Children and your piggies

Status
Not open for further replies.
pammyj

pammyj

Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
548
Reaction score
0
Points
0
We have just brought home our new piggies today and my children who are 7 and 8 are very excited.

I just wanted to ask your experience with children and piggies (or any pets). What ages are your children and how are they with your pets?

Any advice greatfully received or funny stories.
 
My neice who is 9, is very good she helps me bath them although with 4 pigs she gets bored quickly it does take a while and now theres 6! :o. Not looking forward to bathing day.

She is not allowed to pick the pigs up under any circumstance, but she does get to sit with the pigs on her lap and enjoys it, she also helps feeds them and watches me clean them :)).

Bette wee'd on her first day she held her, and Shannon said she must like since I'm the first person she wee'd on. :)).

She does get very frustrated though if the pigs don't sit or come over to, but my pigs are very tame so are happy enough to be fussed over except Fred who would rather run for his life :)!
 
CONGRATULATIONS :)x)
I grew up with animals from a very young age (in nappies LOL) but i was always supervised.
I think as long as you put down some ground rules and make sure the children get time to cuddle and help with some of the chores, e.g. giving them hay etc.. you'll be fine :)
Good luck can't wait to see pics and hearing all about the little ones x)
 
It may sound incredibly boring but I won't let any children handle my boys. If family members bring their kids around, I will constantly be on pig-watch, I've had a few kids try and climb into the piggy cage which I, of course, really do not like :(

I will hold the pigs myself and let the children pet them but will not let them pick up or hold my boys under any circumstances.

When it's your kids or children you're very close to, I think it's a totally different story. You know what your kids can handle and if they're ready to handle pets and such.
 
I got my first guinea when I was 5 and my parents always made sure that I was carefull with her. By seven I was allowed to hold her on my own but someone would pick her up and hand her to me. She was my piggy and I know now that she should have had a friend. When I was 8 I got to make that call on what to do when she had a mammary tumour. My mum explained the choices to me and I chose that she should have an operation. Even though she died it was my choice, it was the one I would pick now and it was the best thing that my mum let me decide.
When I got Fuzz and Dippy for my 9th birthday I had much more responsibillity with them. I could pick them up and cuddle them on my own as long as my parents said ok. I had to clean them out and feed them but being 9 I had to be reminded. Kids can be great with animals or they might not be but I have been guinea mad since my dad opened that box on my fifth birthday and I first saw Brownie.
 
I have a four year old daughter and a 10 year old sister, the difference in how they are allowed to handle them is minimal because lets face it both are still kids despite the age gap.
Ava (4 year old) and Poppy(10 year old) are allowed to sit on the couch or floor with a cuddle sack and hold a pig each with me sitting right in front of them, they aren't allowed to stand up or ever walk and carry a pig.
They are harsh rules but piggies bones are just way to delicate to take the risk of a child holding them to firmly or accidently dropping them.
Ava (4) helps with many other things though, she walks around and flips there hideys as some of my boys like to turn them over alot, she helps hand out the veg every morning and night(she would like to help with the hay but due to allergies can't).
She also talks to them and feeds them veges by hand which they love, the piggies seem to be much less intimidated by a small person compared to an adult providing the kids aren't to noisy.
I have explained to Ava that every birthday she can start helping with a new piggy thing so she has a goal and knows that in time she can do more.Its hard to explain to little ones what the limits are and it took over a year to get Ava to understand but now i have my very own gentle piggy addict and its great
 
My kids are great!

Neither are allowed to pick up the pigs Yasmin will carry from time to time but rarely.

They both sit with them on their laps (they have had 2 rescue pigs out this morning).

Eva likes to spray and wipe the litter trays for me, Yasmin picks grass and veg from the garden for them. Both are incredibly gentle so that's brilliant.
 
