Grieving piggies, wondering whether to try combine groups?

PigglePuggle

PigglePuggle

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Following the loss of big floofy Jezzy last weekend... her remaining group of 5 friends are really sad... lots of sitting about looking worried, and without enormous clumsy friendly Jezzy the remaining 5 dont even nearly fill the 11x2 C&C cage...
I am wondering whether maybe in the new year, neighbours Luna and Lavender might try to join them? They all meet through the playpen bars for neutral territory communal grazing every Saturday for 3 hours and after some initial alarm from big young daft Lavender, they all seem to enjoy it... not going to rush into things but I'm wondering if we do more meeting through the bars over the holidays, if a new big grouping might cheer everypig up and also future proof a bit against any further bereavements because Clover and Luna are also both senior citizens...
Any thoughts? I love a big happy group but this week my bereaved group of 5 has sort of separated into 2 nervous pairs and 1 incredibly sad old lady :(
 
PigglePuggle said:
Following the loss of big floofy Jezzy last weekend... her remaining group of 5 friends are really sad... lots of sitting about looking worried, and without enormous clumsy friendly Jezzy the remaining 5 dont even nearly fill the 11x2 C&C cage...
I am wondering whether maybe in the new year, neighbours Luna and Lavender might try to join them? They all meet through the playpen bars for neutral territory communal grazing every Saturday for 3 hours and after some initial alarm from big young daft Lavender, they all seem to enjoy it... not going to rush into things but I'm wondering if we do more meeting through the bars over the holidays, if a new big grouping might cheer everypig up and also future proof a bit against any further bereavements because Clover and Luna are also both senior citizens...
Any thoughts? I love a big happy group but this week my bereaved group of 5 has sort of separated into 2 nervous pairs and 1 incredibly sad old lady :(
Click to expand...

I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.
 
I hope elderly boss lady Clover thinks its a good idea, we always assumed she'd pass away first and having lost her lifelong companion Jezzy (who was either her Mum or sister) I wonder if having another old lady to befriend plus a daft junior to boss about might perk her up a bit and give her a new interest in life... she is pining away a lot sitting on her own or just standing sniffing Jezzy's favourite hidey house or sniffing the floor where we found her collapsed... its heartbreaking to see and the other piggies dont know what to do :(
 
I think I would be tempted to give it a try. You have nothing to lose, and potentially the new group could work well together and be a happy community. It’s always nerve wracking working out what to do for the best after the loss of a key member of the community.
 
Just look at this sad piggy grief :(
20211215_142722.webp
We found Jezzy collapsed in the spot just in front of where Theo is guarding :( they are all hunched up and quiet and Clover is just sat in a corner occasionally barbering her own paws... they spent a day searching for Jezzy after we took her away then just this forlorn guarding the spot vigil stuff most of the time... its so sad, and so unlike them, they have always been a big furry parade of fun dashing about together in a piggy train... grief really sucks doesn't it and my poor little piggy pals have taken this really hard :(
 
You can always try since you can only gain and not lose. I always give my piggies a chance with other Tribe members before I go and adopt.

All the best!
 
Aw bless them and poor Clover :( If it were me, I would definitely give it a try. Worse that can happen is that they won’t bond and you continue with your two separate groups. Edward and Elizabeth were very quiet after Ellen (the dominant sow) died until Elizabeth took over leadership. They’re now living with Ella and Esme and I have a very happy herd x
 
It's so sad to witness piggy grief. Poor Betsy was lost without Dennis who was the love of her life. She perked up no end when I bonded her with Meg and Patsy. She knew Meg anyway and they always got on when I had my herd of 5 so I didn't think that would be the problem, I was just a bit worried how she and Patsy would fit together. Luckily everypig got on and after a couple of days of Betsy saying "I'm going to be top piggy" and Meg saying "No you are not I'm going to be top piggy" which was a bit nerve wracking Betsy got her way and Meg settled back to being 2nd in command like she always was with Christian.

I would go for it @PigglePuggle. You don't know until you try. If it works you'll have a happy bonded herd of 5, if it doesn't you'll still have your 2 individual herds.
 
Deep piggy grief day 6 :(20211217_135811.webp
No change, still guarding the place where Jezzy collapsed :( they liven up a bit at meal times but otherwise... just so quiet and sad and this guarding vigil stuff or sitting facing the wall...
I think we need to shake things up soon with a major cage clean and reorganise, new furnitire, new friends... Jezzy was such a happy piggy, she had more fun on her final day than her friends have had at all in the week following her death, she wouldn't want them to be like this...
 
