Featheryfriend
Junior Guinea Pig
Helloooo piggy people! Long time no see. I've been busy as all heck, but life on the Pig Ranch has been blissfully uneventful for the most part.
One more piggy has appeared! I heard about a bereaved 3-year-old sow whose family was also moving soon and unable to take her with them. The temptation of having 3 even herds of 6 pigs was too much. I'm naming her Heather.
I kept her in an adjoining enclosure for a few days this time around since it had been a while since she'd seen another piggy. The introduction is happening today and so far it's a very mild time in the bonding pen. I don't think we will have any problems there.
Everyone has been happy and healthy. Most of them have seen the vet at least once now. We switched to disposable paper and now hemp bedding, as I was getting very tired of washing fleece constantly. Everyone has learned how to use the ramps, too!
One exception to perfect health - Pepper still needs her spay surgery, as her hair loss is getting quite noticeable. The thing stopping me from scheduling it right now is that I need to be able to give her the post-op pain medication reliably...
And I'm currently fostering my friend's very high-needs 4 year old child, which makes my schedule a little too unpredictable. I'd worry about missing a dose because I'm dealing with a tantrum or other major child event. My poor friend's physical and mental health deteriorated to the point that the Department of Child Services got involved. If I hadn't volunteered myself, Kiddo would have been sent to be fostered by strangers, and no way was I having that. At least I'm a familiar face.
Unfortunately Kiddo had basically gone feral since the last time I sat them. It's been a whole process re-teaching them how to accept caregiving and show respect. I'm not sure how long they're going to be with me - DCS here is notoriously sluggish at doing anything. If it's very long I might have to get Pepper her spay anyway and just juggle it somehow.
Kiddo has made substantial behavioral improvements in the time I've had them, and today they helped me put the piggies in the bonding pen. They gave each piggy a kiss.
But yeah... thankfully I've had help feeding and tending to the Ranch residents (as well as plenty of support for Kiddo) because Kiddo is pretty all-consuming right now. If my friend's road to recovery ends up being long and it becomes a "formal" foster care placement, I think I'll be able to get free child care, which would be great. If, knock on wood, my friend never meets whatever requirements DCS puts forward, my partner and I would be likely candidates to adopt Kiddo. So our little ranch might gain a human resident?
One more piggy has appeared! I heard about a bereaved 3-year-old sow whose family was also moving soon and unable to take her with them. The temptation of having 3 even herds of 6 pigs was too much. I'm naming her Heather.
I kept her in an adjoining enclosure for a few days this time around since it had been a while since she'd seen another piggy. The introduction is happening today and so far it's a very mild time in the bonding pen. I don't think we will have any problems there.
Everyone has been happy and healthy. Most of them have seen the vet at least once now. We switched to disposable paper and now hemp bedding, as I was getting very tired of washing fleece constantly. Everyone has learned how to use the ramps, too!
One exception to perfect health - Pepper still needs her spay surgery, as her hair loss is getting quite noticeable. The thing stopping me from scheduling it right now is that I need to be able to give her the post-op pain medication reliably...
And I'm currently fostering my friend's very high-needs 4 year old child, which makes my schedule a little too unpredictable. I'd worry about missing a dose because I'm dealing with a tantrum or other major child event. My poor friend's physical and mental health deteriorated to the point that the Department of Child Services got involved. If I hadn't volunteered myself, Kiddo would have been sent to be fostered by strangers, and no way was I having that. At least I'm a familiar face.
Unfortunately Kiddo had basically gone feral since the last time I sat them. It's been a whole process re-teaching them how to accept caregiving and show respect. I'm not sure how long they're going to be with me - DCS here is notoriously sluggish at doing anything. If it's very long I might have to get Pepper her spay anyway and just juggle it somehow.
Kiddo has made substantial behavioral improvements in the time I've had them, and today they helped me put the piggies in the bonding pen. They gave each piggy a kiss.
But yeah... thankfully I've had help feeding and tending to the Ranch residents (as well as plenty of support for Kiddo) because Kiddo is pretty all-consuming right now. If my friend's road to recovery ends up being long and it becomes a "formal" foster care placement, I think I'll be able to get free child care, which would be great. If, knock on wood, my friend never meets whatever requirements DCS puts forward, my partner and I would be likely candidates to adopt Kiddo. So our little ranch might gain a human resident?
It sounds like caring for the pigs with kiddo might be a great bonding/teaching activity. I feel like guinea pigs have a calming effect that could even work on 4 year olds. I don't have any kids though so I could be wrong 
Hope the roller coaster has more highs than lows 
Getting to hold Nutmeg is a great reward for a day of mostly good behavior, haha. 
Gorgeous piggies
Naughty Pepper! Thankfully she lands in the hay bin or veggie bowl...