Bringing In Babies

[Kithri]

Hi, everyone! I have a question regarding the possible adoption of two four-wheek-old baby girls at the local shelter! We currently have two two-year-old ladies, Eleanor and Lucy, but we've been slowly moving toward getting two more females to join them. If we do get the babies, they'd be about six wheeks, maybe, by the time we bring them home since we're going away next weekend and won't have the larger cage set up for a bit.

If we do bring them home, is there any thing that should be done differently since they're so young? Will they still need alfalfa hay, or will they be old enough for plain ol' timothy? Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, everyone! I have a question regarding the possible adoption of two four-wheek-old baby girls at the local shelter! We currently have two two-year-old ladies, Eleanor and Lucy, but we've been slowly moving toward getting two more females to join them. If we do get the babies, they'd be about six wheeks, maybe, by the time we bring them home since we're going away next weekend and won't have the larger cage set up for a bit.

If we do bring them home, is there any thing that should be done differently since they're so young? Will they still need alfalfa hay, or will they be old enough for plain ol' timothy? Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi! No, there is nothing you need to do anything differently for the youngsters. You may want to feed a touch (but really only a touch!) more pellets for the for the first month or such to cover any extra small needs for protein and calcium, but these needs are so small that they actually do not need any extra coverage at all if your piggies are on a good balanced diet, as most needs will be covered by that already. It is much better to allow youngsters to grow slowly but steadily for longer than to overdo it so they will stop growing fast sooner and then do the switch to converting extra calories to fat earlier.

None of my suprise babies or adopted babies has had any extra and they have all thrived. My surprise baby (the one in the avatar) is coming up to 6 years of age and is still going strong, by the way! She's certainly not suffered!

Here are our tips for introductions; one scenario features the introduction of a young piggy to a group.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

You may need to clear the question of quarantine with the shelter before you bring your babies home. Babies are generally happier with adult guidance and desperate for company, but unless the shelter is sure that the babies are not carrying anything across, you have to be prepared to treat all four piggies if there is an infectious issue (ringworm, mange mites or URI). You will also have to brace yourself that dominance can be on the strong side at first as all weaned babies are rather emphatically pushed to the bottom of the hierarchy (even by their mums) once they lose their protected status after weaning. It is a matter of sitting out the first 2-3 days. Babies can be VERY dramatic and vocal, so it usually looks much worse than it actually is.