Would greatly appreciate your advice please on considering getting a new pig...

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Right here is my dilema which i would greatly appreciate some advice on (pretty please):

Currently i have Mabel and Dottie in a 4X2 C&C cage, they are approximately eight months old. I keep thinking about getting a neutered boar because:
- I would love to own and experience a boar
- Pigs live in herds in the wild and i think it would be good to have three (if they all got along)
- :x i'd love to get another pig because i've fallen totally in love with them (ahem, i've fallen in love with a particular pig whose name begins with an F, ahem) :x

My dilema is i really really don't want to upset the apple cart so to speak. My girls get along just fine at the moment and I feel that a lot of the reasons listed above are purely selfish for my own benefit ?/

Now, i've been considering this for a while but have kind of kept it to myself because i knew if i said it out loud i'd be completely hooked on the idea rolleyes but today Vicky put up some of the new pigs looking for homes and i've absolutely fallen for Finley...what should i dooooooo?!!

Vicky and i have spoken about it today and i know if it doesn't work out Finley will always have a home at the rescue (i wouldn't have enough room to house him separately from the girls) but it would be stressful on all three pigs for it all to go wrong i would feel awful...

Any advice guys?! I think i've just fallen for him, and it might not even work out :... Gosh, these piggies have driven me mad haha! Vicky, please feel free to comment more! :)
 
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I would try; unfortunately, you can never say whether a constellation will work out in the long run or not. However, looking for a neutered male when going up to three piggies is a better option than going for another girl. A boar has to get on with both although one girl will be more likely his favourite; it happened when Llewelyn was living with only Nerys and Nia at the start of the Tribe.

Finlay's ever so gorgeous indeed! At that age, you generally won't have to worry about girls not accepting a male.
 
Thank you Wiebke, i was hoping you would comment. I particularly value your advice after reading so much about your herd and bonding sessions! ;)

It sounds quite positive, but of course i completely understand you never know what may happen with piggies! My girls do appear quite chilled and calm, and from speaking to Vicky Finley seems like a relaxed piggy too. As i've mentioned before neither of my girls appears to be the obvious top sow. Would this make any difference? I'm sure one of them probably is but it really isn't obvious.

Also, i live in London so it would be a 2 and a bit hour journey, which would equate to nearly 5 hours worth of travelling...i've been weighing up whether to take the girls to meet Finley first (which is obviously the best option) but it will be an extremely long day for them. Or whether to just get Finley and try the bonding myself. If this fell through i would have to take finley back up to Vicky. I do have a spare 150 ferplast which i could temporarily house him in should it fall through. What do you think?

Sorry for all the questions but it is really helping me to weigh this all up. :)
 
I say go for it! Finley really is a beautiful boy, I have bonded a boy to both of my herds with no problems at all so I don't see it will be a problem for you at all. Also travelling long distances to collect a pig is quite common for us piggy lovers, in fact I am travelling from Coventry to Leeds on Thursday to collect my new girl!

All the best and keep us informed xx
 
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I personally don't think you wll have a problem bonding them, sows in general accept new members quite quickly and the boar won't complain having two girlfriends!-c

I have sows and they all use the run together and after a little chasing etc they settled within a couple of days:))
 
I would agree that it's worth a try too. I didn't think that Pippa (top girl) was going to accept Boris at first but once he realised that she wore the trousers, they've been pretty inseperable ever since!

Boris shares his affection freely amongst his girls and he also has quite a calming influence too. On the very rare occassion there is any teeth chattering he steps in and chills them out again.

Good luck, whatever you decide :)
 
Thanks everyone, this is very encouraging! Although, i'm trying so hard not to get excited right now! :))

I've just emailed them to ask for a home check....eeeeeek! I hope it's all alright! It would be highly embarrassing if it wasn't! The only thing is i don't have access to a garden? Would this stop me from being able to re-home? I do take Mabel and Dottie home with me on the odd occassion and they have then been able to have a run around on the grass. I'm thinking of growing some grass too, i already grow parsley and coriander for them rolleyes
 
I would think that you are on fairly safe ground with just moving Finlay. If Vicky is OK with no regular access to grass, then you are fine - I am sure she would tell you if you ask. It is always the rehoming section of the RSPCA that makes the final decision.

