Help Me Choose!

LlamaPatronus

LlamaPatronus

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Hi there, I am adopting a neutered boar from the RSPCA that my housemate used to foster. The RSPCA are currently looking for a sow to bond him with so he has a friend, and with this, if my boar does not get along with the sow, they will take her back and find me another until he finds one he likes. But I am now leaning towards the idea of 3 piggies, and have met a hobby breeder in my area who has a sow who I absolutely adore, and she will be old enough to be taken home some time next week.

My question is whether you think it would be a better idea to get 2 sows from the RSPCA who are already bonded to introduce to my boar (with the guarantee from the RSPCA that they will take them back and find me another pair if my boar does not get along with them), or if you think getting the one rescue sow and the sow from the breeder would be just fine (i.e. they would all get along fine with the younger sow, so there's no chance of me having to separate cages).
 
Hello, welcome to the forum, I like your username :)

Are you new to piggies? So the RSPCA currently have the boar also? I would play it safe as you have said you can only have one cage, sometimes bonding does not always go smooth and you may end up with an extra piggy....

Could you add your location to your profile as it helps us tailor any advice if ever needed to your geographical location

Welcome again
Lee
 
sport_billy said:
Hello, welcome to the forum, I like your username :)

Are you new to piggies? So the RSPCA currently have the boar also? I would play it safe as you have said you can only have one cage, sometimes bonding does not always go smooth and you may end up with an extra piggy....

Could you add your location to your profile as it helps us tailor any advice if ever needed to your geographical location

Welcome again
Lee
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These would be my first piggies, yes. And yes, the RSPCA currently still have the boar whilst they are looking for a friend for him. So you think I should go with 2 from the RSPCA?

Added my location now :)
 
I would do so, personally I am really pro rescue so i would want to support the RSPCA and also, if things went amiss with the sow from the breeder you'd be left with a two and a one which would mean two cages.
 
With the RSPCA doing the bonding they are doing the hard part also. Bonding can be nerve wracking even for the most experienced piggy owners
 
Great thank you! And I think the idea is that they give them all to me to do the bonding! I am nervous about it, but have been reading a lot to get myself prepared :D
 
I can only echo what sportbilly has said. With the RSPCA you have a guarantee of healthy, non pregnant piggies and should anything go wrong (e.g. you find that they are ill in the first week or the bonding doesn't work) then you have their support also to be able to manage this. Breeders are hit and miss and don't need a licence. You could end up with a great one but equally you could end up with very ill and/or pregnant piggies if they haven't sexed correctly or haven't separated the litter early enough. Also if the bonding doesn't work out then you might not have the option to return any sows.

In respect of ages too and the fact that these will be your first piggies I would lean towards rescue as the piggies are much more likely to be handled regularly and may well be more tame. Little babies are fiesty and very wriggly and can be hard to handle initially and if they aren't handled a lot at a young age this can continue (my Lily is coming up to 1 year old and is still a squealer/wriggler as she was only handled to medicate up to 15 weeks old and shortly after bringing her home we had a ringworm outbreak which delayed matters).
 
Lady Kelly said:
I can only echo what sportbilly has said. With the RSPCA you have a guarantee of healthy, non pregnant piggies and should anything go wrong (e.g. you find that they are ill in the first week or the bonding doesn't work) then you have their support also to be able to manage this. Breeders are hit and miss and don't need a licence. You could end up with a great one but equally you could end up with very ill and/or pregnant piggies if they haven't sexed correctly or haven't separated the litter early enough. Also if the bonding doesn't work out then you might not have the option to return any sows.

In respect of ages too and the fact that these will be your first piggies I would lean towards rescue as the piggies are much more likely to be handled regularly and may well be more tame. Little babies are fiesty and very wriggly and can be hard to handle initially and if they aren't handled a lot at a young age this can continue (my Lily is coming up to 1 year old and is still a squealer/wriggler as she was only handled to medicate up to 15 weeks old and shortly after bringing her home we had a ringworm outbreak which delayed matters).
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Thanks for this! I'm just gonna go with the RSPCA :D have messaged the person who is looking for the friend to tell her that I'm open to a pair of sows, so we'll just have to see who she finds :)
 
Good luck, hope they find your piggy/piggies soon. Would love to see photos of the piggy's when you get them, really exciting times in your house!
 
piggieminder said:
Good luck, hope they find your piggy/piggies soon. Would love to see photos of the piggy's when you get them, really exciting times in your house!
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I will be posting pictures when I get them, don't worry :P

And yeah, so exciting! I have the cage set up and everything ready for them, I just need them now :3
 
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