Ravens age

Rivervixen

Rivervixen

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No idea where to put this one sorry! This might be a silly question.. but when we got Raven and Wren from Sue, she said she didn't know how old Raven was and I'm guessing her previous owner didn't either. She isnt an old piggie by any means, but are there any indicators that could help me make an educated guess? She's very fast, very active with lots of zoomies, and quite a large girl with her weight going up every week. She was 1240 when we got her in January, currently at a lovely 1310
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
Unfortunately, you can't really judge the age of a grown-up piggy.
Sometimes the nails can give a clue because they tend to become thicker and harder or more curly with age. But that's not always the case.
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Her back ones are quite thick, a bit like Brunos but not as much. Thank you, shes such a beautiful girl, I do think she was a young mummy but we won't ever know for sure
 
What is her body condition like? I mean around the hips and the bum. Thea was eight and a half when she was helped over the Rainbow Bridge last year. At around 5 years old, she started to lose muscle tone around her bum and then later on around her ribcage. She also had age related weight loss. She was a happy girl and ate healthily so I knew it was just old age getting to her. The vet said she was a healthy girl for her age and it was just that she was elderly.
 
Raven sounds like she is living her best life, whatever stage of life she might be at! It is so hard to tell isn't it. Our lovely Winnie still zoomed and popcorned and jumped up on everything at 6 years old (although probably a bit less than when she was younger).
 
Betsy said:
What is her body condition like? I mean around the hips and the bum. Thea was eight and a half when she was helped over the Rainbow Bridge last year. At around 5 years old, she started to lose muscle tone around her bum and then later on around her ribcage. She also had age related weight loss. She was a happy girl and ate healthily so I knew it was just old age getting to her. The vet said she was a healthy girl for her age and it was just that she was elderly.
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8 and a half is such a lovely age! Aww Thea 🥰 her bum and hips are.. impressive! Definitely still got her muscle tones and a big bottom to go with it!
Not sure how she feels about me posting her bottom on the Internet 🤔
 

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LucyP said:
Raven sounds like she is living her best life, whatever stage of life she might be at! It is so hard to tell isn't it. Our lovely Winnie still zoomed and popcorned and jumped up on everything at 6 years old (although probably a bit less than when she was younger).
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It really is hard to tell! Her baby Wren is quickly climbing in weight and starting to look just like her mummy too 🥰 that's so amazing for Winnie 💖 Bruno at almost 7 still does his zoomies too, you wouldn't guess his age at all by how he waddles around like the big man 😊
 
Rivervixen said:
It really is hard to tell! Her baby Wren is quickly climbing in weight and starting to look just like her mummy too 🥰 that's so amazing for Winnie 💖 Bruno at almost 7 still does his zoomies too, you wouldn't guess his age at all by how he waddles around like the big man 😊
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It's great that they are doing so well as a little family 🥰
 
Claire W said:
I’m afraid I do not know the answer to your question as it’s so difficult to tell but what a beautiful girl Raven is 🥰 She reminds me of my late Erika who had the same markings and was a chunky girl too. She weighed 1500g in the prime of her life ❤️
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Awww thats so lovely 🥰 she knows shes beautiful as well, she's a big boss mummy pig! I do love that she's chunky and still gaining at that, shes so healthy and happy. Do you have a photo of Erika? I've absolutely fell in love with the black and tan colour combo
 
Rivervixen said:
Awww thats so lovely 🥰 she knows shes beautiful as well, she's a big boss mummy pig! I do love that she's chunky and still gaining at that, shes so healthy and happy. Do you have a photo of Erika? I've absolutely fell in love with the black and tan colour combo
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Raven will still be quite young if she’s still growing and gaining weight. I think they settle at around 18 months to 2 years old 🙂

Of course, here is Erika ❤️ I sadly lost her to lymphoma 😞 but she was the chunkiest pig I ever had x

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Claire W said:
Raven will still be quite young if she’s still growing and gaining weight. I think they settle at around 18 months to 2 years old 🙂

Of course, here is Erika ❤️ I sadly lost her to lymphoma 😞 but she was the chunkiest pig I ever had x

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Absolutely beautiful girl! I'm so sorry that you lost her, but she was a very lucky piggie to have had you. I was thinking the same, that shes still growing quite a bit as well, its a good sign x
 
Rivervixen said:
Absolutely beautiful girl! I'm so sorry that you lost her, but she was a very lucky piggie to have had you. I was thinking the same, that shes still growing quite a bit as well, its a good sign x
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Aw thank you. I miss her a lot especially as her life was cut short 😞 well I miss all my piggies 😞 but yes, it’s a good sign that Raven is still growing so she is still a ‘baby’ 😊 x
 
Rivervixen said:
8 and a half is such a lovely age! Aww Thea 🥰 her bum and hips are.. impressive! Definitely still got her muscle tones and a big bottom to go with it!
Not sure how she feels about me posting her bottom on the Internet 🤔
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Hi

She definitely looks overweight! Because if that I would put her rather at middle age (2-4 years), rather than 4-5 years or more.
You may want to read up on the BMI index: Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

When piggies start to show signs of older age can vary; some do so with 4 years and others with 6 years - it is genetic and not a sign of bad care. The spine and hip bones becoming more noticeable with still enough on the ribs is usually characteristic for 5-6 years olds; older piggies can be just a bag of skin and bones (the same as the very old humans shrink) but continue to hang on in there for a surprising amount of time.

