Advice needed please

[Titchybabe]

Hello everyone!

I have recently lost my rabbit (last week) 8..., it has made me want to give my piggies even more attention as I miss the rabbit loads!

I have quite a big hutch and when I go to pick them up they try and run away I have had them for 1.5 years now and they come to say hi to me when I feed them and I can get to stoke one of them but the other runs away when I try and go near her.

Can anyone help me? with way that I can make them feel more comfortable around me and not be worried when I am talking to them and pick them up.

We have just finished sorting out the garden and I want to be able to put them in the run without them being worried etc.

 

[rachelsharp]

i've had my two girls for three(ish) years now, and neither of them like being picked up! they sound very similar to yours; my two will both come up to me for attention, but really dislike being picked up. i think it is just in the nature of some pigs not to like it. when i move them from the hutch to the grass, i either get them into a plastic tube and carry them that way or in a fleecy sack and i find that's the best way without stressing them out. x

 

[Wiebke]

Time and patience... The more time you spend with them, the more relaxed they will become around you. Many piggies don't like being picked up (it cuts; too close to their prey animals instincts). Talk to them constantly, praise them lots, make their life interesting with toys (ideas for that you can find in our reference section). Make sure that they have protection in the new run, or they will simply sit frightened in a corner - a beach blanket over the top and hideys to us as a base for exploring dotted around will help a lot!

I would also recommend using some kind of conveyance for pick up, pipe, tunnel, cosy, padded shoe box with one end cut off, padded upturned pigloo, towel... Place it in a corner, put a little veg treat in and wait until they are comfy with it (preferably had a nap) before you are starting to lift them up. Turn it into a ritual by always using the same word with the same melody, so they know what is expected. You can gently tap a piggy on the bum, that is piggy language for move on, but not more than that.
If necessary, spend some time and efforst to get you piggies comfy around your hands first. Have little pieces of veg or herbs or do a little spot clean etc. until they don't associate your hands no longer with grabbing. Do not try to do any more than occasionallly "accidentally" brush against them.

You may find more member threads on this topic in our behaviour section.

 

[Emiley]

Constant handling is the key, you need to handle your piggies everyday to keep that strong bond going. I noticed that when I didn't handle mine for a couple of days they were very shy and nervous again when I went to pick them up.

 

[CandyFloss]

Some of mine dont like being picked up either - for them I use a fabric 'hut' - they hop into it when I ask them - saves chasing them about and stressing them (and me) out,
x