help!

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bumblebea04

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trying to get my girls used to lap time (both 4 months old, i’ve had them for a few weeks). i wanted to see if anyone knew how to interpret her body language. does she look terrified or atleast a little calm?
also my other piggie doesn’t seem to like lap time much, she just sits frozen and scrambles to get out sometimes. should i keep trying or just do floor time with her?
 

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Not a very easy thing to tell from a photo!
Best thing is to follow their lead.

None of mine like being handled so I don’t do it. don’t see the point in making them do something which they don’t want to do so my handing is them is for essential purposes only. Otherwise my interaction with them is sitting on their shed floor and letting them come to me if they want. to
 
To build up trust with mine, I started by sitting on the floor with a blanket over my legs and some treats. First they just came over snatched the treat then ran away
It wasn't too long until they started to climb on me, then the next stage was a little pet on the head. It's a process that you have to take at their pace.IMG20230619191017.webp
 
Piggies&buns said:
Not a very easy thing to tell from a photo!
Best thing is to follow their lead.

None of mine like being handled so I don’t do it. don’t see the point in making them do something which they don’t want to do so my handing is them is for essential purposes only. Otherwise my interaction with them is sitting on their shed floor and letting them come to me if they want. to
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thank you for the advice :) i’m working to be understanding of their wants definitely!
 
fluffysal said:
To build up trust with mine, I started by sitting on the floor with a blanket over my legs and some treats. First they just came over snatched the treat then ran away
It wasn't too long until they started to climb on me, then the next stage was a little pet on the head. It's a process that you have to take at their pace.View attachment 235169
Click to expand...
thanks for sharing! such cute pigs! that does seem effective. i don’t have much space that isn’t carpeted, so i worry about them peeing on it if they’re just out. i could possibly try that on my bathroom floor though! which treats do your piggies like?
 
As a special treat pea flakes. So they don't have too many I also use bits of cucumber, green beans carrot sticks. Anything you can hand feed really. Herbs work well as they can smell them from a distance. My boys will do anything for basil or parsley!
 
Piggies&buns said:
None of mine like being handled so I don’t do it. don’t see the point in making them do something which they don’t want to do so my handing is them is for essential purposes only. Otherwise my interaction with them is sitting on their shed floor and letting them come to me if they want. to
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Same here
 
Tim never liked it, Boris will only settle for a few minutes but George will curl up and even go to sleep. I'm very lucky that I have such a chilled out Georgie 🥰
 
@fluffysal It's a bit of a shame but I think they're happier. Of course they still need weighing and nail cutting and catching but it's not something they do enjoy. On the other hand, they know what they want and have learnt how to tell us when it comes to food, which is definitely more important :))
 
I've had very few piggies who liked lap time or being handled. I only handle when necessary unless they show signs of being relaxed around me. Of my current 6 piggies 1 is comfortable on my lap and 2 love to have their heads scratched in the cage and will come to the side of the cage for me to scratch them. The others just hide when they see me coming!

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Red loves some lap time with me. He wasn't always like this, he's mellowed with age. He started liking to sit on my lap when he was about 4, he's coming up for 6 now.
 
Boris loves a chin scratch, when he came to me earlier for one I discovered some boar glue down his chest. Naughty George 😂
 
fluffysal said:
As a special treat pea flakes. So they don't have too many I also use bits of cucumber, green beans carrot sticks. Anything you can hand feed really. Herbs work well as they can smell them from a distance. My boys will do anything for basil or parsley!
Click to expand...
i tried letting them hand feed yesterday with the oxbow veggie treats during floor time and they both sniffed around my hand and came very close to taking it :)
 
piggieminder said:
I've had very few piggies who liked lap time or being handled. I only handle when necessary unless they show signs of being relaxed around me. Of my current 6 piggies 1 is comfortable on my lap and 2 love to have their heads scratched in the cage and will come to the side of the cage for me to scratch them. The others just hide when they see me coming!

View attachment 235192
Red loves some lap time with me. He wasn't always like this, he's mellowed with age. He started liking to sit on my lap when he was about 4, he's coming up for 6 now.
Click to expand...
what a cute guy! i’m super excited for my girls to get bigger, i love how adult guineas look. i guess my question now is should i continue with lap time since they’re so young to try to acclimate them? or should i limit it to hand feeding and just being around them during floor time (as well as the necessary handling of course)?
 
Just see how things go.
My two youngsters initially didn’t mind being handled (ie it wasn’t that they were scared and did the staying still thing due to being too scared to move) but as they got older (they’re only a year old now) they made it very clear they they don’t want to be handled
 
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