Millie is 5 and ellis 4,
I bring them in and they hold them on there laps

everymoring and evening millie does the veg for them and i get some grass
they are not allowed to get them from there hutch though thats my job they just sit and wait with there towel on there legs

both piggies just sit nice and still with the kids


I NEVER LEAVE THEM IN A ROOM ALONE WITH THEM :)
 
I don't have kids or little sisters or brothers (well I do, but the youngest is 18!) so I don't really know. I had kittens since I was 7 or 8, and I was old enough to pick them up and care for them completely on my own, even newborn ones that I handreared. But I think I was old enough to not drop them, and probably the most careful person in the world with them! So I'd say it depends on the kid, I wouldn't let any 7 year old pick up my pets, unless I knew how careful they were, but I did it myself at that age!

Recently my sister's friend was over with her three year old, and I let him see all my pets. He was very gentle with my puppy and kittens, and just rubbed them gently. I let him see the guinea pigs and rabbits but not pick them up, for their own safety, and just in case one of them nipped or scratched him too! I wouldn't have minded him picking up the kittens, as they wouldn't have been hurt if he dropped them (they're 2 months old) but he was very good and didn't try to pick them up.

I think if you just explain to them that the guinea pigs are very fragile and can run out of your hand (as they sometimes try to do!) then they'll understand, and they can still cuddle them on their laps. I think it's a great idea to get them to help out with some chores, feeding, giving hay, bathing etc. so they learn how to take care of an animal, but without having to do all the hard work!
 
I dont have kids but i live with my mum and she is a childminder so my pigs do get a lot of child attention! Her 4 oldest are the same age as your kiddies and i do encorage them to hold them becasue i feel that if they aren't allowed to hold them now they're just going to become scared of doing so. I usually get the pigs out and arange them in their arms for them but they all give them a cuddle and a stroke, they're just not allowed to wander about with them, same as me when i got my first guineapigs at 8 years old. The middle lot 4-6 sit with them on their laps as their hands are to small and the pigs panic a bit as they dont feel supported if held by them. And of course any child younger i hold and they stroke.
Personally if you have some solid ground rules for your children to follow i think they make fabulous pets for children to be involved with.
 
My DD is 6 (almost 7) and is fabulous with all our pets as she has been brought up with animals everywhere!

In relation to the pigs she is not allowed to pick them up because if they wiggle she panics and I am worried she might drop them. However she helps with the feeding, watering, cleaning and of course lap cuddles.

I think it is important to get children involved with animals from a young age at a level suitable for them.
 
My 2 year old god daughter came to visit on Monday, I let her "hold" the piggies while she was sat on my friend's lap and the piggies were in their cuddle cozies. That way she could stroke their heads but their claws wouldn't scratch her and her mum could help keep them secure :)
 
Thanks for the feedback. The kids are eager to hold them but I have told them notto bother them when they are in the cage and can only stroke them when I get them out and they are sitting down.

We will try and see if they would like a cuddle an stroke later on today. They have been more adventurous this morning.
 
Kids are getting frustrated that they spend most of the time hidden away!
 
I am sorry, but that is what most guinea pigs do initially - especially the ones that have not had much/virtually no human contact before.

You can get the piggies out for a little cuddle in a cuddle cup, with a treat or some dinner afterwards, apart from that it is a matter of patience, patience, patience... You piggies will get that little bit bolder each day!

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239
 
Yes I have told them that, they are getting braver and coming out to eat a bit of carrot this morning (roxy first of course) listening to them wheeking is lovely :)


As they get older and braver do they spend more time out in the open?
 
pammyj said:
Yes I have told them that, they are getting braver and coming out to eat a bit of carrot this morning (roxy first of course) listening to them wheeking is lovely :)


As they get older and braver do they spend more time out in the open?
Click to expand...

Yes, they will!

If you have got a bit more money and the pigsters have settled more, you could think about getting a cheap run and something waterproof for the floor (there is a range of ingenious, cheap solutions that forum members have hit upon).

I am sure that your children will enjoy watching the antics - I know that we did, and we also enjoyed building little obstacle courses with improvised hurdles and tunnels and mazes to explore for the piggies in the run!
 
I have a waterproof sheet that I used to use for the kids painting sheet. I can disinfect that. I just need to get some 'walls' so they can come out and have a big run around.

Thanks for all your help and advice wiebke.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top