Flying Bertie

Black piggies

Black piggies

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There's no urgency with this, as they both seem happy and settled, but any advice welcome. I want to bond VERY excitable, young Bertie and extremely timid floof Mila, both just bereaved. They've been living alongside each other.

Bertie bonded quite easily with confident rainbow pig Shadow - he tried it on, she slapped him down, all decided quickly, with a lot of mutual liking.

Because Bertie cried when Shadow was out the cage for meds, I tried to bond him with Mila straight after losing Shadow. He launched himself like a flying ninja in excitement, she got a terrible fright and was snapping her teeth, and so I thought I'd delay a bit until all our nerves were less frayed.

They've been hanging out a lot through the divider, I'm hopeful of a bond, but wonder how I can stop Bertie jet propelling himself at Mila once initially together? Could I hold him for a few seconds of the bonding, so Mila doesn't have a flying pig fright again? I don't want to lose a finger 😂

Bertie is an @furryfriends (TEAS) piggy and Mila is an @Hazelcroft Rescue piggy 💕

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I remember how the fosterer referred to his over-enthusiasm and it does sound like he's trying it on again! Hopefully, now they've had time to get to know each other through the bars, Mila won't be quite so shocked and horrified by his advances! I always use food to distract when bonding and that does seem to get them calm and eating together!
 
Timid 4 year old Mila is really coming out her shell - she's popcorning, rumble strutting and squeaking at young Bertie 🥰
Is there any way to tell whether it is a love match as I hope, and not cage divider defence?

We might be getting two 8 week old babies from the local rescue Mila came from, initially to bond with Mila, then later altogether with Bertie. What age might young sows go in with a neutered boar?
(I'd follow the rescue's advice on their specific piggies, but wondering generally).
 
My little Kiki was only 4-5 weeks old when she was bonded by Debbie with Hector. It was love at first sight. Hector had a earlier failed bond with Posh and Ginger, he was just far too excited and eager to hump them and they got very heated especially top lady Posh.
Hector was so much calmer with Kiki and took on a more fatherly figure with Kiki 😊

Wishing you all the luck x
 
Bill & Ted said:
My little Kiki was only 4-5 weeks old when she was bonded by Debbie with Hector. It was love at first sight. Hector had a earlier failed bond with Posh and Ginger, he was just far too excited and eager to hump them and they got very heated especially top lady Posh.
Hector was so much calmer with Kiki and took on a more fatherly figure with Kiki 😊

Wishing you all the luck x
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Thanks. That's so sweet Kiki brought out the gentle side in Hector.
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
I have had quite a few little ones join the group. My boars always loved the little girls. And the little girls look up to the boars in a way no older female would. ;):wub:
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Aw cute. Bertie seemed to love senior rainbow pig Shadow but he got told off fairly often, I'm sure he'd love to be idealised by some young sows 😊
 
The local rescue hopefully has 2 baby sows, their suggestion to bond with timid Mila first, then Bertie, which would be lovely.
Meantime local vet who has a herd of 26, has a friend with a one year old floof sow, who I'd love to offer a home too.
The most piggies I've had is 4 in 2 cages. How much more work is 5 - Bertie and 4 ladies? He'd be ecstatic! Am I crazy considering that....?!
 
I quickly went from 2 to 5 when RB piggy :yikes: DA BOSS :yikes: Velvet had a surprise shop litter of 3 baby piglets. I found it was quite a lot more work involved but then I was only used to 2 not 4. I did have 2 storeys of a double hutch to clean though.
 
Velvet's legendary boss skills live on in memory 😂

Thanks, probably realistic that 5 is a lot of work! I wonder whether 4 or 5 altogether is easier.
 
Black piggies said:
Velvet's legendary boss skills live on in memory 😂

Thanks, probably realistic that 5 is a lot of work! I wonder whether 4 or 5 altogether is easier.
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Thanks Velvet was a very formidable and SCAAAAAARY piggie if you were a piggy. She was a lovely licky piggy if you were a Hooman. :)

If they all live together I can't see it being too much more for you to do. Just keep in mind the extra cost of food, hay and vets bills.
 
