Viennese Furbabies
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Today my beautiful, big, red girl Billie is celebrating her 4th birthday! 
Billie is a very special piggy. Not only is she sweet and cuddly, but she is also a piggy who really shows affection towards humans in a way not many of my other piggies have done.
Her hobbies are eating and eating and sleeping and eating.
She was the heaviest piggy I have ever had when she was about 2 years old, but I think she is also the biggest (or among the biggest) I have ever had. But how do you put one piggy living in a group in a diet? And she does have the opportunity to exercise, but she doesn't want to use it. Sleeping in different places is great, but apart from that...
This changed a bit when Odi moved in..
But Billie is also a very special piggy because when I found her, I had been searching for a young girl to join my group pretty desperately.
At the time I had one group of four (and a pair living apart from the others). After having lost Cassy at about 5.5 years the previous summer, there were Quinny (6 - also born on November, 14th, Cassys sister), Toffee (nearly 6), Hailey ,(about 1.5) and Muffin, our sweet boar (about 3.5-4 years at that time). Toffee had been poorly for many months, but she was a real fighter. Quinny had a little bit of teeth problems, but not that bad. I still had the feeling that I would need to think about introducing another piggy to my group soon, if I didn't want to end up with just Hailey and Muffin. Hailey loved Quinny deeply and Muffin was besotted with all his girls, but to loose half of his group would have been pretty bad for him.
So I searched for a piggy girl, but there just wasn't anyone to be found. The rescues who would give a piggy to me (in Austria the standards tend to be really high) didn't have young girls. The breeders I know a bit and trust enough didn't have any girl babies at all. So I was on waiting lists and checked the websites twice every day. It was a bit of a mania that no one understood, because I still had four piggies - so what the fuss?
And then I saw her. I would have taken any baby girl at that time, but Teddy was my secret favourite, just like my sweet teddy bear Muffin.
I was so happy - and her birthday was Quinny's 6th birthday.
Of course I had to wait a few weeks before she was old enough to join my group. She moved in a few days after Christmas, my biggest present.
Billie on day 1
Billie and Quinny
My only pigture of Billie and Toffee (Toffee was already a bit senile in these days, but sweet as ever).
My group of three 2 months later
Quinny and Toffee passed away in January, one week apart.
But Muffin found the love of his life in Billie from day 1. (Hailey hated her from day 1, but it worked out fine.)
Since Hailey's death Billie is top sow and keeps the girls on their toes. With Odi she found a peaceful coexistence after a really hard introduction phase. It was amazing that in a way I was able to communicate to her that she should calm down and tolerate Odi. Wouldn't have worked with anyone else, but Billie and I have got a really strong bond.
Billie is a very special piggy. Not only is she sweet and cuddly, but she is also a piggy who really shows affection towards humans in a way not many of my other piggies have done.
Her hobbies are eating and eating and sleeping and eating.
She was the heaviest piggy I have ever had when she was about 2 years old, but I think she is also the biggest (or among the biggest) I have ever had. But how do you put one piggy living in a group in a diet? And she does have the opportunity to exercise, but she doesn't want to use it. Sleeping in different places is great, but apart from that...
This changed a bit when Odi moved in..
But Billie is also a very special piggy because when I found her, I had been searching for a young girl to join my group pretty desperately.
At the time I had one group of four (and a pair living apart from the others). After having lost Cassy at about 5.5 years the previous summer, there were Quinny (6 - also born on November, 14th, Cassys sister), Toffee (nearly 6), Hailey ,(about 1.5) and Muffin, our sweet boar (about 3.5-4 years at that time). Toffee had been poorly for many months, but she was a real fighter. Quinny had a little bit of teeth problems, but not that bad. I still had the feeling that I would need to think about introducing another piggy to my group soon, if I didn't want to end up with just Hailey and Muffin. Hailey loved Quinny deeply and Muffin was besotted with all his girls, but to loose half of his group would have been pretty bad for him.
So I searched for a piggy girl, but there just wasn't anyone to be found. The rescues who would give a piggy to me (in Austria the standards tend to be really high) didn't have young girls. The breeders I know a bit and trust enough didn't have any girl babies at all. So I was on waiting lists and checked the websites twice every day. It was a bit of a mania that no one understood, because I still had four piggies - so what the fuss?
And then I saw her. I would have taken any baby girl at that time, but Teddy was my secret favourite, just like my sweet teddy bear Muffin.
I was so happy - and her birthday was Quinny's 6th birthday.
Of course I had to wait a few weeks before she was old enough to join my group. She moved in a few days after Christmas, my biggest present.
Billie on day 1
Billie and Quinny
My only pigture of Billie and Toffee (Toffee was already a bit senile in these days, but sweet as ever).
My group of three 2 months later
Quinny and Toffee passed away in January, one week apart.
But Muffin found the love of his life in Billie from day 1. (Hailey hated her from day 1, but it worked out fine.)
Since Hailey's death Billie is top sow and keeps the girls on their toes. With Odi she found a peaceful coexistence after a really hard introduction phase. It was amazing that in a way I was able to communicate to her that she should calm down and tolerate Odi. Wouldn't have worked with anyone else, but Billie and I have got a really strong bond.
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