MirabelMaud
New Born Pup
I thought I would share this story as this has never happened to me before in a lifetime of being a pig Mum, and it has a happy ending!
I have two sows, Mirabel and Maud (age 4) that previously lived with my last piggy Truffles after her sister/hutch mate died. Mirabel is the dominant lady in the household, but they have met various other piggies without incident over the years.
On the 2nd of November 2016 I adopted two baby pig sisters, Myrtle and Morag, born 18th August 2016, so they would have been 11 weeks old. Morag had her front right leg amputated (dropped in the shop by pet shop staff........) on 25th September and she and her sister were separated for two weeks after her surgery, as Myrtle attacked Morag repeatedly on her return from the vets. Morag was cared for at home by the pet store owner, then the sisters were reunited. When I took them on they got on beautifully, Myrtle is FULL of beans, and Morag a little more nervous and quiet.
Following guidelines I kept the new pigs in quarantine for two weeks in the house but with heating off to acclimatise them to the outhouse where they would be living (hopefully) with my established pair.
Then I set up a large area for the two pairs to meet, in a space none had been before, armed with a pair of oven gloves (just in case) plenty of hay and a large bowl of fresh food.
Initially all was well, bit of bum sniffing and some of the most IMPRESSIVE rumble strutting from the babies I have ever seen. The older pair seemed unruffled, and all was well. So after two hours together we considered that a good first introduction, but returned them to their own hutches, as I was unsure at this point whether Morag would be able to run away if things got heated. Her walk is quite awkward and slow.
The next day the same again, but this time Mirabel was not happy. Lots of chasing, nipping, rumble strutting, and the babies ended up huddled in a corner, not allowed near the food or the hay. Maud seemed happy to meet the youngsters, and at one point washed Morags face on the side where has the missing leg (which I wash for her daily as she cannot). Mirabel then started fighting with Maud......
I tried again several times but things were getting worse, Mirabel was lunging at the babies and chasing them around, Maud would immediately go off by herself, and the babies would be running away or attacking or rumble strutting.I kept them together for one very long memorable day to see if they could sort out their differences, and nine hours in nothing had changed.
The older pair are long haired and have regular baths, and I did give them a bath prior to one of the introductions, but it made no difference. I did not want to bath the babies as Myrtle is short haired, and I have never had to bath a short haired pig before, and because of Morags missing leg, I think she may be quite difficult to hold safely in the water, especially with her first bath where she may panic, so she has had a trim and regular brushing to keep her long hair manageable.
I tried lap time, still not having it, and Mirabel seemed to be set in her head space of NOT liking the babies.
In the end I gave up and kept them apart for two full weeks. My pigs are housed in the outhouse in two hutches, with a whole room to roam about in full of tunnels, boxes, fleece beds, etc etc. I took it in turns to let one pair out at the time. And what did they do? Spent most of the time up on their back legs nose to nose with the other pair through the mesh of the hutch.
So on Christmas eve, I decided to give it one more go. I released both pairs out into the outhouse with their hutch doors open and stood poised with the oven gloves!
They were like different pigs! Bottom sniffing, following each other nose to bum, sitting near each other grooming themselves, all happily eating alongside each other, a little bit of chasing and warning off, but the babies behaved completely differently, no rumble strutting, instead they were getting out of the big girls way. The babies seemed to have developed some 'pig manners' and grown up a little....so over six weeks after first introduction they finally decided to get along! Now they are out to play together all day every day without incident, and seem to be getting along just fine.
I am so glad I gave it one last try, so that I never end up with a solo pig, which is why I tend to introduce a second pair a few years in. So maybe pigs CAN change their mind after all?
I have two sows, Mirabel and Maud (age 4) that previously lived with my last piggy Truffles after her sister/hutch mate died. Mirabel is the dominant lady in the household, but they have met various other piggies without incident over the years.
On the 2nd of November 2016 I adopted two baby pig sisters, Myrtle and Morag, born 18th August 2016, so they would have been 11 weeks old. Morag had her front right leg amputated (dropped in the shop by pet shop staff........) on 25th September and she and her sister were separated for two weeks after her surgery, as Myrtle attacked Morag repeatedly on her return from the vets. Morag was cared for at home by the pet store owner, then the sisters were reunited. When I took them on they got on beautifully, Myrtle is FULL of beans, and Morag a little more nervous and quiet.
Following guidelines I kept the new pigs in quarantine for two weeks in the house but with heating off to acclimatise them to the outhouse where they would be living (hopefully) with my established pair.
Then I set up a large area for the two pairs to meet, in a space none had been before, armed with a pair of oven gloves (just in case) plenty of hay and a large bowl of fresh food.
Initially all was well, bit of bum sniffing and some of the most IMPRESSIVE rumble strutting from the babies I have ever seen. The older pair seemed unruffled, and all was well. So after two hours together we considered that a good first introduction, but returned them to their own hutches, as I was unsure at this point whether Morag would be able to run away if things got heated. Her walk is quite awkward and slow.
The next day the same again, but this time Mirabel was not happy. Lots of chasing, nipping, rumble strutting, and the babies ended up huddled in a corner, not allowed near the food or the hay. Maud seemed happy to meet the youngsters, and at one point washed Morags face on the side where has the missing leg (which I wash for her daily as she cannot). Mirabel then started fighting with Maud......
I tried again several times but things were getting worse, Mirabel was lunging at the babies and chasing them around, Maud would immediately go off by herself, and the babies would be running away or attacking or rumble strutting.I kept them together for one very long memorable day to see if they could sort out their differences, and nine hours in nothing had changed.
The older pair are long haired and have regular baths, and I did give them a bath prior to one of the introductions, but it made no difference. I did not want to bath the babies as Myrtle is short haired, and I have never had to bath a short haired pig before, and because of Morags missing leg, I think she may be quite difficult to hold safely in the water, especially with her first bath where she may panic, so she has had a trim and regular brushing to keep her long hair manageable.
I tried lap time, still not having it, and Mirabel seemed to be set in her head space of NOT liking the babies.
In the end I gave up and kept them apart for two full weeks. My pigs are housed in the outhouse in two hutches, with a whole room to roam about in full of tunnels, boxes, fleece beds, etc etc. I took it in turns to let one pair out at the time. And what did they do? Spent most of the time up on their back legs nose to nose with the other pair through the mesh of the hutch.
So on Christmas eve, I decided to give it one more go. I released both pairs out into the outhouse with their hutch doors open and stood poised with the oven gloves!
They were like different pigs! Bottom sniffing, following each other nose to bum, sitting near each other grooming themselves, all happily eating alongside each other, a little bit of chasing and warning off, but the babies behaved completely differently, no rumble strutting, instead they were getting out of the big girls way. The babies seemed to have developed some 'pig manners' and grown up a little....so over six weeks after first introduction they finally decided to get along! Now they are out to play together all day every day without incident, and seem to be getting along just fine.
I am so glad I gave it one last try, so that I never end up with a solo pig, which is why I tend to introduce a second pair a few years in. So maybe pigs CAN change their mind after all?
