moral dilemma - would you ever buy a piggy from a hobby-breeder?

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Spishkey

Spishkey

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i saw some used cages for sale (for a good price!) so went off to collect them this morning. Turns out the lady was a hobby breeder of coronet and shelties, and had just upgraded her cages so was selling off the old ones.
whilst there i could not resist having a look around, and my eyes fell upon the most gorgeous little sheltie man i'd ever seen. he came trotting up to the edge of the guineapig flat, up onto his back legs and wheeked as if to say..take me take me..take me home!
then she told me he was for sale .....but i came away without him as i feel its against everything i do (taking in unwanted piggys/rescues) and if i 'bought' him id be supporting breeding, and it would mean one less space for a rescue.
but i cant stop thinking about him......he was gorgeous and oh so cute! i have a picture here from off the ladies website and i cant stop looking at it.

please put me off going back there. shout at me, tell me its wrong....snap me out of this silly haze...please?
 
sheltie.jpg
 
If my choice was buy from a nice hobby breeder, (if) where pigs live in lovely conditions, or a big scale breeder where pigs are kept in pens the size of an A4 piece of paper and not handled and loved, I would choose the hobby breeder. So you are looking at different levels of breeder, which is an issue probably best not discussed here. However, there are so many rescues, they would always take priority for me. xx
 
thats whats getting me nutmeg, is that she really cares about her piggys (she has about 20) all in huge enclosures (shes just upgraded for even more room) loving birthing suites...all clean, lots of veg all on fleece loads of toys and snuggles :(

i just feel I'm betraying what i do if i bought him...i dont 'need' to buy a piggy, i have 14 here who we care for (plus 4 of 'our own' who arent to be rehomed)
grr grr why did i look around? why did he wheek to me?
 
listen to your heart then your head and then make the decision right for you! as you said you are a rescue, maybe you could offer to rescue him if she can't find a good home but do not offer any money for him? Just an idea...
 
Sounds like she may be 'going large' and I suppose it's good that a breeder is working in this way? However, if they are as well cared for as you say, your little man will be fine. Lovelygirl - rescuing probably isn't an option, and I donn't expect this person feels her guineas need rescuing. xx
 
ok, well I have 4 from 2 hobby breeders and I have 2 rescues. When I last had piggies they were all rescue (just to put peoples minds at rest all my bunnies are resuce, my cat, my degus and one of my chooks so I generally go for rescue as a first choice). However when I had my last rescue piggies certain issues (mainly to do with the rescue themselves) meant that this time I decided to get from good reputatble breeders, who care about their pigs a great deal and do not use them as the equivalent of a puppy-farm. I have since gone on to rehome 2 resuce piggies who I love just as much. The one thing I would say about this boy is that you know he will be coming to a very good home and will not be used for further breeding, so possible 'breaking the cycle' at least for him, also she sounds reputable and like she loves her pigs rather than seeing them as a money making item - especially as she is investing by upgrading their cages etc.
 
nutmeg said:
Sounds like she may be 'going large' and I suppose it's good that a breeder is working in this way? However, if they are as well cared for as you say, your little man will be fine. Lovelygirl - rescuing probably isn't an option, and I donn't expect this person feels her guineas need rescuing. xx
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probably not but there is no harm in offering :)
 
I wouldn't judge anybody on where their piggies came from, if you really want him go get him. You have no intention of breeding from him so I can't see it being a big problem.

My older boys were from a hobby breeder, purely because at the time I wouldn't go down the pet shop route, I've never had much luck with pet shop piggys in the past.

Toffee and Curly have been the most laid back of all my piggies, and have very rarely been a problem, and have never needed vet treatment. They're both getting on a bit now but I am so pleased that I got them, however method they came to me. I was very lucky to get such well bred, healthy laid back piggies.

Knowing what I know now I will always rescue whenever possible but if I was in the same position as I was then I would go to a hobby breeder instead of a pet shop.
 
do what your heart says

i only wanted 3 piggies but when i got handed ben i had to have him he just spoke to me & cuddled in ;) even though i said i would never have a black piggie again after losing becks last year :0

sometimes its just fate xx
 
Only you will know how you will feel if you do get him, if he's going to make you feel guilty it will mar your love and enjoyment of him.
 
This is a tricky one. My boys are from a hobby breeder who really looks after her pigs. I got them before I joined the forum and probably if I had been on here first I would have gone down the rescue route. Saying that, the minute I saw the boys I totally bonded with them. I couldn't get them out of my mind and this just blew me away because I wasn't expecting that. I think you have taken this piggie into your heart and at the end of the day it means you will be giving a piggie a lovely home. This one decision doesn't mean that you wouldn't rescue in the future. I think you have just fallen in love. Its so hard but I wouldn't be tough on yourself. Go and get him and if it makes you feel better whatever you pay for your boy, give the same as a donation to a rescue. Sorry if this is not a popular opinion on a forum that recommends rescue but I think we would all now go down the rescue route but sometimes you just get caught by the piggie equivalent of cupids arrow.
 
You know, being a rescue, your piggy karma will not be harmed by getting a little boy you have clearly fallen in love with. If she is a kind and responsible person and you feel that a life without him would be incomplete then by all means get him!

However, if shows and trims her piggies I wouldn't do it even if I could not live without him... Nothing makes me as sad as he thought of a piggie being trimmed.
 
I you feel you can walk away without your heart breaking, then walk away. If not, get him!

Rules are not cast in iron and every piggy has the same right to happy, loving home.
 
I have had a lot of contact with rabbit breeders, and I always think, can I give them a better life that what they have now? Running around in the sunshine, loads of fresh veg, cuddles! at the end of the day they just deserve a happy life.
 
I personally don't see what the big deal is. Pigs have to come from somewhere don't they! Yes its unfortunately that a lot of them end up in Rescues, but the only reason they end up in rescues because they are mistreated or not cared for properly. All the rescue pigs will have 9 times out of 10 come from breeders originally anyways, so just do what your heart tells you.

At least if you do get this lil guy, you'll know he's come from a caring breeder who obviously loves her piggies and treats them as should pigs should be.

It won't make you any less of a person if you get a pig from a breeder and this one sounds like the perfect one to by from.
 
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