MunchMummy
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello all - another long post - please bear with me!
I posted a while about a new piggy, Daisy, who we took in and within days of bonding with our bereaved old boar Albie, fell very ill. She was diagnosed with Vesitbular syndrome...we don't know for sure the cause. We had to make the choice to put a grid between them both as Albie was still trying to play and "love" Daisy which was too much for her.
You wonderful people advised keeping them separated but next to eachother which we did...we had grids down the middle giving them a 4x2 each. You also advised keeping them this way if Albie wasn't showing signs of pining.
Well, a week or so after these posts, Albie became more withdrawn, wasn't eating his veg and was hiding away. He showed no signs of going anywhere near the barrier to see Daisy...who spent most of her time in her igloo.
We took Albie for a full health check and he was given a full bill of health. Given your advice...which I utterly take as gospel.. we just didn't know what to do. We agonised over whether Albie needed a new friend and we were worried it was a) too soon for Daisy and b) Albie would be too energetic and too excited by Daisy again and stress her out.
A few days into this agonising, we were made aware of a 12 week old (although I have suspicions he was a little younger) complete boar who was "left over" from an otherwise female, unplanned litter
Having been so worried about Albie, and after much debate, we adopted the little fellow and bonded him with Albie. I still don't know if we did right by him and Daisy but Albie and Checo (baby boar) are incredibly happy! Checo clearly thinks uncle Albie is the best thing since sliced bread and follows him around, copying him! In almost a week of being together I genuinely haven't seen a single sign of aggression and they even curl up asleep together in the hayloft or under the same igloo...despite having 2! Albie is eating again (like you wouldn't believe!), he's engaged, bright and seems so happy!
So now to Daisy. She has been in a 3x2 c&c since we bonded Albie and Checo. But close to other pigs. She is basically in the centre of the room with all the other pigs surrounding her (just a walkway for us in between). She has been off antibiotics and pain relief for almost 2 weeks and in the last week she has made the biggest improvement (I don't know if not being next to Albie has contributed or if its a coincidence!) She is now using all her limbs properly, eating and drinking independently and in the last 72 hours has finally been putting weight back on and maintaining it and is coming out to see us when we walk in. She is however still a little wobbly on her feet and has the slightest head tilt (which the vet said she may have permanently
). We've worked so hard to get her well again.
We are taking her for another check up soon but after all that waffle...my main question is, do you guys think we should start to look for a gentle sow companion for Daisy, what do we need to bear in mind with bonding if she is left with this disability and at what point would you suggest we start to try and bond her? The rescue we adopted her from told us she didn't fit in well with the herd there and she was previously bereaved having lived with an older boar. She is 2 years old.
Thank you for your patience in reading this.
I posted a while about a new piggy, Daisy, who we took in and within days of bonding with our bereaved old boar Albie, fell very ill. She was diagnosed with Vesitbular syndrome...we don't know for sure the cause. We had to make the choice to put a grid between them both as Albie was still trying to play and "love" Daisy which was too much for her.
You wonderful people advised keeping them separated but next to eachother which we did...we had grids down the middle giving them a 4x2 each. You also advised keeping them this way if Albie wasn't showing signs of pining.
Well, a week or so after these posts, Albie became more withdrawn, wasn't eating his veg and was hiding away. He showed no signs of going anywhere near the barrier to see Daisy...who spent most of her time in her igloo.
We took Albie for a full health check and he was given a full bill of health. Given your advice...which I utterly take as gospel.. we just didn't know what to do. We agonised over whether Albie needed a new friend and we were worried it was a) too soon for Daisy and b) Albie would be too energetic and too excited by Daisy again and stress her out.
A few days into this agonising, we were made aware of a 12 week old (although I have suspicions he was a little younger) complete boar who was "left over" from an otherwise female, unplanned litter
Having been so worried about Albie, and after much debate, we adopted the little fellow and bonded him with Albie. I still don't know if we did right by him and Daisy but Albie and Checo (baby boar) are incredibly happy! Checo clearly thinks uncle Albie is the best thing since sliced bread and follows him around, copying him! In almost a week of being together I genuinely haven't seen a single sign of aggression and they even curl up asleep together in the hayloft or under the same igloo...despite having 2! Albie is eating again (like you wouldn't believe!), he's engaged, bright and seems so happy!
So now to Daisy. She has been in a 3x2 c&c since we bonded Albie and Checo. But close to other pigs. She is basically in the centre of the room with all the other pigs surrounding her (just a walkway for us in between). She has been off antibiotics and pain relief for almost 2 weeks and in the last week she has made the biggest improvement (I don't know if not being next to Albie has contributed or if its a coincidence!) She is now using all her limbs properly, eating and drinking independently and in the last 72 hours has finally been putting weight back on and maintaining it and is coming out to see us when we walk in. She is however still a little wobbly on her feet and has the slightest head tilt (which the vet said she may have permanently
). We've worked so hard to get her well again.We are taking her for another check up soon but after all that waffle...my main question is, do you guys think we should start to look for a gentle sow companion for Daisy, what do we need to bear in mind with bonding if she is left with this disability and at what point would you suggest we start to try and bond her? The rescue we adopted her from told us she didn't fit in well with the herd there and she was previously bereaved having lived with an older boar. She is 2 years old.
Thank you for your patience in reading this.
