Baby Piggies

[Charlotte01]

Recently, I devistatingly lost my eldest piggy due to what was probably old age while she was recovering from an illness. I have 3 other pigs (2 sows and 1 boar). The sows are sisters which we adopted from a rescue and the boar is also a rescue pig. He and our female pig who sadly passed were very close and he seems lonely. My mum was more than happy to allow me to get another pig to keep him company as she has noticed his loneliness. I looked at rescue centres and all the ones local to me only have baby pigs for sale. I haven't cared for babies before as all my pigs have been rescued that were about 2. About 8 years ago, one of our sows gave birth to 3 pups but I was only six so my mum did most of the looking after. I want to know as much as possible about looking after baby pigs (6-8 weeks). I have done a fair amount of googling but would like to know any other tips and important information about looking after pups. Thankyou

 

[orangeinepig]

Would it be possible to move the boar in with the sows if he already isn't? If not then just make sure the babies have unlimited amounts of pellets and that they have some alfalfa hay in their diet.

 

[Charlotte01]

Would it be possible to move the boar in with the sows if he already isn't? If not then just make sure the babies have unlimited amounts of pellets and that they have some alfalfa hay in their diet.

He's lived with them since they arrived and he gets on well with them but they are a 'pair' and I always find them sleeping together whereas he used to sleep with the other female so I would like to get him a companion. He is happy enough but I think he would like a new friend. Thankyou for the advice

 

[orangeinepig]

He's lived with them since they arrived and he gets on well with them but they are a 'pair' and I always find them sleeping together whereas he used to sleep with the other female so I would like to get him a companion. He is happy enough but I think he would like a new friend. Thankyou for the advice

Oh that's a bit like my three sows even though they are all different ages two of them pair off and leave the other by themselves but they then all just have a little squabble and another pair forms and this can happen every few minutes as they are all so cheeky

 

[Lady Kelly]

Depending on the babies personality it shouldn't be that much different just that they can be much faster and wrigglier! I've had Jemima since she was 6 weeks old, as she was born in rescue she has always been confident around humans. I would suggest a hideys or two that the baby can get in but your boar can't. I had one of the grass/wicker balls which Jemima used to dive into if any of the others started picking on her too much which just gave her a break.

 

[Charlotte01]

Depending on the babies personality it shouldn't be that much different just that they can be much faster and wrigglier! I've had Jemima since she was 6 weeks old, as she was born in rescue she has always been confident around humans. I would suggest a hideys or two that the baby can get in but your boar can't. I had one of the grass/wicker balls which Jemima used to dive into if any of the others started picking on her too much which just gave her a break.

I think I am adopting a baby with her mother which should make it alot easier and my boy is very gentle and friendly so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the advice

 

[Freela]

I've had baby pigs of that age in the past... they are apt to be smaller, faster, and more skittish than mature pigs, but otherwise their care needs are pretty similar. They are also apt to be pretty active- lots of popcorning and running around like crazy just to burn off energy. You may be surprised at how fast they are... they can run and turn on a dime! However, I have bonded babies to much older adults in the past- I was worried that the active baby would irritate the more senior pig (the last pair-up I did was a 12-week-old baby and an adult who was almost 5 years old) but they seemed to get along fine. The senior pig, however, does NOT want to 'play' with the younger as far as running around and things go, even though the younger pig make a noticeable effort to engage her!

 

[Lady Kelly]

I think I am adopting a baby with her mother which should make it alot easier and my boy is very gentle and friendly so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the advice

He may well be gentle but my gentle older man discovered a new lust for life when I adopted a 6 month old in April and turned into a sex pest for a good month or so. Not saying it will happen but somewhere to escape to just in case is usually appreciated lol