Herbert Died.....What next for Bramble?

So, an update.

Had a call from the foster lady just a while ago, and we are going to get the boys on Saturday!

Really nervous about it, because they have been with her and her children for a year, and have been living outside, so everything's going to be so different for them, and I just hope they settle in ok. Also having Bramble next door to them will probably be a bit stressful for them too at first. 😬 🤞🤞

She also told me that they have got used to sitting on laps and watching films with the kids! 🥰 Ours have never done that, Bramble doesn't like sitting still for very long, and neither did Herbert. It's really not something we've ever done with our pigs. 😕
 
I’m sure they will settle in just fine!
Follow all the normal tips about covering part of their cage to help them settle etc.

A cat carrier is absolutely perfect - the recommended way for them to travel
 
I brought Moses & Miriam home in a pet carrier, a 2.5 hour journey.
They were fine.
I had plenty of hay and some cucumber chunks in the carrier.
It’s very exciting that you are getting new piggies on Saturday.
Pictures please, as soon as they’re settled
 
So the new boys have been home for a couple of hours and as to be expected, they have barely come out of their hideys, but Bramble (Eventually, after about an hour of them being here) has climbed up onto his box (Which overlooks their cage) and started rumbling at them! 😅 🥰 Of course, the two boys aren't responding to him because they just seem a bit scared/tired, or a combination of both, but I'm sure while we're out and/or later on when we're in bed, they will be a lot more active AND interactive with Bramble!

We did pick them both up when we went to collect them earlier and they were very tame, but there was a lot of noise going on because the foster lady was having her fence repaired/a new fence put in, so they were stressed from that, then the 45 or so minute journey home. So I expect they are very tired and stressed from all of that and will need a good 24 hours or so to calm down and get used to their new lives! I have put a bit of cucumber outside the hidey they were sharing and that got eaten eventually, and Bracken did venture out earlier, stood in a tube for a while and then went back in with his brother Rowan, but then shortly after, came back out again and went into the other hidey, on his own.

It's so lovely for Bramble to have company again! 🥹🥰
 
Storm1974 said:
So the new boys have been home for a couple of hours and as to be expected, they have barely come out of their hideys, but Bramble (Eventually, after about an hour of them being here) has climbed up onto his box (Which overlooks their cage) and started rumbling at them! 😅 🥰 Of course, the two boys aren't responding to him because they just seem a bit scared/tired, or a combination of both, but I'm sure while we're out and/or later on when we're in bed, they will be a lot more active AND interactive with Bramble!

We did pick them both up when we went to collect them earlier and they were very tame, but there was a lot of noise going on because the foster lady was having her fence repaired/a new fence put in, so they were stressed from that, then the 45 or so minute journey home. So I expect they are very tired and stressed from all of that and will need a good 24 hours or so to calm down and get used to their new lives! I have put a bit of cucumber outside the hidey they were sharing and that got eaten eventually, and Bracken did venture out earlier, stood in a tube for a while and then went back in with his brother Rowan, but then shortly after, came back out again and went into the other hidey, on his own.

It's so lovely for Bramble to have company again! 🥹🥰
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Peg a sheet or blanket over the cage and just give them time to settle in. They will come round once they have got their bearings.

All the best.

Wiebke

Thread 'New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In'

Intro
1 What to do on arrival at home
- A welcome in piggy language
- Health check, sexing and weighing
- Quarantine or not if you have other guinea pigs?
2 Helping your guinea pigs to settle in
- Some practical tips for settling in new guinea pigs
- Avoiding predatory behaviours
- Skittish or ill?
- Group establishment and dominance
3 Handling and human...
 
Actually, we've just been out and got back to find that Bracken has been moving about the cage a bit but we haven't seen Rowan, though I did look in under the wooden hut where he has been hiding and he's ok! Bramble is being a right pain now though, doing what he did with Herbert at the start, and to a lesser extent, once he got used to him, with constantly biting at the bars of the cage that the two new boys are in, rumbling, running backwards and forwards along the length of the cage, complaining very loudly every time Bracken moves and then he is trying to bite through the bars to get to them. I don't think the new boys are too happy with all this attention (and noise!), but they aren't reacting back at all, they are very quiet.....Poor things. 😞

Will be glad when it 'hopefully' all calms down in a few days! 😬 Hope we haven't done the wrong thing.
 