If you have a spare cage, just keep him next door to the girls so they can see each other through the bars. Let Finlay settle in and get over the first big excitement for a few days before they meet; that way things will go smoother than if you are introducing straight away - boars tend to get overexcited and just switch off their brain and mount anything from whatever end, so it is best to wait until they have got somewhat used to the idea of girls next door. the girls will also accept him better if they have had a chance to flirt through the bars first.

If you wish, add hideys with two exits during intros, so a girl can dive into, but also escape without feeling cornered. There will probably quite a lot squeaking; I have found good girl-boy bondings always very vocal. Make sure that you have your windows open - excited boys can create an amazing amount of stink by spraying their testosterone laden pee everywhere. Please don't bathe afterwards - the smell helps to mark the girls as "his".

You will also find that the first few seasons will be rather wild as the girls' bodies will respond to the presence of a virile male. It is an occasion for boys and girl to really bond; they will often be quite affectionate afterwards, confirming their bond.
 
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Thanks again Wiebke, this forum and its members are invaluable! If this goes ahead I will just look at getting Finley to me then.

I've messaged Vicky already to ask her about the lack of garden situation. I totally understand if she isn't happy with this/or the RSPCA aren't happy as he is a rescue piggy and does deserve the very best of the best. Fingers crossed. I'll keep you all updated.
 
JoBo said:
I say go for it! Finley really is a beautiful boy, I have bonded a boy to both of my herds with no problems at all so I don't see it will be a problem for you at all. Also travelling long distances to collect a pig is quite common for us piggy lovers, in fact I am travelling from Coventry to Leeds on Thursday to collect my new girl!

All the best and keep us informed xx
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Oh how exciting Jo! Looking forward to hearing all about it! xx>>>
 
I took a neutered boar from Walsall RSPCA too after falling for him in photos. It was a great experience all round. Although luckily for me it was only an hours drive hee hee!

From my perspective at that point I already had 9 guinea pigs, so adding one more wasn't going to massively increase the time I was devoting to the piggies and I have a lot of hutches so housing wasn't an issue if there was to have been a fall out. I also had 3 groups of females to try my boar with so I figured we would definitely get a match. Eddy is such a super pig, he comes in the house every night and has a little snack and a snooze on my sisters chest. I think if Finley is pretty laid back too that will certainly help with the bonding process.

As it turns out for us was 1st time lucky when it came to pig bonding and Pickle and Eddy are very happy together. We did take the dating process quite slowly and the two of them met on the lawn (or if you don't have grass just try a neutral place) for a couple of hours before moving into the hutch. Eddy did try to mount Pickle, we thought initially she was going to get annoyed because he was quite excited but in the end he gave up quite quickly. He rumbles a little bit still but I think he's just happy! Pickle is quite a dominant pig but luckily Eddy, like I said, is chilled so there wasn't much of an issue there when it came to establishing a hierarchy.

Good luck with the home check, I'm sure you will be fine! The lady that came to our house probably thought I was nuts with so many pigs but it was all good. Really they just want to check you have adequate space for the piggies and that you are dedicated to taking care of them, which you evidently are. I'd say go for it anyway, if it works out Finlay would have a great home and would be super happy to have a couple of wives plus you'd get the experience you are after!
 
I'll have a good read of this thread and reply to your pm in the morning, but just to let you know that not having a garden isn't a problem, as long as they time out of there cage for a run around.
 
x-vic-x said:
I'll have a good read of this thread and reply to your pm in the morning, but just to let you know that not having a garden isn't a problem, as long as they time out of there cage for a run around.
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Thanks Vicky, phew, that's something i was worried about. The girls always come out for a run every night. I have a long hallway and close all the doors and they run around there (recent thread with pigtures from floor time http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=71370).