Oh their loss runs deep for them, doesn’t it? What complex creatures piggies are. It’s so sad to see them so subdued.
I think you’re right that a change of some sort would be good for them - a cage rearrange or a paper bag treat to cheer them up would be a good idea. They are such dear little souls.
 
Give it a go, it’s so sad when they are grieving so badly. Ginger and Posh were totally lost without Ted and only perked up once Hector arrived (although they didn’t actually accept Hector it certainly gave them a spring in their step)
 
It's so heart breaking to see, especially as Jezzy had a good long life and passed quite easily as these things go, Thursday night she was fine, Friday she was rather confused and losing mobility but still pain free and doing her best to eat and socialise in between sleeping, Saturday morning she was clearly halfway over the bridge already and it was so obviously time to go...
I dont want to rush their grieving but it's so hard to watch, especially coming just at the time my family had taken a conscious decision to stop grieving for my Mum and start looking forward to Christmas... I think somebody does need to take a decision don't they if grief is getting to be detrimental to quality of life? Piggies shouldnt sit facing the wall or guarding a bit of floor or a lost companion's bed for more than a week I think?
Poor little Theo boar is a naturally optimistic character but every sign of joy is getting a stern rebuke from the ladies until he lies down and looks sad again...
I think over the holidays I am going to take down the loft that Clover hides under to give the hayroom a whole new feel and a bit more space, maybe add it in at floor level to make the 11x2 into 12x2, swap the castle houses round at the ends like its a chess game, take out Jezzy's old house, and... add in Luna and Lavender hopefully plus some of their furniture :)
 
HUGS

Seeing your piggies mourn is so horrible, isn't? It was a hard September for me with so many bereaved single piggies on my hands and the adoption date pushed backed several weeks because of a ringworm outbreak in my reserved piggies.

Carys was still grieving badly for her beloved Gethin when I introduced Cai once Tegeirian was ready but it has helped her to come out of it a bit sooner.
And I am so glad that I went to all the effort with my two Hazelcroft babies to spare Dryw the same scenario after lessons learned in previous years!

I am not sure whether older Teggy will make to the New Year or far beyond; she's started to lose weight increasingly since she lost her two companions within a month and not even a new husboar nor my own efforts and a local vet trip (nothing found) have been able to stem it. Couldn't get a C&R appointment before January. :(

Wishing you all the best with mixing it up and trying to merge the groups once your girls are coming out of it. But even a failed bonding attempt may be what is needed to jerk them out of it.
 
I think that’s a great idea, a fresh start for everyone with a New Year too. Some piggies leave a huge hole in our hearts not just for humans but piggies too 😞
 
They would have been 3 years a herd of 6 on 28th December, that's 3 years since Blodwen joined the other 5 and they got a new extended cage format for Christmas with the extra 3x2 area added in... that's over half their life as a bonded group...
But those bonds are fracturing a bit now without Jezzy so we need to move forward I think, let's hope we can be a new herd of 7 by new year- Lavender vs Piggle will be interesting to say the least, but it will certainly snap them all out of this sad stuff I hope and prompt Clover to firmly put her boss lady pants back on.
Theo has his little boar heart set on little old lady Luna, at almost 6 years old she has discovered the existence of a handsome young boar (well, he's 4, practically a toyboy!) at the neighbour's house and is very keen to see more of him than she can reach through the bars at the Saturday playpen social club :)
 
Others have said everything I would say.
Grief in piggies is so hard as we can’t sit and talk things out with them.
Your plan for them sounds ideal.
Hugs :hug::hug::hug::hug::hug:
 
I know it's not the same, but I had a very close friend loose her husband unexpectedly and suddenly.
They were both in their early 40's at the time, with 3 kids and were still very much in love.
Naturally she was devastated, and we were all so worried about how she would ever get over it while continuing to be there for her young children.
It was awful to watch and feel so powerless to help.
She did well, and coped (because realistically she had no choice) but the real turning point came when she moved house.
As outsiders we were horrified - sell the family home!? We knew it was a mistake to leave so many wonderful memories behind, but ironically it was the absolute best thing for her.
She always said that the memories made her sad.
The memories would always be there, but while everything around her stayed the same (but without her husband) she was drowning in them.
A new house and a fresh start gave her a chance to breath again.
Grief is such a complex emotion.
 
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