How many is too many?

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How many is too many? Depends very much on the individual! One pig is too much for some of the idiots I have come into contact with through rescue work! Other people look after very large numbers of pigs beautifully.

On a daily basis mine and the fosters probably take up a couple of hours with feeding, cleaning, checks, meds and whatever else they need. Then there is cuddle time on top of that of course! Cleaning them all out takes me about 2 hours but I am very efficient!

As Barbara has I have also seen lots of people who get in way over their heads with rescue and it is very sad. I have been tempted to do a lot more than I do foster wise (6 cages of pigs is my limit) as I am single, have no kids and live alone but I know that my own pigs would start to suffer as I would not have the time to spend with them that I do now. Its taken a long time to accept but I do know that I can't save them all... I have also said no to people wanting to rehome from me in the past as I was concerned that they were taking on too much. As much as I want piggies to have homes the homes have to be right and that is the most important thing at the end of the day.
 
I also know what you guys mean by some people and their ''collection'' of animals, some do go over the top with their numbers
 
I remember reading somewhere, before we chose our guinea pigs, that they are "addictive" (in the nicest possible sense) and that many people, once they have a pair, go on to buy or adopt more. The book suggested that one way having a self-imposed limit was to choose a pair of (un-neutered) boars, since it's generally difficult to add to such a group.

So we chose two brothers. Within days of bringing them home our children were so enamoured by them that they wanted to have more piggies. But we have no room for another cage, so there is no question about it, we are up to our limit!
 
as with the question how many children is too many , its up to everyone to choose there limits, some people say one child is enough some have6/7 + in my humble opionion , its how many you can afford to keep (vets bills, feed ect) how many you have room for & how many you are comfortable with, the rest is purely choice , not all pigs like cuddles 121 time ect ect, thats a choice each owner makes, i have meet people who keep 70+ in beautiful , pammpered surroundings & people who couldnt look after one, each to there own providing the animal is question is in tip top health & not being neglected, what is to many animals to some people is the ideal ammount to others, but i do wish people would stop being rude to anyone who doesnt do it 'there' way , if the aniamal is neglected thats another matter, but in most of these cases its purley beacuse people dont do it there way, & they then assume they are the right way & everyone eles is wronge.
how much time anyone spend with there animals is up to them if they spend 45 m a day or 5 hours, who's to say who's right ? at the end of the day the condition the animals are keept in is surley the most important factor, & yes some times people are 'encouraged' to take more than they should, which means down the line they give them up , if there decent owners which i belive most owners in essence are, it is very difficult to some times pass on pigs you recive for rehoming , i know ive keept quite a few badly treated ones as i couldnt bare to part with them, ive just taken in ten who will need tlc, i know i cant keep them , dont want to keep them as then i cant help the next one who is in need , but taking in someone eles 'unwanted' animals, till there able to go to a good loving forever home does that make me a 'collector' to some? :-\
 
Bramble you have hit the nail on the head there thankyou, i was feeling a little got at becasue i choose to keep 33 wonderful pigs perfectly well and have done so for over 30 years so in my case, I never ever part with them. so when they come to live with me its for life, I fully know people do take on too much and thats why there is such things as rescues, most people will acknowledge they have taken on too much, to my way of thinking they are not bad owners its when the animals suffer thats the problem, some times as Bramble says some of you do tend to force your views, its not nice and very selfish and unpleasent to others so please dont do it, we are animals lovers and to be honest I know my animals are 100% well looked after and hey I've got 5 kids as well maybe I'm a good care giver or are you going to say thats too many,
its what your ability and where you keep them having space etc we filled in a swimming pool in our garden to have extra room think that makes me dedicated to my pigs when i do something like that, and how many times have you heard me say just got back from the vets its my second home, no animal is ever neglected, and if i did'nt have the time why then have I kept my pig who is paralised and spoil him rotten with fresh towels evey day twice a day some times, when I maybe could have had him PTS, never in a million years would I have done so he is a living happy and apart from his leg healthy pig who I adore
I will carry on as i have for years and take advice from Vedra PG and anyone else who offers it and choose what to use its my decision and I will make it,
just stop being so nasty its not needed and not wanted on this forum just accept everyones got a different view and choice,

What is good for his cavy isnt necasarily good for mine,

totally agree but then it goes same way with how many pigs we keep what is good for me may not be good for you,
 
