We have had some quite momentous developments over the last week. Since Telyn's death, Taffy and Tegyd, my two cataract girls, have started to bond closely. Sadly, Tegyd has never become comfortable around so many piggies and her still rather aggressive behaviour had started to impact on the Tribe. When I put Taffy, Tegyd and Hywel in the already cleaned upstairs and blocked the access to the ramp in order to avoid any bust ups while I was busy, the result was... peace. Utter blessed peace!
That got me thinking. So over the last 2-3 days I have been test driving the new arrangement to see whether it would work out as it meant dividing the Tribe and time share the living room, something I had been so far loathe to do. Although Hywel actually made a good trio with Taffy and Tegyd, he has really emerged as a true leader over the last few weeks, and those qualities would be lost if I kept him with my blind girls.
So today Taffy and Tegyd went on a visit to "auntie" Tracy at RNGP Welfare rescue in Rugby for some neutered boar dating. In view of Tegyd's track record, I had braced myself for going through all three candidates at the rescue and if necessary onto the next closest rescues with neutered boars in Walsall and Redditch - but MIRACLES HAPPEN!
Taffy and Tegyd accepted the first (and my favourite) candidate straight away! They spent a full hour in the bonding pen with an ecstatic Chapati and not a single sign of aggression, even though small and very shy Chapati had clearly no idea which way to tackle girls! But in the presence of ladies he finally found his voice and mojo and showed a delighted Tracy that he could actually popcorn - rumble popcorn at that!
Incidentally, Chapati has been rescued by Jenny from Crawley Rescue (same as Tegyd) and then fostered by furryfriends for RNGP Welfare, so by sheer coincidence he stays very much "in the family". I have rehomed my Dizzy (RIP) from Tracy back in 2007.
During the bonding session at the rescue (video, please click on the picture):
Chapati is now Terfel (spoken Tervel). His new name means "oak prince"; I thought it suited him best because of his little ginger crown, and it was also Tracy's first choice.
Here is a short clip of the end of Terfel's first popcorn in the converted cage. No problems at all with him moving in with the girls!
Later in the afternoon, we had a short photoshoot to get a look at the man himself:
This little clip shows how attached my cataract girls have actually become. Jenny had offered me to take Tegyd back in order to keep the Tribe together, but I didn't want to let her go. She has grown close to my and, more importantly, Taffy's heart.
And here is a last clip of the first shared dinner:
The Tribe (minus Taffy and Telyn) have gone back to their old life with relish:
All in all, I am ever so pleased with the outcome, knowing that I have found a way to make all my piggies happy again with minimal changes to the layout of the cage and the life of the old Tribe!
That got me thinking. So over the last 2-3 days I have been test driving the new arrangement to see whether it would work out as it meant dividing the Tribe and time share the living room, something I had been so far loathe to do. Although Hywel actually made a good trio with Taffy and Tegyd, he has really emerged as a true leader over the last few weeks, and those qualities would be lost if I kept him with my blind girls.
So today Taffy and Tegyd went on a visit to "auntie" Tracy at RNGP Welfare rescue in Rugby for some neutered boar dating. In view of Tegyd's track record, I had braced myself for going through all three candidates at the rescue and if necessary onto the next closest rescues with neutered boars in Walsall and Redditch - but MIRACLES HAPPEN!
Taffy and Tegyd accepted the first (and my favourite) candidate straight away! They spent a full hour in the bonding pen with an ecstatic Chapati and not a single sign of aggression, even though small and very shy Chapati had clearly no idea which way to tackle girls! But in the presence of ladies he finally found his voice and mojo and showed a delighted Tracy that he could actually popcorn - rumble popcorn at that!
Incidentally, Chapati has been rescued by Jenny from Crawley Rescue (same as Tegyd) and then fostered by furryfriends for RNGP Welfare, so by sheer coincidence he stays very much "in the family". I have rehomed my Dizzy (RIP) from Tracy back in 2007.
During the bonding session at the rescue (video, please click on the picture):
Chapati is now Terfel (spoken Tervel). His new name means "oak prince"; I thought it suited him best because of his little ginger crown, and it was also Tracy's first choice.
Here is a short clip of the end of Terfel's first popcorn in the converted cage. No problems at all with him moving in with the girls!
Later in the afternoon, we had a short photoshoot to get a look at the man himself:
This little clip shows how attached my cataract girls have actually become. Jenny had offered me to take Tegyd back in order to keep the Tribe together, but I didn't want to let her go. She has grown close to my and, more importantly, Taffy's heart.
And here is a last clip of the first shared dinner:
The Tribe (minus Taffy and Telyn) have gone back to their old life with relish:
All in all, I am ever so pleased with the outcome, knowing that I have found a way to make all my piggies happy again with minimal changes to the layout of the cage and the life of the old Tribe!
Last edited:
x)