Storm1974 said:
Actually, we've just been out and Bracken has been moving about the cage a bit but we haven't seen Rowan, though I did look in under the wooden hut where he has been hiding and he's ok! Bramble is being a right pain now though, doing what he did with Herbert at the start, and to a lesser extent, once he got used to him, constantly biting at the bars of the cage with the two new boys in, rumbling, running backwards and forwards along the length of the cage, complaining very loudly every time Bracken moves and then he is trying to bite through the bars to get to them. I don't think the new boys are too happy with all this attention, but they aren't reacting back at all, they are very quiet.....Poor things.

Will be glad when it 'hopefully' all calms down in a few days!
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Bramble is hopefully getting over his over-excitement in a day or two. He is just doing the full territorial shebang. Just let him work it out of his system.
You have never met a boar coming into contact with female pheromones for the first time, or it would sound pretty familiar as well... :)

@Lorcan can hopefully reassure you as well.
 
Wiebke said:
Bramble is hopefully getting over his over-excitement in a day or two. He is just doing the full territorial shebang. Just let him work it out of his system.
You have never met a boar coming into contact with female pheromones for the first time, or it would sound pretty familiar as well... :)

@Lorcan can hopefully reassure you as well.
Click to expand...
Yes, hopefully he will calm down in a couple of days!

No, I have never heard a boar coming into contact with female pheromones before! 😅 Yes, I guess it would sound similar to what he's doing now.

Another thing I'm a bit concerned about is that they're not going out to the hay trays to eat any hay. I've just sprinkled a tiny amount of Reddigrass into the entrance of their hidies and they have quickly gobbled this up! They haven't eaten or drank anything except for this Reddigrass and a bit of cucumber, although they 'may' have eaten a bit of hay while we were out. 😕
 
Storm1974 said:
Yes, hopefully he will calm down in a couple of days!

No, I have never heard a boar coming into contact with female pheromones before! 😅 Yes, I guess it would sound similar to what he's doing now.

Another thing I'm a bit concerned about is that they're not going out to the hay trays to eat any hay. I've just sprinkled a tiny amount of Reddigrass into the entrance of their hidies and they have quickly gobbled this up! They haven't eaten or drank anything except for this Reddigrass and a bit of cucumber, although they 'may' have eaten a bit of hay while we were out. 😕
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I would put hay into the hides; also cover the cage so they feel safer and feel more able to come out to the hay trays
 
When I brought Mourne home it took him a couple of days to adjust - they've got new people around, new homes, new feeding schedules (don't underestimate the difference something like that can make) but after a few days of non stop chatter and noise he did finally settle down. He keeps gnawing on the bars for Bann's attention, not mine, and Bann keeps ignoring him, lol.

They'll be fine. I had Mourne's side of the cage covered for a week or so and put hay down at the doorways or exits for any hidey so he didn't need to go out of hiding at all.
 
Thank you both, have now put a cover up between Bramble and the boys so they can come out and get some food in peace. Have also put hay (and their veggie bowls) at the entrance of each hide and I think they are eating now! 😌

I think Bramble was also causing them to squabble a bit because twice when Bramble was really biting on the bars and being very noisy constantly, I heard them squeaking and I think Bracken tried to go into the hidey with his brother, but Rowan pushed him out! Anyway, Bramble can't see them for now, so they can have a bit of quiet time to eat and chill!
 
Storm1974 said:
Yes, hopefully he will calm down in a couple of days!

No, I have never heard a boar coming into contact with female pheromones before! 😅 Yes, I guess it would sound similar to what he's doing now.

Another thing I'm a bit concerned about is that they're not going out to the hay trays to eat any hay. I've just sprinkled a tiny amount of Reddigrass into the entrance of their hidies and they have quickly gobbled this up! They haven't eaten or drank anything except for this Reddigrass and a bit of cucumber, although they 'may' have eaten a bit of hay while we were out. 😕
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Similar but on a very different level - sow pheromones can totally scramble a boar's brain for a couple of days... neutered or not; that part hasn't been removed!

