Engel's Herd

Engel said:
I managed to bond Cyril, Blossom and Autumn and they're all very happy piggies! Cyril has been grooming both of the girls ears very gently and the girls aren't complaining. So glad it's gone well. I will keep an eye over the next few weeks but hopefully everything will be fine.
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Fabulous news. Well done.
 
Thought I'd update here because it's been a while (again 😅) everyone is doing well. Cyril and the girls have settled well and can often be seen doing popcorn and zoomies together. Mia is taking her cystease without a fuss, probably because she knows she'll get a treat afterwards 😂. The cystease has made a massive difference, no squeaking and no blood in her urine, I'm really pleased.

The temperatures aren't great yet so they're indoors. During the day it's ok, in fact some days it's too hot in the shed! But at nights it's not hitting even 10°C in the hutch. I'm not sure if I'm going to put them out as it just doesn't seem fair to keep moving them outside and inside as it's too hot or cold so regularly.
 
Do you ever just sit and watch your pigs, not interact, just watch? Just witnessed Eris giving Mia a wash like she did when she was a baby. Do you think they keep those caring maternal instincts even when their babies are all grown up? Even Basil gets a wash although not as thorough as Mia's. None of the other pigs do it, hence why I wonder if it's down to her being a mother.

Autumn has somehow gained 100g in the past 3 weeks while everyone else has stayed stable. Will weigh her next week and if it's increased again I think I'll get her checked. She seems ok in herself and is eating and running like a looney. She is roughly 8 months old so I know she's still growing and it's probably nothing but rather be on the safe side.
 
Engel said:
Do you ever just sit and watch your pigs, not interact, just watch? Just witnessed Eris giving Mia a wash like she did when she was a baby. Do you think they keep those caring maternal instincts even when their babies are all grown up? Even Basil gets a wash although not as thorough as Mia's. None of the other pigs do it, hence why I wonder if it's down to her being a mother.

Autumn has somehow gained 100g in the past 3 weeks while everyone else has stayed stable. Will weigh her next week and if it's increased again I think I'll get her checked. She seems ok in herself and is eating and running like a looney. She is roughly 8 months old so I know she's still growing and it's probably nothing but rather be on the safe side.
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Maternal instincts are very strong. 😍
 
When the piggies lived indoors, I used to love sitting in the dining and watching them as I did whatever it was I was doing. The boys loved to demand a scratch (I’m looking at you Toff!) then would continue on their way. I feel they did love to be in the thick of things, especially the boys. The kids would spend a lot of time in the dining and just chatting to them etc. I miss having them inside ☹️

Maybe she feels she has a better bond with her girl than with Basil. I would say 100g in 3 weeks isn’t a worrying gain. It’s roughly 33.3G a week. She is still fairly young
 
Siikibam said:
When the piggies lived indoors, I used to love sitting in the dining and watching them as I did whatever it was I was doing. The boys loved to demand a scratch (I’m looking at you Toff!) then would continue on their way. I feel they did love to be in the thick of things, especially the boys. The kids would spend a lot of time in the dining and just chatting to them etc. I miss having them inside ☹️

Maybe she feels she has a better bond with her girl than with Basil. I would say 100g in 3 weeks isn’t a worrying gain. It’s roughly 33.3G a week. She is still fairly young
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Its a shame that you can't have them indoors anymore. 😔

Yes this is the problem, she is still young. She just keeps getting wider and wider but she's not a long pig which probably makes it look worse than it is.
 
Engel said:
Its a shame that you can't have them indoors anymore. 😔

Yes this is the problem, she is still young. She just keeps getting wider and wider but she's not a long pig which probably makes it look worse than it is.
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If it were just me I would be okay. But I can’t have the children permanently having the sniffles. I mean they would have also lived to keep them inside but it’s not fair on them. I still enjoy them when I sit out in the summer. And Toff still demands scratches 😍
 
Some pigtures for you all. Cyril has been with his ladies for 2 months now but it feels like they've always been together, they mesh so well. Autumn is now my biggest pig at 1203g. Both Blossom and Autumn have gained so much confidence and will follow me around the cage. I now have to clean around them, I can't shoo them to one side anymore.

Jupi keeps having minor inflammation around his bottom incisor but it comes and goes, I don't know what's causing it but it's probably bothering me more than him. Eris is going through a phase of licking pellets before eating them. Only once they have been licked on all sides will she then eat it. Made me panic to begin with because all I saw was her picking up and dropping pellets. Will keep an eye on her though.
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Everyone is doing well despite the heat. It's 27.5C in the animal room so cooling items have been handed out and are being mostly ignored. Frozen bottles (wrapped) have mostly defrosted and aren't being touched at all. I've draped damp towels over hides and overhanging somewhat so they're enjoying running through that. Windows and doors are open so there's a nice breeze going through which helps. They seem to be coping well and up to the usual so that's a relief. Its currently 29-30 degrees out. I can't stand out there myself as I feel like I'm being cooked, chose a great time to run out of hay indoors. Concrete, slabs and tarmac are too hot to stand on so the dogs are pancaked in the kitchen as there's just concrete under the lino so its lovely and cool.

