piggies have had such a traumatic day :xd:
 
I've not brought the boys forrage for a while because money is a little tight. I got them a load of forrage this week they tried the hibiscus first time it was like it was the best thing ever, so happy. Second time not so much they won't eat it at all now and are disgusted I would even think of giving it to them.
 
Hi

Please try not to treat your piggies with any new fancy stuff after a vet trip or operation; what they really crave is their familiar safe surroundings and their familiar food. Give them time to crash, stay off handling and axious hovering, and then simply provide precious and welcome normality. :)

Anything new generally needs careful, slow introductions in small quantities, so they can get gradually used to the scent and taste. Once piggies are past the learning age (up to 4 months and the start of teenage), they may no longer be as open to try new stuff unless you challenge them constantly with different flavours. The older they get, the more they usually value their daily feeding routine.
Personally, I prefer to stay off overpriced fancy stuff and rather enrich my piggies by making them work for their food. Much cheaper and more fun for the piggies and me.

Buy any dried forage in a small bag; you have much more control in introducing it and it won't cost you a fortune if doesn't work out. Hay with flowers mixed in is the latest fad to separate loving owners from their money.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please try not to treat your piggies with any new fancy stuff after a vet trip or operation; what they really crave is their familiar safe surroundings and their familiar food. Give them time to crash, stay off handling and axious hovering, and then simply provide precious and welcome normality. :)

Anything new generally needs careful, slow introductions in small quantities, so they can get gradually used to the scent and taste. Once piggies are past the learning age (up to 4 months and the start of teenage), they may no longer be as open to try new stuff unless you challenge them constantly with different flavours. The older they get, the more they usually value their daily feeding routine.
Personally, I prefer to stay off overpriced fancy stuff and rather enrich my piggies by making them work for their food. Much cheaper and more fun for the piggies and me.

Buy any dried forage in a small bag; you have much more control in introducing it and it won't cost you a fortune if doesn't work out. Hay with flowers mixed in is the latest fad to separate loving owners from their money.
Click to expand...
Everything was the same in their cage, just sprinkled some of the Timothy hay into one side of their trays. And my pigs don’t get handled except for health checks or medicating.
Their days and food are usually the same day in day out :)
 
Hannah_xx said:
Everything was the same in their cage, just sprinkled some of the Timothy hay into one side of their trays. And my pigs don’t get handled except for health checks or medicating.
Their days and food are usually the same day in day out :)
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm just making sure - not just for you but also for other readers of this thread. ;)
 
Anytime my girls reject a hay it gets toted off to the community farm down the road ... they gladly accept it for bunnies or chickens (or goats or sheep). The last rejected box was lovely Oxbow timothy hay but my girls informed me that it was too coarse and they wanted their soft hay back. I'm sure @Lorcan 's goblins would have loved it ...
 
Usually if one of mine refuses a hay another will eat it. Recently we had a very stalky box though and none of the boys would touch it, it was more like straw than hay, it's gone across the road for some bunnies to enjoy!
 
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