Finding Squeak a friend

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bubble&squeak4ever

bubble&squeak4ever

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Hey everyone! ")

As you probably know I'm in the process of trying to find a friend for squeak but I have come to a bit of a dilemma.... Do I take her dating or do I bond at home?
The closest rescue that offers dating is 50 minutes away and it would be quite a lot of hassle for them to come over here for a home check, us to go there to meet them, then for the dating etc. The alternative is that I could get a new piggy (neutered boar or sow) and bond them at home. What do you think i should do? According to the lady who runs the rescue sows are quite easy to bond? Now I have some questions....
Is it easy to bond them?
What happens if it's not successful?
What aged piggy is best to get (squeak is 3 and half?) ?

Thankyou and sorry for the long post x
 
It is a big dilemma isn't it. One we have never had to cross, but will have to very soon for Cookie. Luckily we have Walsall RSPCA near to us and The Potteries is an hour away. But I do feel for people like yourself who are further away from rescues...

In our experience Rescues will quite happily homecheck regardless of distance, have you spoke to your local rescue who do piggie dating regarding the distance? maybe they may be able to offer some advice or a solution? Whereabouts do you live?
As to adopting a piggie and bonding yourself, hopefully someone with some bonding experience will be able to shed light on the process there are quite a few members experienced in this on the forum..
 
sport_billy said:
It is a big dilemma isn't it. One we have never had to cross, but will have to very soon for Cookie. Luckily we have Walsall RSPCA near to us and The Potteries is an hour away. But I do feel for people like yourself who are further away from rescues...

In our experience Rescues will quite happily homecheck regardless of distance, have you spoke to your local rescue who do piggie dating regarding the distance? maybe they may be able to offer some advice or a solution? Whereabouts do you live?
As to adopting a piggie and bonding yourself, hopefully someone with some bonding experience will be able to shed light on the process there are quite a few members experienced in this on the forum..
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I don't think the distance for a home check would be a big problem at all. When we spoke to the rescue they said that because sows are fairly easy to bond it might be easier and less stressful for Squeak if we bonded them at home. Of course she said if we definitely did want to date then we could.
 
Well...in my experience sows are actually worse to bond than males...that said an unruly sow will eventually calm down once the pecking order is sorted out. They generally do bond better with males, however if she's not a friendly sow to begin with then it's not necessarily given that they will bond to a male - I had a very very bossy sow and we went through 2 neutered boars (plus 10-15 sows) to try and find her a friend, she eventually settled with one of the boars, but she was still very dominant towards him and harassed him.

If your sow is very laid back then you shouldn't have too many issues...it just depends on personality! As with males!
 
Squidge said:
Well...in my experience sows are actually worse to bond than males...that said an unruly sow will eventually calm down once the pecking order is sorted out. They generally do bond better with males, however if she's not a friendly sow to begin with then it's not necessarily given that they will bond to a male - I had a very very bossy sow and we went through 2 neutered boars (plus 10-15 sows) to try and find her a friend, she eventually settled with one of the boars, but she was still very dominant towards him and harassed him.

If your sow is very laid back then you shouldn't have too many issues...it just depends on personality! As with males!
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She's was the dominant one out of her and Bubble but I'd say she's quite laid back but I suppose it's hard to tell because I haven't ever had any other piggies beside her and bubble.
 
Generally, cross gender bonding with a subadult sow is not a problem. Most boars are over the moon meeting a girl for the first time in their life, and most younger sows of ideal pup bearing age will accept a boar.

Bonding older sows can be much trickier (sows often become more crotchety as they age, whereas boars tend to mellow), and in that case, dating is certainly the best way forward!

Bonding a sow into a group of sows can be quite a headache if there is a character/dominance clash with one of the group sows.
 
Wiebke said:
Generally, cross gender bonding with a subadult sow is not a problem. Most boars are over the moon meeting a girl for the first time in their life, and most younger sows of ideal pup bearing age will accept a boar.

Bonding older sows can be much trickier (sows often become more crotchety as they age, whereas boars tend to mellow), and in that case, dating is certainly the best way forward!

Bonding a sow into a group of sows can be quite a headache if there is a character/dominance clash with one of the group sows.
Click to expand...
So my best bet is to adopt a neutered boar and bond at home? Or go dating?
 
may be best to try at home if you can find someone who would be able to take the new pig back should the bonding be successful. if you're trying a sow with another baby sow, i can't see that there would be a problem providing you handle the bonding process delicately (neutral territory etc) x
 
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