Already heard of someone needing to call the police to get a dog out of the car as the owner had left it in there as they 'weren't going to be long'. I doubt that will be the only one in town this week. :(
 
Lovely outside today but meant to be getting hotter during the week (into the 30s). Times like this I wish the pigs were on the lawn, but the 8 or so buzzards screaming above me remind why that isn't a good idea.

Anyway, I've been gardening and got some stuff drying for the pigs forage during the cooler months and thought with the heat coming this would be a perfect time.

So far I have the following drying:
Marigolds
Borage (only a small amount)
Yarrow
Plantain
Dandelion leaves
Herb robert
Fennel
Coriander
Mint
Parsley
Strawberry leaves

Hoping to add some raspberry leaves, nettles, sticky weed (they LOVE sticky weed), birch and apple leaves and whatever else I can find.

So far everything I have dried seems to be drying well so fingers crossed
 
Went out foraging this morning and came out with a bag full of nettles, briars and grass. It's just got cool enough to go out into the shed and dry it. I assume the stems of nettles and briars (minus thorns) are edible? Also how does everyone store homemade forage? Currently got a clean cardboard tea box but I haven't got another and it's pretty full. Thinking of a long but shallow cardboard box? Got an Amazon delivery coming soon so could use that. I normally store store bought forage in large airtight containers but I worry about it sweating in the heat of I haven't removed enough moisture. (It's pretty crunchy though). I just don't want to make a big batch and have it spoil. Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
The last (and only) time I prepped forage for the piggies, I think I kept it indoors in food bags/plastic bag of some sort.
 
I've got some crocosmia which I was going to dry and add to my forage mix. I found a thread here which said it was ok but that was nearly 10 years ago. I just wanted to double check that it's safe as I can't find anything more recent. I believe @Wiebke had some and a piggy would eat it?
 
Engel said:
I've got some crocosmia which I was going to dry and add to my forage mix. I found a thread here which said it was ok but that was nearly 10 years ago. I just wanted to double check that it's safe as I can't find anything more recent. I believe @Wiebke had some and a piggy would eat it?
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I didn’t know they could eat that, a fairly common garden plant. I dig it up every year but we always get the occasional strand come up
 
Engel said:
I've got some crocosmia which I was going to dry and add to my forage mix. I found a thread here which said it was ok but that was nearly 10 years ago. I just wanted to double check that it's safe as I can't find anything more recent. I believe @Wiebke had some and a piggy would eat it?
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I have certainly never said that and never fed any crocosmia from my own garden to my own piggies.

Any plants with bulbs and straight leaves are best avoided. Go by the the better safe than sorry rule if in any doubt.
 
I would no longer recommend it; it falls into the category of not being acutely poisonous but that doesn't mean that it is good for the piggies.

Please keep in mind when digging up old threads, like the one from 2009 that you are citing, that things may have moved on a long way on in the intervening 13 years. If you have any doubts or want to make sure, rather start a new request so you get the up to date advice.
 
Wiebke said:
I would no longer recommend it; it falls into the category of not being acutely poisonous but that doesn't mean that it is good for the piggies.

Please keep in mind when digging up old threads, like the one from 2009 that you are citing that things may have moved a long way on in the intervening 13 years.
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Yes I'm very aware which is why I was double checking with you whether or not it's still deemed safe as there wasn't anything else posted more recent.

I check to see if any questions I may have, have already been asked and look at the most recent thread to see what's advised or recommended. Typically the things I search are answered by posts less than 2 years old. However this one was different. Thanks for clearing that up, I'll put it in the garden and away from pigs. 🙂
 
Crocosmia are corms and not bulbs like onions, garlic or many garden spring flowers etc., which should be avoided in any case. I don't worry if the piggies tuck into a crocosmia leaf but I would not plant them specifically as a piggy plant.
 
Wiebke said:
Crocosmia are corms and not bulbs like onions, garlic or may spring flowers etc. which should be avoided in any case. I don't worry if the piggies tuck into a crocosmia leaf but I would not plant them specifically as a piggy plant.
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Ah I see. Thanks for letting me know. Hope you're recovering ok.
 
Engel said:
Ah I see. Thanks for letting me know. Hope you're recovering ok.
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Thanks for asking.

I am exhausted and very tired; not helped by two loud and very late weekend birthday parties of my neighbours.
A Covid wipe-out and me not dealing well with heat/high humidity and far too little sleep are unfortunately not a good combination. :(

One of the biggest benefits of first spending my summer holidays travelling around the UK and then emigrating when I married my hub twenty years ago was the UK summers falling largely into my comfort temperature range between 15-25 C where I am most active. Compared to Switzerland, the odd day or two of 30 C were a doddle...
 
Very quick question and one of which I doubt needs its own thread. As the pigs are now permanently indoors, I have no use for the hutch outdoors. If I was to bring it indoors for 2 groups to use rather than have them in a C&C cage, would the hutch still trap heat in the summer even with it being indoors?
 
Don't really know where to post this or how well known it is, but you can get celery to regrow. Just put the base in some water and wait for roots. IMG_20220904_142701860.webp

Also take the seeds out of peppers and put on some damp kitchen roll. Once plants are big enough, transplant into compost and put on them in your window. They will turn towards the light so I turn them. I've got flowers appearing on mine now 😄
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