Bereaved piggy advice

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Sherlocksmum

Sherlocksmum

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My two bereaved piggies lost their brother on Thursday whilst I was on holiday. They don't understand where he's gone, and I think they thought that when they got home from the boarders that he would be here waiting for them. They are very subdued and this morning they did lots of teeth chattering until they calmed down (helped with a cherry tomato). Is there any advice anyone can give me on caring for them during this time for them?
 
Sherlocksmum said:
My two bereaved piggies lost their brother on Thursday whilst I was on holiday. They don't understand where he's gone, and I think they thought that when they got home from the boarders that he would be here waiting for them. They are very subdued and this morning they did lots of teeth chattering until they calmed down (helped with a cherry tomato). Is there any advice anyone can give me on caring for them during this time for them?
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I'm sorry for your loss and for your two piggies who are clearly upset. I don't know about this situation as I am very fortunate not to have lost a piggy yet.

I would only ask if we're talking about two more boars (i.e. you had three boars together)? If so, aside from the loss, their hierarchy will now also be disturbed and dominance issues may well need to be sorted out as the group dynamic has changed.
 
I am very sorry for you loss! Piggies mourn no less than us humans, but generally for a shorter period. The death of a group member also affects the hierarchy which then can lead to the dominance behaviour you have been witnessing. Hopefully, your two boys (?) will come out of their deep mourning within a few days.

There is the possibility of dating bereaved single piggies at a good rescue in order to let them find a new character compatible mate of their liking; careful bonding under expert supervision works for boars of any age. I would not recommend this for two boys (a new third piggy could cause more problems than solve any), but if you happen to have a couple of sows and are looking for another neutered boar, dating is certainly the best way.

There is an excellent rescue in Crawley that offers both full boar dating and often has neutered boars. http://www.crawleyguineapigrescue.org/
 
I had three brothers so I won't be able to add a friend to their group. Their lost friend was the glue in their bond so I'm a bit worried now, they seem so lost without him. I just hope time will help.
 
Thank you I wasn't sure about trying to keep things the same or moving things so I'll actually swap some of their things around to encourage them to have some fun and distract them a little from their loss. Thank you
 
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