Had to separate baby boar from mum today :(

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CPHill

CPHill

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Hi. Blacky is 2 weeks and 3 days old today but this afternoon at floor time she kept trying to mount her mum, who was making a sort of growling sound. I thought it wise to put him in his separate cage from now whilst he gets older for neutering but I'm wondering if it is important for them to be able to see each other. As they are ferplast type cages side by side, the plastic sides mean they can't see each other. Is this important? I'm thinking I can give then floor time together and Blacky can be in a wire pen so they can sniff and see each other then. Blacky has a pooh bear teddy which smells of mum so fingers crossed things will go ok!

Feeling sad though for them :(
 
You can make a little step for him to lay on and see over the plastic. A cardboard box will do, just cut it down. Or you could use a hammock so that he can see over.
I had a step each side to start with.
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The boys have hammocks in their cages so they can talk to the girls next door.
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Fabulous ideas! Will try to do something like that now. Thanks so much :)
 
He will be fine. Even if you have one of those log things he can climb up and see mum. I know its heart renching taking him away I felt dreadful But as the end of the day it needs doingxoxo
 
I've made him a little step now but he's not come out yet, just hiding and bit of squeaking. Mum is doing what I can only describe as growling noises which I take to mean she's not happy! :(

His cage is on 2 chairs as the big cage is on a stand so not ground level so he will be looking down over. Will post a pic in a mo to see if anyone had any ideas to make it better...
 
Sorry, but to take the baby away when he is two weeks three days is nothing short of animal cruelty. I have never heard of a baby boar being fertile at this age, in fact it is exceptionally rare for a three week old boar to be fertile....but each to their own.
Baby male animal will lark about and pretend to mate females (or anything else they can find) that’s what baby male animals do.
 
Try putting a towel over the top of the cage so that he feels more secure. I do that with my pigs and they relax much more quickly. :)
 
Juniper said:
Sorry, but to take the baby away when he is two weeks three days is nothing short of animal cruelty. I have never heard of a baby boar being fertile at this age, in fact it is exceptionally rare for a three week old boar to be fertile....but each to their own.
Baby male animal will lark about and pretend to mate females (or anything else they can find) that’s what baby male animals do.
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Don't you think that's a bit of a harsh comment? The OP was asking for help not to be slated, they were concerned and worried and did what they thought was best.
 
Vikx993 said:
Don't you think that's a bit of a harsh comment? The OP was asking for help not to be slated, they were concerned and worried and did what they thought was best.
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Thank you vikx. I am actually quite upset. It's hard enough sat here listening to the squeaks. I am new to piggies and have these babies only due to them unknowingly being pregnant when I got them. I am trying to be responsible and do what is right which is so difficult when you get contradictory advice. I love my piggies already and this is all new to me so find that comment quite offensive.
 
I had to take mine away Juniper. And he is fine.
In fact he is blooming.
Its not animal cruelty at all. We all post on here what we intend to do, and always ask for peoples Input and their opinions. Not one of them told me it was cruel to take my boar away from his mummy and sis.
You need to think about the way you word your comments and stop being so judgemental
 
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Vikx993 said:
Don't you think that's a bit of a harsh comment? The OP was asking for help
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I didn’t aim the comment specifically at the OP (who is presumably inexperienced with pigs.)...more to everyone else who seems to think that this is perfectly acceptable and didn’t just tell the OP to put the very young baby boar back where it belongs
 
"A baby male guinea pig is capable of breeding when he is around 3 weeks of age or 400g in weight which ever comes sooner. He will start to rumble and may attempt to mount his mother or siblings at this stage it is very important he is seperated "
(Guinea pig rehoming - Norfolk, 2006 ) Found at http://www.guineapig-rehoming-norfolk.co.uk/guineapigfactsoflife.htm

I think you're doing the best you can to help make him comfortable, although it may be distressing it would be more distressing if he were to impregnate his mum/sister.
 
Exactly what I was told when I asked for advice.
CP Baby will cry for a while. But he will soon stop, especially when he realises that he is still getting his grub. The way you have set him up near mum looks good to me. I'm no expert though so dont take my word for it. Bumble cried for around two days, all he does now is rumble and shake his thang. And eats like a PIGGIE:(|)He will be fine
 
My piggie vet has said they can get mum pregenant as early as 2 and a half weeks and they are built to cope with being self sufficient from a few days in the wild so in a safer envronment i don't see the problem any animal becomes a initially distressed when weaning but they do cope with it so as long as there is a good eye kept on him he *** be fine. I am normally a neutral person but Jupiter I do feel that was a very harsh comment and perhaps it wasn't aimed at the thread started as you say but to post on their thread would suggest that it was aimed at them in some way.
perhaps we should remember people come her to seek advice. I expect the thread starter has seperated them following advice given and is wanting some support so please could we do that and give constructive suggestions rather than accusations of animal cruelty as it is not a helpful or productive way forward.
 
Just to add my vet had a sow in this week who was bought from a pet shop and pregenant, had 2 babies, vet told her to remove them at 3 weeks, as they were 2 boys, which she did at 3 weeks & 1 day. mum is pregenant again with no other boys in sight so it does happen.
 
