Hay Box

CheifoNibSqueak

CheifoNibSqueak

New Born Pup
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First post so sorry if this is in the wrong place, has been asked before, or sounds stupid. I've picked up an young boar yesterday and he is currently in his own cage (he will be having the snip and going in with the girls or be getting cage if if I can get him to bond with another male) the cage is all set up fine eg litter tray which doubles as a hid water bottle + bowl nuggets and is having a few fresh veggies a few times a day rather than in two meals until he's settle in properly. But I've kept the box he came in, cut part of one side out and left the minimal hay the pet shop put in there added a bit extra and he obviously loves being in there but would too much in there be a problem.

I know this might sound a strange question but the girls and the last boar I had were adults when I took them in so were fully settled and social so never had to worry about this
 
More hay in there is absolutely fine. Do be aware he’s young and in a new place by himself so he is likely to take a while to come out his shell. Give him a week to settle in, just poo picking and taking out any sodden hay.

How old is he roughly and is his cage next to the girls? If he fails to bond with the girls and you decide to bring in another boar, you will have to be careful with how you arrange them. If they can only live in the same room then your boys will have to live upstairs and the girls downstairs.
 
Awesome, thank you. He's only 8-9 weeks old so very young still but he's been brave enough to venture out last night of his own accord and had a run around.

It's a C&C cage so fully customisable but at the moment he's on top of the girls with the intention of getting him done and just adding a ramp to the upstairs. I'm quitely optimistic they'll bond ok the girls are very placid and nothing really fusses them and theyre also to lazy to use a ramp so he'd pretty much always have the upstairs to himself. But I'll be holding off on having him done until I find a vet I'm more comfortable with as the one I spoke to were very evasive when I asked at reception basic questions about having a male pig done (I had no intention of getting him) and I always go with my gut so we probably wont go there.

Sorry probably too much information
 
Welcome to the forum

The fact he is living in a cage above the girls, means his social needs are not currently being met sadly.
A single piggy, particularly one of his age, must be side by side with other piggies. He needs to be able to have constant through the bar interaction with the girls for the entire time he is alone until he is able to actually be bonded in with them. You will need to bring his cage down to floor level so he can see the girls at all times, otherwise he risks getting lonely. You would need to make sure his cage is fully secure so he cannot escape his cage and get in with them. He will have quite some wait before being old enough to be neutered and then for the six week post op wait (approx 14 weeks until he can live with the girls) so it’s too long for him to be without interaction with other piggies.

Do note that if you do get him neutered and he can bond with your girls, that a two storey cage doesn’t count towards the cage space. The cage will need to be big enough on a single level for the amount of piggies you have - ie if him being with them makes three then the cage needs to be a 2x5 c&c.
 
Thank you for the heads up about side but side, I'll move him down stairs tonight as I put him in the old boars cage (he had always been a solo piggy)

Luckily the cage is currently 2x6 so more than enough room, my only concern at the moment is he is so small at the moment that he can probably fit through the square bars panels but would the small rectangluar ones be ok as he'd still be able to see them? The upstairs has an added cladding to it so I didnt have that worry with him being up there. I hope my awful descriptions make some sense
 
CheifoNibSqueak said:
Thank you for the heads up about side but side, I'll move him down stairs tonight as I put him in the old boars cage (he had always been a solo piggy)

Luckily the cage is currently 2x6 so more than enough room, my only concern at the moment is he is so small at the moment that he can probably fit through the square bars panels but would the small rectangluar ones be ok as he'd still be able to see them? The upstairs has an added cladding to it so I didnt have that worry with him being up there. I hope my awful descriptions make some sense
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Depends on the bars, but small rectangular ones would be better.
He would be able to get through standard c&c grids at his age.
 
Theyre the ones C&C include to be used as flooring so basically like the Standard size but with extra horizontal bars, so hed be able to see but not fit through
 

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Thank you for all your advise all three seem very happy being side by side, new one was straight to have a look and chat to the girls through the bars.

Last question I have would be when would be the best age to introduce him to a ramp
 
CheifoNibSqueak said:
Thank you for all your advise all three seem very happy being side by side, new one was straight to have a look and chat to the girls through the bars.

Last question I have would be when would be the best age to introduce him to a ramp
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There is not really a best age as such - piggies aren’t natural climbers so really it just comes down to whether he will use it or not.
What is important is making sure the gradient is not steep, that the ramp has sides and that it has good grip.
 
I'd guess it's between 20-30 degrees, although since asking this I've figure out how to get an extra five grids on the same level added to the cage.

Once again thank you for the advice, he's now doing really well and already coming out of his shell
 
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