Training My Pigs To Use A Water Bottle

[Madge Woollard]

My pigs are now 7 months old and they've always had their water in a dish, but they tend to kick it over. I've swapped it to a water bottle in their cage, and now and again they chew on it but haven't learnt to suck. I've tried introducing it while they're on my lap, and they're gradually getting the idea. When they go in their run (about 2 hours per day) they have a dish of water then. Should I be putting a dish of water in the cage too while they're learning, or does that defeat the point. I just don't want the poor little things to get dehydrated.

 

[Wiebke]

They won't get dehydrated, not if they also have veg in their diet! As they know that the bottle is the source of water, I would let them figure out how to use it by themselves. Drinking from a bottle is one of the skills that youngsters usually learn from their elders, but if they grow up in a place where there are no bottles or are separated too early, then it is harder for them to learn the skill on their own.

 

[Pippy & Daisy]

When I first got my girls I didn't think they knew how to use their bottles (even though they'd had bottles in the past they seemed to just ignore them!). For quite a few weeks I worried that they weren't drinking as I'd see little to no change in the water levels. Eventually they started drinking much more regularly so I think they were just getting used to where their bottles were in their new home. If they're chewing on the bottle they'll know there's water in there so don't stress about putting a dish in if you're really worried about them not drinking just give them their veggies with a bit of water sprinkled on them. They'll figure it out soon enough if they haven't yet

 

[afu]

I agree with the other contributors, remove the dish and just keep the bottle. By piggies also had trouble learning at 5 months but as long as they have fresh veggies they won't dehydrate at this time of year. My piggies hardly drink anything so try not to worry about it too much

 

[Piglet's mum]

I've got an 11 week old Guinea Pig, I've had him for nearly 3 weeks now and at first he didn't drink much at all. I was quite worried about him but eventually he found the bottle and now he drinks a lot. I was quite tempted to move the bottle to a different place in the cage but I left it and it worked. I wouldn't put the dish in the cage while you're trying to teach them to use a bottle. I think they would just use it as a toy. Or something to chew on. They probably know it's there but it's just a case of them working out how to use it! Hope this helps.