New arrival!

[The Pog Nation]

Just brought home a new member of The Pog Nation

She's a new wee pogette to join Bramble, Clover and Dylan. Initial intros have gone OK. They've been together about 20 mins now. Dylan is getting a bit fresh with her but she's having none of it so far

Looks to be about 6 weeks old and in good health. Can't wait for my wife to get home to see her!

 

[Sonia]

x)

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

Congrats on getting a new Pogette. What will she be called?

 

[HairlessWillow7]

Congrats!

 

[tessa]

Great send pix pleasex)

 

[The Pog Nation]

We've decided to call her Daisy

She seems to be very happy and confident so far. Not phased by the other sows or Dylan and his amourous advances.

BTW Just realised I have posted this in General Chat instead of Pog Chat:red

Can a mod move the thread for me? Thanks!

 

[Glynis]

awwwww looking forward to pics of Daisy x)

WELCOME TO THE POG NATION DAISY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Wiebke]

Great news!

I hope that you can post pics at some point!

 

[CandyFloss]

Congratulations on your new little piggle
xx

 

[The Pog Nation]

Well Daisy seems to be fitting in fine. A wee bit concerned that alpha sow Bramble is keeping her in check a bit [*]too[/*] much this morning. She has nipped at the wee one a couple of times since wee got up and is currently lying stretched out directly in front of Daisy who is sitting in the corner minding her own business. She is effectively keeping the wee one in the corner. The four of them are all lying down but Bramble's body language is just a wee bit too assertive for my liking. I hope this isn't the start of a bullying issue

 

[The Pog Nation]

Dylan, Clover, Daisy and Bramble.

 

[The Pog Nation]

This is the way Bramble has been sitting and lying beside Daisy for the past hour or so. It could be entirely innocent but am just watching them closely.

 

[The Pog Nation]

And seeing as i'm in a pic posting mood I had better show you the other two members of The Pog Nation!

Chewie (Who is also in my avatar)

And Leo!

And Chewie after a recent bath

 

[The Pog Nation]

Well Daisy simply got up, stretched and walked off after being wedged in the corner for about an hour and a half. Bramble is now lying in that corner so don't know if she just felt it was her corner and Daisy was trespassing! Bramble seems to be in a steamer of a mood this morning. She has had a go at Dylan and Clover too. She's a right strumpet!

 

[The Pog Nation]

They're back in the same position now! With Bramble sniping at Daisy if she so much as moves. Grumpy sod!

 

[Sodapops]

Just out of curiosity - how big is the cage they are all living in? It may be that they need more space - i'm in the process of adding a neutered male to my pair of girls and their cage is 5ft x 2.5ft and i know based on minimum cage sizes mine is just about big enough for 3.

You could also try adding some hidey houses (with two exits holes so no one can get trapped inside) and maybe some tunnels to their cage setup so that the little one has somewhere to hide should things get too much.

I know that general advise is also to have as many water bottles/food bowls and hidey houses as there are piggie bodies - so maybe adding 4 of everything will help as well.

Four pigs should be living in a 6ft x 2ft hutch/cage - you might find by giving them a much larger living area that they have space enough to get away from one another, but as i have very little experience with bonding sows - some of the more experienced members will be along to advise you better re. their behaviour

Good luck

 

[The Pog Nation]

It's a Ferplast 120 which is as big as we can manage what with there being two of them in the living room! I did consider the amount of space we would have for them before getting her. I usually do have a tunnel in the cage but havent had it in since she was added. I'll pop it in now. The only problem with that is that Dylan tends to hog the tunnel when it's in.

 

[Sodapops]

I think therein lies your problem. The Ferplast 120 is only just big enough for 2 pigs! I would personally review the situation and consider the following alternatives:

- Do you have an indoor run you could set up during the day that is bigger than their current cage so they can stretch their legs and have some 'alone' time should they need it. With less than 120cm of space i think you are always going to have problems - effectively you are only giving each pig less than 30cm's of space.

- Consider getting a bigger cage - i know Ferplast do a double 120cm cage - maybe this could be a better option - alternatively have ytou considered a C&C cage? You could easily made a double/triple 120cm sized cage and it wouldn't take up anymore space length wise as you'd be building upwards.

- Consider purchasing another 120cm cage and splitting your herd up in to pairs - i know this is a difficult thing to do, but you do have a requirement to do what's best for them and what's best if for them is to at least have the minimum space.

Ive got my recent adoptee Wexford living in the Skyiline Maxi XXL cage from Zooplus (it's the same size as a ferplast 120 - if not a touch bigger) and i can only fit 2 hidey houses at most in there and that doesn't leave much room for him to have a good run round in! I couldn't even begin to imagine 4 pigs in there!

Please review the situation, i'm sure with bigger play areas for all 4 you'll see a much harmonious herd

 

[Gems]

I really do think that 4 piggies in that size cage is a little overcrowded. You could perhaps build a c&c that may take up the same amount of floor space as the 2 cages but build it over 2 levels so that on the bottom level you have the group of 4 and on the upper your other 2 ( I think I got it right that you have 6 piggies? ) Or are they allowed to freely roam around the room?

This is my C&C ( I have 5 piggies in here ), I have a ramp up to the second level but I just thought I'd show you what I meant by a second level. Just don't have the ramp and use some wood for support beams and it makes a very sturdy cage ( I've got a support beam to make the hay loft more sturdy as well, this is an old photo )

 

[The Pog Nation]

Well there doesn't seem to be any of the issues I thought may be happening this morning. Daisy seems to like the tunnel and is playing with Dylan in it. Bramble seems to have settled down and all four seem settled. I would like to have more space for them but it will have to wait until we move into a bigger place. We're hoping to move into our own house soon, just renting the flat at the moment, then we will be free to look at C&C cages and runs. They all seem happy enough and are spoiled rotten ^)