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Rehoming guinea pigs to a school?

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I'm not sure how i feel about it?

I havent replied to their message yet, but i know the lady and she is very animal friendly. I'm just not sure how the piggies would fayre in a noisy school environment.

They are outdoors, and I'm sure there are various different sounds out there, but the sounds they are used to are very different to an enclosed classroom with children shouting and screaming.

What are your opinions?
 
I wouldn't even consider it an option! Some children are so evil, not too mention with so many cares feeding the pigs noticing illness would be so difficult.
 
Thanks. My friend only went and gave her my flipping number! :o

So she rang me, and i told her I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea.
 
I think it depends on the case. If you know the woman and know they'd be well looked after and safe then I don't see why not.

I don't really think classrooms are noisy environments so much . . . well mine never were. :)) It depends on the pigs too, some won't be phased by noise or new people at all, while some will.

You'd have to explain to the woman that they would be her responsibility and to be careful with the children, maybe not let them handle the pigs if they're young, etc.
 
I would never re-home to a school either. I would be concerned about continuity of care and who would be responsible for vet treatment and ongoing costs, as well as the noisy and ever changing environment.
School heating isn't left on overnight so the temperature would not be stable. It's unlikely that illness would be spotted quickly. There have been people on the forum before who have ended up taking responsibility for guinea pigs when the school they worked at failed to seek veterinary care when needed. :(
 
Please do not rehome to the school. Even though the lady is an animal lover, your piggies will not have a proper home and / or owner. My hubby is a teacher and his school had rats as pets. We were the lucky ones who offered to look after them at weekends and school holidays. I loved having them here but always felt so bad when it was time for them to go back :( They were past from pillow to post around the school and I felt the only break they had were when they came to stay here at the weekend. They were always shattered and spent Friday nights resting.
 
I would ask a lot of questions but not discount it out of hand. If done properly animals in the class would be an invaluable learning opportunity and I do not see how it would be detrimental to the pigs if organised appropriatly.
 
I do think this is a valuable learning opportunity for children. However I also agree with Flips that having them housed in the school is really not ideal. Perhaps you could talk to this lady and explain your concerns and then perhaps you could take some relaxed piggies into class one day to teach them about it? rather than actually rehome some there? x
 
The school I taught at had guinea pigs. I argued strenuously against it but was over ruled. Pros - guinea pigs get very used to noise etc, didn't bother them. Children enjoy having them and can be taught to respect them, mine loved having them in the classroom and were gentle etc, even kids with difficulties.
Cons - they were passed round from classroom to classroom. The care and feeding varied from class to class - I took on a lot of responsibility for looking after them and making sure they had veggies, were cleaned out and handled carefully. The classrooms were freezing in the evenings as heating is off, and although I made sure they were adequately protected, not sure everyone would take this on. They need to go somewhere at weekends and holidays etc. It is difficult to give them floor time, again I did this but was the only one.

Personally it really upset me to have them there because I didn't think they had enough care and I ended up taking on a lot. It could work but ask lots of questions and make sure all staff are on board - we didn't get a choice and much information. Not trying to say do it or don't, this was my experience.
 
My schools never had pets in the class room, I'm glad in a way though kids dont always think about they animal when they start annoying it. At high school my science teacher had a fish and the kids bleeched that :( Personally i wouldnt, they are prey animals and having lots of kids hanging over them, shouting at them and trying to hold them wouldnt be good for them :(
 
PiggiePal said:
I do think this is a valuable learning opportunity for children. However I also agree with Flips that having them housed in the school is really not ideal. Perhaps you could talk to this lady and explain your concerns and then perhaps you could take some relaxed piggies into class one day to teach them about it? rather than actually rehome some there? x
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great idea x
 
When I was 8 (very very long time ago) my teacher bought 2 female piggies in to class and a few months later we had 5 piggies (one sow had been misexed).
We were never allowed to touch the g/p's unless she was present and we had to take it in turns, like 2 people in the morning, 2 before dinner, 2 after dinner and 2 before home time (for a few mins at a time) I think the were left in school over night and went to someones house at weekends and for the holidays she took them home.
The 3 babies went to people in my class, I was one of the lucky ones as that's where my Sparky came from and my love of guinea pigs.
I'm not a huge fan of pets in a class room (and I'm a teaching assistant) but I do think it offers valuable learning experiences.
One class room I've worked in had tropical fish and the tank was filthy, full of slime and scum on the sides on the tank, I'm not a big fish lover so I do not know how long that takes for it to happen but it looked horrible and couldn't have been plesant for the fish.
I mentioned that it smelt and wasn't very nice for the children to be in that learning environment and it was clean by the time I was in a week later.
 
I would say no, the kids that really love the piggies will go home and ask there parents for some and the ones that don't are likely to terrorise them.

That's without all the upset to the upset to the pigs which people have mentioned.