Black piggies said:
Timid 4 year old Mila is really coming out her shell - she's popcorning, rumble strutting and squeaking at young Bertie 🥰
Is there any way to tell whether it is a love match as I hope, and not cage divider defence?

We might be getting two 8 week old babies from the local rescue Mila came from, initially to bond with Mila, then later altogether with Bertie. What age might young sows go in with a neutered boar?
(I'd follow the rescue's advice on their specific piggies, but wondering generally).
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Any age, as long as the boar is 6 weeks past neutering op and the babies are weaned.

My Carys and my Dryw were both ca. 5 weeks old when they are arrived here; Carys to live with then 3 years old Gethin and 7 1/2 years old Ffwlbri (who lived for nearly another year) and Dryw was an emergency adoption to go with 5-6 years old Pioden when he was left with a very frail Hedydd, whose 8th birthday was imminent but also her end of life (she lived just past her big day). Tegan was 4 weeks old when she and her mum joined the Tribe.

Now that Gethin himself is an old man, I have found a companion for Carys in Tegeirian, who is just a year younger than Carys and am in process of adopting two babies for Dryw (that cannot compete with her) since Pioden is now as old as Hedydd...

Llelo was 4 weeks old when he met Dylan.

These were extremes, but just to show you. Macsen has just bonded with a baby girl from TEAS; he's 2 years old and a TEAS adoptee himself.
 
Wiebke said:
Any age, as long as the boar is 6 weeks past neutering op and the babies are weaned.

My Carys and my Dryw were both ca. 5 weeks old when they are arrived here; Carys to live with then 3 years old Gethin and 7 1/2 years old Ffwlbri (who lived for nearly another year) and Dryw was an emergency adoption to go with 5-6 years old Pioden when he was left with a very frail Hedydd, whose 8th birthday was imminent but also her end of life (she lived just past her big day). Tegan was 4 weeks old when she and her mum joined the Tribe.

Now that Gethin himself is an old man, I have found a companion for Carys in Tegeirian, who is just a year younger than Carys and am in process of adopting two babies for Dryw (that cannot compete with her) since Pioden is now as old as Hedydd...

Llelo was 4 weeks old when he met Dylan.

These were extremes, but just to show you. Macsen has just bonded with a baby girl from TEAS; he's 2 years old and a TEAS adoptee himself.
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Wow, lots of age gap love matches in your herd! 😍
 
Black piggies said:
Wow, lots of age gap love matches in your herd! 😍
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Carys and Gethin are still very attached to each other. Carwyn and his wifelet Heini had a three years love affair with each other until his death; when they met, she was too small to give him kisses on the eye and instead was constantly licking his chin and barbering him.The first time he mounted her, he was basically standing on the ground and she had mostly disappeared under his belly - but he was as gentle with her as possible.

My Begw was supposedly an 8 weeks old boar with the weight of a 3 weeks old when she was surrendered to the Potteries; since she is a bit of a runt, the age may actually be correct but the gender wasn't so she was speeded to Coventry to live with my neutered Potteries adoptee Dylan, who had just parted ways with teenage Llelo since all the other fosterers had only boars at the time. Where Dylan is, there is Begw, even nearly three years on.

Babies are not a total fail-safe; personality clashes can still happen and very fear-aggressive sows may not accept babies. Beryn was quite literally scared stiff of Meleri and her sister Miaren - at 5 weeks, Meleri was still small enough that she just about could squeeze through the divider (the rest of the pen had baby-proof grids). But many adult piggies will accept them and some can develop a very caring and tender relationship.

My neutered Bedo (again from the Potteries) became overnight dad-cum-nursery nurse-cum husboar to my TEAS 8 weeks old triplets, and life was never quite the same again... Two of them are very elderly now but they are still here at 7 1/2 years.

You can find several videos with baby bondings sprinkled throughout our bonding guide, not just in the baby bonding chapter but also in the group bonding intros: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Wiebke said:
Carys and Gethin are still very attached to each other. Carwyn and his wifelet Heini had a three years love affair with each other until his death; when they met, she was too small to give him kisses on the eye and instead was constantly licking his chin and barbering him.The first time he mounted her, he was basically standing on the ground and she had mostly disappeared under his belly - but he was as gentle with her as possible.