Your new boys will come out once hunger wins out and the room is quiet. If you still have some of the stuff from their carrier, you can wipe it around the cage to mark it as their territory. That may help.
 
The new boys have been quite lazy today and don't seem to be eating much hay. 😕

We went out for about 3.5 hours earlier and when we came back they had eaten 'some' hay from the trays, because it was all flattened down. But since we've been back, although they've eaten some bits of cucumber I put in, and small amount of Reddigrass, they haven't been back to the hay trays at all, unlike Bramble who has been back and forth eating it quite a lot, like he always does.

I don't think it's because they're scared, because they have been out and about, but just not visiting the hay trays and they are also doing a lot of sleeping. We did leave hay outside their hideys yesterday afternoon and all night in case they were scared to come out while we were around and they ate that, but it was such a mess this morning all over the fleece and peed and pooed on, that we just decided to leave it in the hay trays today, plus it's not good for them to just lay around all the time and best if they have to travel to the trays to get their hay, but they're just not.

To be honest we're not used to pigs laying around so much in their hideys because Bramble barely ever does this, though Herbert did a bit more, but he still ate lots of hay.

I know they've only been here 24 hours, but it just worries me that they seem to be going so long without hay at a time. They do have normal appetites apart from this, and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with them.

We've just moved one of the hay trays to the other end of the cage (the nearest part to their bed area) to see if they leave their beds to eat that, but nothing yet.

Actually they've just come out to eat! 😌 😌
 
Please don’t worry. Carry out the routine weight check and I imagine you will see all is fine.

Also, don’t worry about hay positioning and
them moving to it etc - mine have their entire cage filled with hay, it’s absolutely everywhere . It doesn’t stop them from moving about (ie they don’t just sit at their hide and eat the hay directly in front of them, If anything it makes them move more - they aren’t going to one area to eat, they continuously walk about the whole cage foraging, literally to every corner of it!
 
Storm1974 said:
The new boys have been quite lazy today and don't seem to be eating much hay. 😕

We went out for about 3.5 hours earlier and when we came back they had eaten 'some' hay from the trays, because it was all flattened down. But since we've been back, although they've eaten some bits of cucumber I put in, and small amount of Reddigrass, they haven't been back to the hay trays at all, unlike Bramble who has been back and forth eating it quite a lot, like he always does.

I don't think it's because they're scared, because they have been out and about, but just not visiting the hay trays and they are also doing a lot of sleeping. We did leave hay outside their hideys yesterday afternoon and all night in case they were scared to come out while we were around and they ate that, but it was such a mess this morning all over the fleece and peed and pooed on, that we just decided to leave it in the hay trays today, plus it's not good for them to just lay around all the time and best if they have to travel to the trays to get their hay, but they're just not.

To be honest we're not used to pigs laying around so much in their hideys because Bramble barely ever does this, though Herbert did a bit more, but he still ate lots of hay.

I know they've only been here 24 hours, but it just worries me that they seem to be going so long without hay at a time. They do have normal appetites apart from this, and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with them.

We've just moved one of the hay trays to the other end of the cage (the nearest part to their bed area) to see if they leave their beds to eat that, but nothing yet.

Actually they've just come out to eat! 😌 😌
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Hi

Please take a deep breath and close the door to the room if you feel stressed. the new boys won't come to any harm. Their hunger will eventually win out. They aren't at any risk from falling ill if they aren't eating fully for a few days. Just give them the space and time to get their bearings. They are already coming out and are moving around so there is progress. Patience is key and letting them set their own pace.

Have to pegged a sheet over their cage to make them more protected when exploring their cage? Just keep to your normal daily routine so they are getting used to that and to Bramble being comfy with it. He should already be a lot calmer at the bars.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Please don’t worry. Carry out the routine weight check and I imagine you will see all is fine.