A pronounced pear-shape in middle to older age can be caused by ovarian cysts when fluid filled 'silent' cysts become more common.

Twisted and thickened nails can sometime be an indicator, but that is genetically very varied - you can have 7 year olds with straight nails and 2 years olds with either baby nails or old piggies nails....

Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

She definitely looks overweight! Because if that I would put her rather at middle age (2-4 years), rather than 4-5 years or more.
You may want to read up on the BMI index: Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

When piggies start to show signs of older age can vary; some do so with 4 years and others with 6 years - it is genetic and not a sign of bad care. The spine and hip bones becoming more noticeable with still enough on the ribs is usually characteristic for 5-6 years olds; older piggies can be just a bag of skin and bones (the same as the very old humans shrink) but continue to hang on in there for a surprising amount of time.

A pronounced pear-shape in middle to older age can be caused by ovarian cysts when fluid filled 'silent' cysts become more common.

Twisted and thickened nails can sometime be an indicator, but that is genetically very varied - you can have 7 year olds with straight nails and 2 years olds with either baby nails or old piggies nails....

Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
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Claire W said:
Please ignore my poor advice @Rivervixen I just assumed she was still growing x
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Going to have OH hold Raven so we can have a good feel of her 😊 going to have a good look at the bmi index again. Don't worry Claire, I thought the same thing really! As her weight has been climbing each week x
 
Both had a good feel of her, and agree that she might be a little overweight but much closer to ideal on the piggie size o metor. Can feel her ribs, hips and spine without pressing much. Here is Raven, looking comically unimpressed with my OH 😊
 

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Rivervixen said:
Both had a good feel of her, and agree that she might be a little overweight but much closer to ideal on the piggie size o metor. Can feel her ribs, hips and spine without pressing much. Here is Raven, looking comically unimpressed with my OH 😊
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She's a big, chunky girl. Enjoy your armful being happy and having the time of her life - if you do that consciously daily and feel blessed every time you see her being happy, then it doesn't matter how old she is and how long she'll live. ;)

My 5 years old gent Bryn Oscar the Name-deaf (he'd ignore either of his names) lived for only about year with me and my Golden Oldies Ladies but since he turned out to be a mix between Casanova and Genghis Khan, delighting in sneaking out of his pen and winding up the other boars whenever he wasn't trying to impress the ladies, chasing or trying to steal them he kept us all very much entertained. When arthritis and old age finally caught up with his new life in the fast lane, it truly felt like a lifetime because he'd packed a lifetime's joy and fun into his time. I still can't remember him without a big goof smile on my face even if he's been gone for over a decade now because he was such a hoot!
 
Wiebke said:
She's a big, chunky girl. Enjoy your armful being happy and having the time of her life - if you do that consciously daily and feel blessed every time you see her being happy, then it doesn't matter how old she is and how long she'll live. ;)

My 5 years old gent Bryn Oscar the Name-deaf (he'd ignore either of his names) lived for only about year with me and my Golden Oldies Ladies but since he turned out to be a mix between Casanova and Genghis Khan, delighting in sneaking out of his pen and winding up the other boars whenever he wasn't trying to impress the ladies, chasing or trying to steal them he kept us all very much entertained. When arthritis and old age finally caught up with his new life in the fast lane, it truly felt like a lifetime because he'd packed a lifetime's joy and fun into his time. I still can't remember him without a big goof smile on my face even if he's been gone for over a decade now because he was such a hoot!
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She is a wonderful, chunky girl for sure 😊 We are very much enjoying both the girls and Bruno, they've brought an incredible amount of happiness to both us and him. They're very vocally demanding which makes me chuckle, I was wrestling the Natures Own delivery up earlier on today, and it was just a solid 10 minutes of impatient wheeking and zooming 🥰 they kept hearing bags of hay moving and "give me a minute girls its not all up here yet" didn't compute 😁 I think I was mainly wondering about her age due to "what if she needs cyst surgery in the future" and planning ahead, pre planning for things that might not happen to begin with is a rather annoying part of my anxiety, but it has come in handy as well so it's not all bad. Your piggie sounded absolutely amazing, they can be such mischievous little potatos with such big personalities
 
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