We had crabs when I was in secondary school, they were great and had a huge tank(around 6ft x 3ft) so were easy to look after. The caretaker took responsibilty for them so they never had to be moved in holidays.
 
Absoloutely no, wouldn't even consider it. Weekends, holidays, illness, vet bills. Who can transport and house a large cage every weekend? Going to homes with dogs, cats, unruly kids, uneducated (in pigs) parents, and heaven knows what else. I can think of nothing good to say about this idea. Sorry.
Take a couple of pigs in one day and let the children have supervised cuddles and teach them about good care.
x
 
ekk!

flip side here!

My dd when in reception class had 2 guineas in her class, she cried every morning going into school, but when I spoke to the teacher, we started bringing in veggies for the guineas, it really helped her:)! they were very well looked after, and tbh I think seeing how dd was with the school guinea pigs may be why I started looking (never though about it before, but I started researching them and here I am lol)
 
Maybe you could ask what year the class is that they'd be going to? Maybe if the kids were a bit older they'd be more safe? And ask to see where they would be kept etc

You could always kind of do like a weeks trial run and see how they are when you get them back

x
 
I wouldn't, there's always those few naughty kids who go into the classrooms during break and lunch when the teacher is not around. You don't know what could happen - and i doubt the piggie would get let out much. And the heating in school comes on in winter very late (well where i am) and goes off very early and its freezing :o
 
I don't like the idea either. Seems too risky. I just feel the guinea pigs wouldn't get the proper care they need. Strongly advise against it. Please don't do it. xxxxxxxxxx
 
I had what was once a school guinea pig, he first used to come to me in the holidays and at weekends, he used to let out at ours for a run around and loved it, after the weekend or holiday passed he would have to return to school, where I must say he looked rather depressed, and when the children went home in the evening he would be left all alone until the next morning :( At weekends he could tell that he was at our house as soon as he came through the door, because he would start to wheek and sniff the air as if to say I am home. I wouldn't part with them to go to a school, ok to visit a class if they are quite a bold guinea, but not to stay there all the time.
 
I took some of our piggies in to my daughters school for a show and tell as the teacher asked me to but only on the grounds that I could explain how much they could cost in vet bills and how much time they need.
I also took in photos of shy when she was ill (from the garden centre) showing how bad her skin was but I also took shy in to show how she'd recovered.
They loved it (they were 6 & 7yrs old) and I held Lottie whilst they all walked past in a line and had a little stroke of her, but there's no way I recommend that her school had one in that class or probably any other.
The teacher said afterwards that it had been invaluable learning for the class to have hands on experience and even some of the more troublesome pupils had been quieter and calmer for the whole afternoon.
That school used to have a Hamster in yr2 for about 2 years but I haven't seen or heard of it for a long time (never had a hamster so don't know how long they live), but the class loved it although I'd be nervous of what was being put in the cage when no one was looking.
 
I agree with going in for a 'teaching' session- but i would not rehome them there. At my primary school we had snails, stick insects and we hatched chicks. The insects and snails were actually killed by someone when they were taken home! The chicks were cared for by the teacher- she would only let us hold them when she was there. One class did have a guinea pig- it was very frightened and my mum had to convince the teacher to take it to the vet when it got a fungal infection.
S i would never recommend rehoming guinea pigs to them.
xx
 
I think if one of the teachers had guinea pigs as pets at home and took them in regularly that would be good for the kids and as long as they were ok with it, the best for the piggies. I would be worried about the pigs being at the school for the majority of the time.
I'll tell you a story...
Last Christmas our neighbours invited us round for a drink, we got chatting and she asked how the pigs were and told me how she used to be a primary school teacher and they had a guinea pig in the class room. She said it was pregnant for 2 years! One day they found 4 still born babies, she didn't believe the child that kept saying there are sleeping babies with the guinea pig. She believed the pig had been pregnant when it arrived and 2 years later had given birth!
I asked her if any of the children ever took her home, and she said yes. I still had to point out that maybe one of the kids already had a boar and thought the two pigs could be 'friends'. Very worrying that a teacher couldn't figure that one out! OMG!
For that reason alone, regardless of how clued up the teacher is that wants to rehome them, I would say no. What happens if that teacher leaves?
 
Char-x said:
Nope, I'm the same. Would never even consider it an option to be honest.
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I agree, well kids in primary school anyway, they wouldn't no how to care for them at all. Kids my agee (13) if there responsible, i see no problem (not in the school though)
 
Fidgetthefirst said:
I agree, well kids in primary school anyway, they wouldn't no how to care for them at all. Kids my agee (13) if there responsible, i see no problem (not in the school though)
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I agree- although I am 13 too so may be biased ;)

But I do have a friend who was completely irresponsible never saved money up for her pets etc- luckily i helped her sort everything out :x

But she hasn't been brought up with animals, so is (considering my other friends) in the minority
 
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