Escapee Pig!

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pigmumsar

pigmumsar

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Our 2 baby sows (approx. 15 weeks old) live in a free range enclosure in a summerhouse. I have attached a photograph to give you the context. We've had them about 6 weeks now and so far they have got on very well. They always rest and sleep together in the larger pigloo to right of photo and we put heatpads in to keep them warm. Last night when my husband went out to change the heatpad before bed (11pm) he came rushing in to wake me because Smartie was missing! :yikes:She wasn't anywhere in their pen but fortunately we located her hiding under a cabinet that holds all of their hay/fleeces/equipment etc.. My hubby managed to catch her quickly and get her back to the pigloo.

I can not believe she managed to get over the fence and now I'm worried sick about it happening again. We accidently left the blue stool in (see right of picture, I put it back in just to take the pic!) Do you think she got on top of that (something we've never seen her do before) and then launch herself over the fence? She is a jumpy pig and once managed to jump out of her pigloo when the lid was off for cleaning but I've never seen her on top of any of the objects in the pen. We've observed her closely since and she doesn't seem in any pain and has been eating normally.

My concern is that maybe the girls are suddenly not getting on as yesterday morning when I went in with breakfast, Smartie was dashing around like crazy and Bramble appeared to chase for a second but it stopped within a minute and they ate their veggies and all was well for the rest of the day. I wonder if Bramble was chasing her and she jumped in terror to escape? What else could have made her dive over the fence like that?! My other thought is can they contort their bodies like mice to somehow squeeze under/through the fence bars? I really cant imagine how she could possible fit but I'm puzzled. Any reassurance/advice would be most appreciated! Thanks.

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Where there is a will there is a way is the old saying :yikes:

To be honest looking at your piggy enclosure (which is very impressive I must say - when can I move in ;) ) it is more likely she has squeezed herself under the timber fence. Is there a gap under there and if so is there anyway it can be filled just now while they are still little. Once they put on weight as they get bigger it may be that they can no longer get under there.

I had let mine out checking that my adult piggies could not fit under my cabinet but forgot about the 2 young sows and guess what they went under and managed to chew the phone cord so now we have no home phone. The wee monkeys :nod:

It does not mean that the girls were necessarily fighting it just means she wanted to pop out to see what was on the other side of the fence.

Mine have to be watched like hawks as there is always someone who is being naughty :lol!:
 
You know the saying the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! That's all I would imagine, they are very inquisitive and maybe thought that was were the good stuff was kept. I would also suspect that she went under. They can jump well so when they get older and won't fit under keep hides etc away from the fence. Try using some fleece for the time being to plug the holes x
 
Lovely accommodation by the way , my boar managed to squeeze through the squares in a c and c run when he was about that age , couldn't believe it until I saw it , so my thoughts would be under the fence too.
 
Thanks for your replies as it's put my mind at rest. My main concern was injury from jumping so high. I've just been out to measure the gap underneath and it's only 2.5cm. I'm astonished to think she could fit under there but I have now put a few low boxes along the outer side as a mild deterrent. The summerhouse is secure so if it happens again at least we know her only place to hide is under the cabinet again. Fingers crossed this won't happen though!

I'm very paranoid about them not getting on now as when I popped out with my ruler, they were in different pigloos and this has NEVER happened before. When Brabmle went in to their normal home, there was a big strange squeak and Smartie chased her out :( I've read up on various threads on fighting (including Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs) and apart from the tiny chase and the fact they are now apart, there are no other signs of aggression. Is teeth chattering very obvious? What should I do?! (you can tell I'm a new owner, lol!)
 
I just let mine get on with it, they need to sort out their place and this will be ongoing as they get older and bigger. They will always have to test or secure their authority. If you had siblings think about how many times you fell out, pigs are the same they will be talking again soon xx hugs xxxxx
 
Thank you very much. Will try to stop obsessing over them :lol:
 
pigmumsar said:
I'm very paranoid about them not getting on now as when I popped out with my ruler, they were in different pigloos and this has NEVER happened before. When Brabmle went in to their normal home, there was a big strange squeak and Smartie chased her out :( I've read up on various threads on fighting (including Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs) and apart from the tiny chase and the fact they are now apart, there are no other signs of aggression. Is teeth chattering very obvious? What should I do?! (you can tell I'm a new owner, lol!)
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Don't worry! My girls are very naughty (especially Cissy) and they won't share a hidey either, they tell each other off. Although Bella steals veg from her sister and occassionally objects to tellings off she's a bit more placid.

Yours have plenty of space in that stunning piggie habitat so if they annoy each other they can go off to calm down. So you've done all you can to ease the situation of Piggie vs Piggies: The Dominance Edition.

Mine are about 9 weeks old and they started bickering as soon as they settled in after leaving their mum, took about a week. They're still sorting out dominance but I'm pretty sure Cissy is the winner as she's the only one who rumblestruts. All you can do is let them get on with it, unless there is obvious sign of injury (eg. Blood in the cage) then there's nothing to worry about. They might swear at each other and push each other around a bit but that's just for show :)

Every new piggie parent worries, if it's not one thing it's something else! I always find something to worry about XD
 
I'm certain she squeezed out. My guinea pig Bakura when I first got him. I had him on my lap and he saw my other two guinea pigs. He hopped out of my lap and tried to get into their cage and to my shock he managed to squeeze half of his body through the C&C bars. I think if I hadn't been fast enough to grab him he would have managed to get inside.

EDIT: Should have read everyones replies first :))
Guinea pigs are very cheeky and I'm sure they will find new ways to shock you in the future. The joys of naughty pets ;)
 
Thanks everyone. I also agree that Smartie must have squeezed out as I've measured the gap between fence and wall and it's slightly bigger, around 4cm :oops: I've just caught her sniffing around that bit of fence and she's also been gnawing away at it :-( They have plenty of 'toys' to gnaw on so I'm gutted that she's taken to destroying the fence. Something is definitely up with the girls as poor Bramble is being shooed out of the warm pigloo (although they were both in there together overnight) I'm going to listen to your advice and leave them to it as neither of them are injured in any way and I still haven't seen anything other than a mild chase. Thanks :D
 
You won't believe it! The little monkey got out again last night, despite me plugging up the gaps at the side. this means she definitely goes underneath or through the bars! At least my hubby caught her without waking me up last night :lol!:
 
Little monkey, can you put a video camera in there then place on the floor where she can see a plate of piggie food so she is more determined to get it and so you can see for yourself the escape route?
 
hahaha, I need infrared spy equipment as both times she's escaped have been in the pitch black XD
 
Baby video monitors are designed for the dark so you would see x
 
Hi. I foster three sows and their heirarchy is well established. The piggy at the bottom of the order gets kicked out of hideys too, usually squealing as if she is being murdered! They have a large C&C set up, three big hideys plus tunnels etc. It is easy to think they are being hurt, but as long as no blood or obvious bite marks it is just piggies being piggies!:mal:.
 
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hahaha. these videos are brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Pleased to say she hasn't escaped again since my last post and the piggies are back to being friends again :-)
 
Loved this story - you so have to rig up some sort of camera!

I also am admiring your piggy set up - it looks great!

One morning I came down to find one of ours had got out of a c&c cage which was up on a base made of more c&c grids so that means she managed to jump/fall about 60cm at least. I was horrified. She was fine amazingly. She hadn't gone far - had found the food stored underneath......!
 
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