My Begw was supposedly an 8 weeks old boar with the weight of a 3 weeks old when she was surrendered to the Potteries; since she is a bit of a runt, the age may actually be correct but the gender wasn't so she was speeded to Coventry to live with my neutered Potteries adoptee Dylan, who had just parted ways with teenage Llelo since all the other fosterers had only boars at the time. Where Dylan is, there is Begw, even nearly three years on.

Babies are not a total fail-safe; personality clashes can still happen and very fear-aggressive sows may not accept babies. Beryn was quite literally scared stiff of Meleri and her sister Miaren - at 5 weeks, Meleri was still small enough that she just about could squeeze through the divider (the rest of the pen had baby-proof grids). But many adult piggies will accept them and some can develop a very caring and tender relationship.

My neutered Bedo (again from the Potteries) became overnight dad-cum-nursery nurse-cum husboar to my TEAS 8 weeks old triplets, and life was never quite the same again... Two of them are very elderly now but they are still here at 7 1/2 years.

You can find several videos with baby bondings sprinkled throughout our bonding guide, not just in the baby bonding chapter but also in the group bonding intros: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
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That's some image of Carwyn and tiny Heini, glad to hear a boar can be so gentle.
Lovely to see the videos of rainbow Meleri. What sassy babies! Sarah at Hazelcroft knows Mila, so hopefully won't give me her sassiest babies. But yes, all in the hands of fate.
 
Black piggies said:
That's some image of Carwyn and tiny Heini, glad to hear a boar can be so gentle.
Lovely to see the videos of rainbow Meleri. What sassy babies! Sarah at Hazelcroft knows Mila, so hopefully won't give me her sassiest babies. But yes, all in the hands of fate.
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I will be making a trip to Hazelcroft myself in the coming weeks to find some future company for Dryw once I know how I where I stand in terms of rebonding my current batch of bereaved piggies. Dryw's now 2 years old. I've asked Sarah for ones that are most likely to be passed over. While Pioden is not doing too badly for his ca. 7-8 years (now more likely at the higher end), he won't last forever.
Because Dryw has some major fear-aggression issues and is very afraid of other piggies as the result of a couple of neighbourhood cage invasions, which didn't go the way she expected (no violence, just some hard feelings and entirely her and Pioden's fault), she can't deal with any piggy standing up to her. So it has to be babies, and ideally while Pioden is still there to welcome them (he LOVES his girls) and to act as a buffer in the hierarchy between her and the youngsters to help with acceptance. Plus a table cage to prevent any further incidents... :mal:

At least in her case, I can be proactive. I prefer to have my ducks in place before an foreseeable bereavement if that is at all possible. Sadly, that was not an option with all my recent unexpected losses.

All the best!
 
Wiebke said:
I will be making a trip to Hazelcroft myself in the coming weeks to find some future company for Dryw once I know how I where I stand in terms of rebonding my current batch of bereaved piggies. Dryw's now 2 years old. I've asked Sarah for ones that are most likely to be passed over. While Pioden is not doing too badly for his ca. 7-8 years (now more likely at the higher end), he won't last forever.
Because Dryw has some major fear-aggression issues and is very afraid of other piggies as the result of a couple of neighbourhood cage invasions, which didn't go the way she expected (no violence, just some hard feelings and entirely her and Pioden's fault), she can't deal with any piggy standing up to her. So it has to be babies, and ideally while Pioden is still there to welcome them (he LOVES his girls) and to act as a buffer in the hierarchy between her and the youngsters to help with acceptance. Plus a table cage to prevent any further incidents... :mal:

At least in her case, I can be proactive. I prefer to have my ducks in place before an foreseeable bereavement if that is at all possible. Sadly, that was not an option with all my recent unexpected losses.

All the best!
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Poor Dryw, but not the best idea to go off marauding with a nervous temperament 😊
Thanks, good luck for your multiple unexpected bondings.
 
Five piggies in 1 group are relativley less work than 2 + 2 piggies in my experience.
But of course you could have one more patient at the same time with 5 piggies and it's a matter of available space.
 
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