Also, don’t worry about hay positioning and
them moving to it etc - mine have their entire cage filled with hay, it’s absolutely everywhere . It doesn’t stop them from moving about (ie they don’t just sit at their hide and eat the hay directly in front of them, If anything it makes them move more - they aren’t going to one area to eat, they continuously walk about the whole cage foraging, literally to every corner of it!
Click to expand...
Problem with the hay being everywhere is that we have fleece and microfibre cloths down over the pee pads etc., and so the hay all sticks to it and makes such a mess, that's why we prefer hay trays.

I think they'll be ok and things will sort out. I've just gone out and picked some grass for them as well, so they can eat that near to their beds.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please take a deep breath and close the door to the room if you feel stressed. the new boys won't come to any harm. Their hunger will eventually win out. They aren't at any risk from falling ill if they aren't eating fully for a few days. Just give them the space and time to get their bearings. They are already coming out and are moving around so there is progress. Patience is key and letting them set their own pace.

Have to pegged a sheet over their cage to make them more protected when exploring their cage? Just keep to your normal daily routine so they are getting used to that and to Bumble being comfy with it. He should already be a lot calmer at the bars.
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They are becoming a lot more active now, exploring about, they're ok! It's just me doing my usual worrying! 🙄😊

Now I'm worrying about Bramble being left out because of the other two interacting with each other and Bram being on his own next door, in his cage! :(🙄🙄

Problem is, we can't have two pigs living in Bramble's size cage, it's just too small and it's impossible to fit a cage big enough for two into our living space!

I really hope that Bramble will just be happy, for now with just having neighbours, and then hopefully in the future we might be able to get a bigger place!
 
Storm1974 said:
They are becoming a lot more active now, exploring about, they're ok! It's just me doing my usual worrying! 🙄😊

Now I'm worrying about Bramble being left out because of the other two interacting with each other and Bram being on his own next door, in his cage! :(🙄🙄

Problem is, we can't have two pigs living in Bramble's size cage, it's just too small and it's impossible to fit a cage big enough for two into our living space!

I really hope that Bramble will just be happy, for now with just having neighbours, and then hopefully in the future we might be able to get a bigger place!
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Bramble will be happy to have neighbours next door and will interact with them in his own time. He's likely just a bit scared and shy of them as well but they will sort each other out, don't worry. Just give all your boys time without constantly fighting the need to jump forward to have a sneak peak at the last page of their story before you have even read a couple of pages at the start. ;)

Things are proceeding perfectly normally and there is nothing for you to worry about, apart from your own need to worry on principle. :(

If it helps you, start a little diary in which you note down each day all the 'firsts' with your new boys.
 
Bramble certainly isn't shy or scared of the new boys, I think it's the other way around, the new boys are a bit nervous of Bramble with all his noise and rumbling at them almost constantly! 😬 😅

But thanks, I will certainly try to relax a bit with them. I just find I worry too much about everything, especially when it comes to the health and happiness of my animals! 😟 I think also, that the boys came from an outdoor hutch environment where it was just them two, so everything is so different for them now and it will take quite a lot of time probably for them to adapt to the changes, but they aren't doing too bad so far despite my worrying! 😒😄

Also Bram does seem quite happy with them being next door. 🥰
 
Storm1974 said:
Bramble certainly isn't shy or scared of the new boys, I think it's the other way around, the new boys are a bit nervous of Bramble with all his noise and rumbling at them almost constantly! 😬 😅

But thanks, I will certainly try to relax a bit with them. I just find I worry too much about everything, especially when it comes to the health and happiness of my animals! 😟 I think also, that the boys came from an outdoor hutch environment where it was just them two, so everything is so different for them now and it will take quite a lot of time probably for them to adapt to the changes, but they aren't doing too bad so far despite my worrying! 😒😄

Also Bram does seem quite happy with them being next door. 🥰
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So, having proven to yourself that everything is on track, just sit back and hand over control to your boars. You have done everthing you needed to do in order to make Bramble gain his spark back and be an excited, busy boy. His new neighboars are well on the way of getting the hang of their new home. This is now the fun bit; please don't spoil it for yourself - real life piggy soap has it all and will surprise you with new insights at every corner! :D
 
I think I've decided to call the boys Rusty (because the black one is all black with an orange splash on his nose, and Leo because the other one is long haired and has like a mane of thick hair! 😍

We've never owned a long haired pig before! I know you have to do different things with them like regular brushing and trimming hair around their bum etc. It's going to be such a new thing having a long haired pig!