Thanks all for your reassurances that I'm doing the right thing. Really appreciate it. Feel better now. Don't want any more babies!
 
CPHill said:
Thank you vikx. I am actually quite upset. It's hard enough sat here listening to the squeaks. I am new to piggies and have these babies only due to them unknowingly being pregnant when I got them. I am trying to be responsible and do what is right which is so difficult when you get contradictory advice. I love my piggies already and this is all new to me so find that comment quite offensive.
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No problem, everyone has to start some where, boy I remember when I got my piggys all i did was worry (still do to be honest) I rescued a 5 week old boar yesterday!
 
Juniper said:
I didn’t aim the comment specifically at the OP (who is presumably inexperienced with pigs.)...more to everyone else who seems to think that this is perfectly acceptable and didn’t just tell the OP to put the very young baby boar back where it belongs
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I see your point, but maybe you should of used a different way to express your concern, also most GP owners know and understand that baby piggies are born ready to go! 2-3 weeks and they are ready to impregnate. Maybe some research is needed on your part (not meant in a nasty way at all) or maybe look things up before you judge.
 
CP please make sure you keep an eye on him and weigh him. check he is eating and drinking ok. I'm sure he will be fine but just because he is self sufficent he is still only little even if he thinks he is a big boy with all the humping friskyness! :)
 
Cgilchrist said:
CP please make sure you keep an eye on him and weigh him. check he is eating and drinking ok. I'm sure he will be fine but just because he is self sufficent he is still only little even if he thinks he is a big boy with all the humping friskyness! :)
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Will do. I weighed today so can monitor gain. He's eating well already, not seen him drink yet but will monitor that too. He's worked out he has a little step now to see mum so that's good. One advantage is his sister won't pinch his food like she normally does! Lol :)
 
Sounds good so far. I've been following your other threads so was happy that you had made the right decision. you've had lots of good advice so far. I know you'll be watching him closely.

You might also try putting a soft toy in the cage for him to snuggle up to, just make sure it has no chewable parts, such as eyes.

:)
 
flips said:
Sounds good so far. I've been following your other threads so was happy that you had made the right decision. you've had lots of good advice so far. I know you'll be watching him closely.

You might also try putting a soft toy in the cage for him to snuggle up to, just make sure it has no chewable parts, such as eyes.

:)
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Thanks. Yes he's got a small pooh bear teddy which has mums smell so hopefully bit of comfort to him tonight. :)
 
I know of someone who's piggy had babies and she didn't remove the boy until 5 weeks as he was very under weight (I think she was advised by a vet to keep him with mum so he wouldn't be ill mallethead) and now her sow is expecting again (boy has been removed and re-homed).
So even piggies under a certain weight can still get mum pregnant.
For what it's worth I think you've done the right thing :), and if he can still see, smell & talk to mum he should be ok.
 
I had to seperate mum and 3 pigs! tho they are all female, they were fighting with being in the cage she had them in, the 2 baby pigs took about 2 weeks to stop pining, I found an old teddy bear and put it in mum cage for a day or 2 and then put it in the seperated babies cage, and they snuggle up to it ! x
 
I have heard that a baby male piggy weighing 250g or more at 4 weeks old should be separated from mother

My babies are 2 weeks old and are all nearly 200g

I have 2 boys and 2 girls
 
I see this thread is quite old now but I had to do the same with my piggie babies because they were rumbling around their mother at 2 weeks so I seperated at 2.5 weeks also. The exact same thing happened to me in that I got 2 female piggies and one was pregnant without me knowing at the time. Around 12 weeks later I had 3 little additions.

You did the exact right thing in seperating that early if he was mounting his mother as it would be even more cruel for her to get pregnant again that soon after giving birth, back to back pregnancies are lethal for piggies.

You are a wise piggie mother :)
 
The guide for separating baby boys is not before 21 days, weighing at least 250g and showing too much interest in mum/sisters.

Males that are under 250g at 21 days can be left with mum for a bit longer until their weight reaches 250g or they reach 35 days, if they are showing too much interest in females after 21 days but are still underweight it has to be a judgement call on the owner's part whether to separate.

The vast majority of males reach 250g before 21 days but this does not mean that they need to be removed early. Males also practice mating before they are capable of causing pregnancies and this should not be used as a reason to separate before 21 days as they are highly unlikely to be potent.

HTH

Suzy x
 
chilwell said:
I see this thread is quite old now but I had to do the same with my piggie babies because they were rumbling around their mother at 2 weeks so I seperated at 2.5 weeks also. The exact same thing happened to me in that I got 2 female piggies and one was pregnant without me knowing at the time. Around 12 weeks later I had 3 little additions.

You did the exact right thing in seperating that early if he was mounting his mother as it would be even more cruel for her to get pregnant again that soon after giving birth, back to back pregnancies are lethal for piggies.

You are a wise piggie mother :)
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i had to ask and make sure because ive searched the forum for answers and this old thread was the only one i could find

I was told information but I wanted to double double make sure I knew what i was doing

it would be irresponsible if i never asked any questions to double check and doubly make sure :( as if there was a mistake pregnancy I would be enemy number 1 on this forum :(

Thank you Suzy for information which is sooooo valuable to me :))
 
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