Can anyone explain this?

[Sharon.Mackay]

We have had our boys about 6 months, they are slowly coming round but are still shy. We cant always catch them for cuddles or stroke them etc but thats fine, we are getting there. However when i am cleaning out the cage they climb on me sit next to me sniffing and being curious about whats going on. Why are they shy at other times?! Its very strange how tame they are when i am busy sorting the cage, but not when i quietly go in and try to gently stroke them!

 

[Wiebke]

Picking up a piggy cuts very close to the prey animal instinct.

There are ways you can try and work around triggering the the flight instinct.

You can create a "pick up" box and train the boys to get inside with a little treat at the back, a special call and lots of encouragement. The box can be something as simple as a padded shoe box with one short end cut off or an upturned pigloo (which I used with Llewelyn who had extremely keen survival instincts at first). In my experience, the piggies will cooperate as soon as they realise that there is a lot less stressful mode of transport. Confined spaces seem to calm down the piggies.

Ideally, you place the box in a corner and let the piggies get comfy with it first. Then start gently lifting it up and make sure that you cover the exit with a hand to prevent suicidal jumps. Talk to the piggies the whole time.

Here is Llewelyn's shuttle:

 

[katiepops]

Aw I love that pigture of Llewelyn. drool
My boys have got hang of the jumping in the box trick perfectly now, well all apart from Bob who can still never work out how to get in! ( well he's got the looks just not the brains bless him! )
Mine are good at letting me stroke them while they're still in their pen but I find they sometimes get spooked by my shadow looming over them so I talk to them as I'm approaching so they know it's me.
That prey instinct runs deep.

 

[lynneprice]

yes know what you mean mine will come right up to me when I'm cleaning cage out but when i try to pick them up they go bonkers!.strange isnt it .mine will take food out of my hand even go fast asleep in front of me but they will not tolerate me picking them up which is so frustrating as they are so cuddly and cute I'm dying for a cuddle xx

 

[Wiebke]

You can move a piggy on by gently tapping it on the back. I am sure that your piggies will be a lot better once you've sorted out the pick up.

 

[Sodapops]

All 6 of my piggies will happily sit still to be picked up and i think they do this because we don't always approach their cage with the intention of picking them up - in other words they don't see us coming and think 'oh no! they are coming to get us'

I personally spend a lot of time standing next to their cages talking to them and just stroking them - i also arm myself with a piece of their favorite veg most of the time so they associate me with good things. They will often come out from their hidey house to see me whenever i call their names.

I used the pigloo trick last summer to get the piggies outside - it's really effective and it's quite surprising how quickly they adapt and get used to being 'transported'

 

[Teejay]

I do exactly what Wiebke does - i pick mine up in a pigloo. I tempt them in with a bit of lettuce right at the back! It's completely stress free and I only had to do it a couple of times with my two young boys before they seemed to be almost 'trained' into going into the pigloo......they fly into it now!

Tracey

 

[Sharon.Mackay]

Thanks all, i have started sitting sideways next to the cage, letting them sniff my hand and then stroking them. They tolerate this much better, i suppose when i clean out the cage i am not focusing on them so they dont feel threatened. How cute is Llewellyn?! Thats a good idea about using the pigloo as a way of picking them up, it must be scary having a big hand loom towards you.

 

[The Pog Nation]

Out of our five pogs only Dylan never makes a run for it when we make to pick him up. I put it down to all the trips to the vet and handling that he has had in the past six months in comparison to the others. Next best is the mighty Chewie, our original boar. Worst are big undersow Clover who has a back kick like a mule and our newest wee boar Leo. He's still very skittish and chatters his teeth if we make to lift him out or even when we lift his cagemate Chewie out!

Somewhere in the middle is the glamourous head sow Bramble. Whether she cooperates or not just depends on how prissy a mood she is in What a character!