Righty ho, thanks so much everyone, i must hit the hay as i have a day out tomorrow to the Kent County Show (weather permitting!) xx>>>

ps, can i definitely put Finley on reserve pending my home check!
 
Oooo how exciting!:<> I've just caught up on this thread and wanted to say I'd go for it too (I'm glad you have!) you have a wonderful loving home to offer little Finley and I'm sure you'll fly through the home check your a brilliant slave to Dottie and Mabel, and I just know Finley will be spoilt rotten!:(|) Good luck, hope you keep us all updated.

I'm so pleased and excited too! Dottie and Mabel may just have a huspig! :)) * squeel * is there going to be a wedding? x) :)) okay I'm getting carried away with myself.....and will now stop typing.....
 
NatalieMT said:
I took a neutered boar from Walsall RSPCA too after falling for him in photos. It was a great experience all round. Although luckily for me it was only an hours drive hee hee!

From my perspective at that point I already had 9 guinea pigs, so adding one more wasn't going to massively increase the time I was devoting to the piggies and I have a lot of hutches so housing wasn't an issue if there was to have been a fall out. I also had 3 groups of females to try my boar with so I figured we would definitely get a match. Eddy is such a super pig, he comes in the house every night and has a little snack and a snooze on my sisters chest. I think if Finley is pretty laid back too that will certainly help with the bonding process.

As it turns out for us was 1st time lucky when it came to pig bonding and Pickle and Eddy are very happy together. We did take the dating process quite slowly and the two of them met on the lawn (or if you don't have grass just try a neutral place) for a couple of hours before moving into the hutch. Eddy did try to mount Pickle, we thought initially she was going to get annoyed because he was quite excited but in the end he gave up quite quickly. He rumbles a little bit still but I think he's just happy! Pickle is quite a dominant pig but luckily Eddy, like I said, is chilled so there wasn't much of an issue there when it came to establishing a hierarchy.

Good luck with the home check, I'm sure you will be fine! The lady that came to our house probably thought I was nuts with so many pigs but it was all good. Really they just want to check you have adequate space for the piggies and that you are dedicated to taking care of them, which you evidently are. I'd say go for it anyway, if it works out Finlay would have a great home and would be super happy to have a couple of wives plus you'd get the experience you are after!
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Thanks Natalie, it's always good to hear other feedback from people that have rescued from Vicky, glad it all worked out so well and nine piggies sounds amazing! I will keep you all updated!

AudioHeart said:
Oooo how exciting! I've just caught up on this thread and wanted to say I'd go for it too (I'm glad you have!) you have a wonderful loving home to offer little Finley and I'm sure you'll fly through the home check your a brilliant slave to Dottie and Mabel, and I just know Finley will be spoilt rotten!Good luck, hope you keep us all updated.

I'm so pleased and excited too! Dottie and Mabel may just have a huspig! * squeel * is there going to be a wedding? okay I'm getting carried away with myself.....and will now stop typing.....
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Laura, it is soooo exciting, but i'm trying very hard not to get excited as it is not a definite...yet! How lucky will little Fnley be to have two wives :)) hehe, although i feel nervous about having a boar - if i pass the home check i will have to start reading lots as it's all new to me! Although this forum will tell me everything i need to know i'm sure! I will of course let you know what's happening and will give you all regular updates. I went to the Kent county show today (was brilliant) but sadly missed my call from the RSPCA about arranging a home check malletheadmalletheadmallethead she didn't leave a number but said she'd email. I'll call them again tomorrow xx>>> i keep looking at him on the thread, he is absolutely gorgeous x)drool how could Mabel and Dottie resist! :))
 
flintstones said:
I'm sure Vic will give you all the advice you need - How exciting! xx>>>
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She has been so helpful (as have the forum members as always), i messaged her so many times yesterday! You've all helped me to come to my conclusion, and i feel i've weighed up all the options and haven't made the decision lightly. Now i'm just keeping my fingers crossed for the process of re-homing! I wont be completely settled until i've seen him with my girls and that they are going to be friends!
 
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