Just to add, i think there are some fab people on here who adore & spoil there piggies , wheater its 2 or 42, my own daughter has just spent her own xmas money on getting a cage for some unwanted boys that have just been rescued , she 15 & wanted to spend her money on a needy pig, many other 15 yrs old would have prefered a ps2 game, she has 2 show piggies & now 4 rescued piggies, and helps with the piggery & rabbitery.
i wouldnt dare suggest ALL people give up there money to look after a pet , so find its very rude for others to suggest those that do are collectors or such like, adore & treasure your animals & accept were all different , its nice to be important but more important to be nice :)
ps will post some pics of the 10 weve just taken in to rehome :)
 
my 11 year old daughter has 4 of her own pigs in my sheds and is getting well trained by me to look after the pigs, she helps me quite a bit, and she too spends her own money on treats for the pigs, shes seen how much happiness my furballs gives me and no doubt will be as big an animal lover as i am, and the day her beloved scooby died had us including hubby and 25 year old and 21 years old sons in tears at her upset, she was broken, but now understands the cycle of life and the way of nature,
your daughter bramble sounds an angel like mine, and i will happily be nice rather then important any day,
 
I am indeed not being nasty ? I am debating and speaking politely about my views on an extremely important issue. I am just stating a fact. Not that YOU neglect your animals. I have no reasons of saying that. But a tendency is the more the "merrier". And me not thinking PG is a guru well that cant hurt anyone ?

I will end my posting in this forum as Ive stated my views abd seems you think its personal on you. And it is not.

Regards to everyone
 
I'm sure your intention wasnt to be ' nasty' , and this is a forum for all to share there views , i think the point I'm making is that NO one is perfect , no one is right , as long as no animals life is indanger , its purley an opionon of which EVERY one is entilted, no one agrees with every one & no one can possibly comment on someones eles situation unless you know them, , you were quite scathing of a few of the lager gp owners & i think thats where the disgrunteled veiw came in, you 'irratated ' me by contiuing to push youre veiw, it is only a veiw, & no one can possibly say youre veiw is more correct than any one eles veiw ! :)
no nastyness intended , just a comment to please accept no one will agree with everyone 150 % because no one on here is god, its just a freindly forum 8)
hope i havent upset you to much, youre veiws are very intresting !
 
I've had to work out numbers carefully lately. My max used to be 7, then when I decided to get a pregnant one (got one, got one!, hooray!) (sorry, still SO excited about it!), I didn't replace any that died and yesterday I had 3 in total, today I have 5 including my 2 new ones. The books say they can have between 1-7 babies so I thought OK just supposing (really unlikely I know) that both new ones were pregnant and both had 7 each (eek) then I'm going to end up with 19 in total and can I really handle that. I thought carefully and decided yes. I wanted to 'do a bit more' than I was doing already and this was the way to go. When I went to the rescue tonight to collect my 2 new ones, I said I really wished I could take more, but I didn't. I have to draw the line somewhere and if my 2 new ones only have 1 baby each, then I can go back and get more.

It really does depend on your circumstances. Personally if I was a guinea I'd be more than happy to belong to most people's herds who go on this forum!
 
thankyou Bramble for putting it nicely, the whole point of a forum is to discuss and share topics and information not to be so harsh and forceful in your opinions, a lot of us here do think PG was a great man, see the condolence page for him and many were saddened by his death, so it was a little much to hear your views on him, he did a lot for Great Ormond street hospital and for children so please dont disreguard him like you did no one said he was a guru but you, we just liked a him a great deal
,thanks for your views
and thankyou Jillybean, again put nicely, you can join my herd anytime lol they might kick you out when it comes to veggie time though
 
I meant no harm for PG og his memory. You can respect er person a whole lot without having to agree with them. He came as far as he did in his studies and research because he asked questions. He went beyond the,-at the time, traditonal ways of keeping cavies and tries to spread that nolidge. I am quite sure hed be happy to see us discussing various topics to exchange ideas, views to broarden (sp) our ways of the guinea world. He wanted was was best for the cavies. If we in time (we=guinea ppl) find something that is against his way but better for the cavies I am sure hed agree to do so instead.

Regards to PG
 
thats a great way of putting it, Peter did do things that are amazing i love his book on piggy potions but i too dont always agree with his ideas neither do I always agree with Vedra at CCT but am willing to listen and learn , if in the mean time I find some thing that works for my piggys I will carry on doing it, as I will have the proof for myself, I have learnt from this forum some valuable advice but do not take it all, but how ever we come by the advice being friendly on the forum is a great way to make friends and learn, as i always say life not always so black and white, thankyou Buppi
 
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