Help needed on introducing a new sow please xx

[JoBo]

I am off to Leeds on THursday to adopt a young sow (about 3-4 months old) from Bramley Cavies Rescue which i will put in with my existing herd of 8 girls and one neutered boar.

They will all eventually in the next few weeks move into the large purpose built shed and run where i will introduce my other 3 girls (about 8-9months old).

The advice i need when i collect the baby sow from Bramley Cavies on Thursday is:


Do i keep her seperate and house her on her own until i move them all in the shed, then introduce her and the 3 other girls all at the same time.

or

do i put the baby sow in with the existing herd straight away (if quarantine is not necessary)

or

Do i put her in with the 3 girls that are waiting to bond with the existing herd.

I was thinking that i would put her in with the existing herd as they have had many new introductions over the last few years and would accept her more readily, especially as she is still quite young.

However i dont want to get this wrong and really need any help and advise you can give me.

I do realise now that i have a lot of new introductions to do with my existing herd and have maybe made life slightly difficult for myself, but i really wanted to help Helen at Bramley out with the sad closure of her rescue, i am sure given the right advice i can make this work, so please help xx

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

This is what I do when I have new piggies to introduce to the herd.

I bring them all inside to the kitchen where they have plenty of space. To begin with, just my established herd are let out. Then when they're mooching around doing their own thing I will get the new addition/s out and keep them on my lap. There they can watch/listen/squeak if they want to. Sometimes the older members of the herd will come and say hello and have a good sniff. With my latest addition I let her sit on my knee and it was very clear to me that she wanted to go and meet the girls, so off she went. I didn't stop her; she did it on her own time when she wanted to.

What are your current girls like? Mine are incredibly accepting and even the boss pig has never had any problems with new additions. If you have some rather tetchy sows, you can either let the new one meet the boss first, or do it backwards and introduce them to the under-sows first and work up by adding the higher ranking females as you go. For me they meet the lot, though as I'm hoping to come home with some younger ladies next week, chances are I will do the latter; underpigs first.

Hope that helps!

 

[Wiebke]

I would introduce her to the existing herd straight away. She is so young that all she wants is to belong.

If you wish, do it in a neutral place over a plate of food/grass. I usually put a fleece under the kitchen table - it gives piggies a feel of protection, but enough space to run away if necessary. You will find that intros won't be much of a problem as the hierarchy is not in question at all, so there is no reason for your older girls to get worked up.

Best of luck!