The three of them are just tucking into some grass! 🥰
 
One more thing, and sorry to be a pain, I know there are many others on here who also need help/advice about their piggies, not just me! 🙄

But, I'm just not sure again how long we should leave these two boys before trying to handle them, because Leo will probably need his hair brushing pretty soon so it doesn't get matted, and I know they will need weighing too at some point. But, as we only got them Saturday and their nails are nice and short, there shouldn't be any rush to try and pick them up, apart from brushing Leo, should there?

Otherwise we will probably leave them until they've been here over a week before we try. Rusty seems the more nervous one, even they were both pretty calm when we briefly handled them, after the foster lady handed them to us to hold, before they went into their carrier to be brought home. They are used to being handled and groomed, but obviously not by us and I know you normally leave it a couple of weeks for baby pigs to settle in before you start trying to handle them....If my memory serves me correctly. 🤔
 
Storm1974 said:
I think I've decided to call the boys Rusty (because the black one is all black with an orange splash on his nose, and Leo because the other one is long haired and has like a mane of thick hair! 😍

We've never owned a long haired pig before! I know you have to do different things with them like regular brushing and trimming hair around their bum etc. It's going to be such a new thing having a long haired pig!

The three of them are just tucking into some grass! 🥰
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Lovely names! :love:

I try to keep my long-haired ones short round the bum and legs and short enough on the sides that they can do all the piggy stuff without hair getting in the way. During the summer months they get short haircuts; especially before a spell of more extreme heat. Carys is my last long hair and she is my current oldest at 6 years now. You can let the hair grow long one Winter/Spring for a proper 'glam model' portrait, otherwise I prefer to keep it shorter than longer in active piggies. :)

Just 'learn' your long hair piggy with their own quirks and work out the best way you deal with them so you come to a kind of compromise as to what he really doesn't like and where you have to remain firm on what needs doing nevertheless even if it is under heave piggy protest with plenty of cajoling, stroking around the eye for reassurance, a gentle ear squeeze as a reminder who is boss and lots of praise during and a little fuss with a treat afterwards from you. ;)

Betsy

Thread 'An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting'

1 Why and when are haircuts necessary?
- Why are haircuts necessary?
- Which areas need the most attention?
- What is the purpose of a short summer haircut for long-haired guinea pigs?
2 Pre-cut bathing
- No baths, bum baths or full baths?
- Bathing tips
3 Haircut preparation
- What you need for a haircut
- Scissors or small dog clippers?
- Tips for unruly or skittish piggies
-...
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Storm1974 said:
One more thing, and sorry to be a pain, I know there are many others on here who also need help/advice about their piggies, not just me! 🙄

But, I'm just not sure again how long we should leave these two boys before trying to handle them, because Leo will probably need his hair brushing pretty soon so it doesn't get matted, and I know they will need weighing too at some point. But, as we only got them Saturday and their nails are nice and short, there shouldn't be any rush to try and pick them up, apart from brushing Leo, should there?

Otherwise we will probably leave them until they've been here over a week before we try. Rusty seems the more nervous one, even they were both pretty calm when we briefly handled them, after the foster lady handed them to us to hold, before they went into their carrier to be brought home. They are used to being handled and groomed, but obviously not by us and I know you normally leave it a couple of weeks for baby pigs to settle in before you start trying to handle them....If my memory serves me correctly. 🤔
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If you can wait, wait ideally until they come out and take food from you. Hold any hair loosely from the body before you start brushing/disentangling from the hair tips so you are pulling as little as possible.

Personally, I let the hair grow long for one 'glam model' picture but otherwise keep it shorter to allow them a happy active piggy life without hair getting underfoot and plenty of matting. But each long-haired piggy is different and you have to 'learn' them and their quirks.
 
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