Wiebke's Tribe: Sows and the City Boars

4 years ago Brathlys was abandoned in a winter garden in Northeast England when her family moved out and took the hutch with them. It took several weeks for a neighbour to spot her fending for herself in March 2019.

She was a rather traumatised piggy who strongly tweaked every human handling her and who was totally fear-aggressive with every boar she was introduced to in the 6 months she spent at Gertie's Lonely Guinea Pig Rescue in Newcastle before coming here.
I renamed her Brathlys 'Scarlet Pimpernel' for her bright orange coat but Lissie had other plans and went dark brown in a matter of months not long after arrival...

With some 'piggy whispering' I got Lissie to stop tweaking hard within 2 weeks. It took 2 months of slow bonding with patient Alan until she was able to live with him but she was happily settled before the year was out.

Brathlys sadly lost her first husboar Alan 'Coltsfoot' very unexpectedly in August 2021 but has found new companionship with young widowed Melangell 'Sweet Angel' from TEAS in October 2021 and then being joined by neighboar Llelo 'Little Llewelyn' in June 2022 when he lost his own beloved wife Miaren to kidney failure.

Brathlys is now a rather frail, nearly blind and arthritic older lady with an iffy tummy and potentially some hyperthyroid but she is well settled and happy with her two big couch potatoes.

But it is always great when you can give a piggy with such a bad start into life a lot more happy than unhappy times and can get them to trust you and to stop being totally afraid of other piggies. Even if the hyperthyroid means that the hand tweaking is making an appearance again...

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Wiebke said:
4 years ago Brathlys was abandoned in a winter garden in Northeast England when her family moved out and took the hutch with them. It took several weeks for a neighbour to spot her fending for herself in March 2019.

She was a rather traumatised piggy who strongly tweaked every human handling her and who was totally fear-aggressive with every boar she was introduced to in the 6 months she spent at Gertie's Lonely Guinea Pig Rescue in Newcastle before coming here.
I renamed her Brathlys 'Scarlet Pimpernel' for her bright orange coat but Lissie had other plans and went dark brown in a matter of months not long after arrival...

With some 'piggy whispering' I got Lissie to stop tweaking hard within 2 weeks. It took 2 months of slow bonding with patient Alan until she was able to live with him but she was happily settled before the year was out.

Brathlys sadly lost her first husboar Alan 'Coltsfoot' very unexpectedly in August 2021 but has found new companionship with young widowed Melangell 'Sweet Angel' from TEAS in October 2021 and then being joined by neighboar Llelo 'Little Llewelyn' in June 2022 when he lost his own beloved wife Miaren to kidney failure.

Brathlys is now a rather frail, nearly blind and arthritic older lady with an iffy tummy and potentially some hyperthyroid but she is well settled and happy with her two big couch potatoes.

But it is always great when you can give a piggy with such a bad start into life a lot more happy than unhappy times and can get them to trust you and to stop being totally afraid of other piggies. Even if the hyperthyroid means that the hand tweaking is making an appearance again...

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What sweeties :luv:
That was very kind of you to take her in; she needed a lot of love :wub:
 
Adelyn said:
What sweeties :luv:
That was very kind of you to take her in; she needed a lot of love :wub:
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She needed time, patience and understanding as well as love; something I can provide but where a busy rescue environment with all the emergencies and medical needs struggles.

Brathlys's adoption happened along the lines of 'We have the perfect piggy for you: your favourite looks, a persistent biter and a bonding nightmare that we haven't been able to sort out in 6 months. I can home deliver next week on my way to my holiday.' :D


PS: This was Brathlys on arrival
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A little update on the rest of the dumped Cornish family:

Matriarch Modron (mother of Barcud and Millyn as well as of Brangwyn and Bronrhyddyn)
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Barcud (dad of all the babies) and his sister Millyn (mother of of the only female baby, Blodyn, and of son Merlin who now lives with @Bradshaw Piggies )
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Timid Blodyn (who is just a whisker ahead of her younger half-brother Brangwyn weight-wise but she has also now cracked the 700g mark, arriving as a tiny baby of 170g)
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Barcud with his three ladies, daughter Blodyn, sister Millyn and mother Modron (finally reunited for good)
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And here are a couple of out-takes:

Barcud and Millyn
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now
 
Oh they are all looking amazing. Millyn has filled out now and Looks far more confident than she did, all down to your care
 
Such a gorgeous little family! I loved their article in this months Guineapig magazine!
 
I have just read my article about catching them in the Guinea Pig Magazine, thank you for both copies @Wiebke I will make sure one If the copies goes to Mariar’s for a forthcoming fundraiser as every little helps 😊
 
Bill & Ted said:
I have just read my article about catching them in the Guinea Pig Magazine, thank you for both copies @Wiebke I will make sure one If the copies goes to Mariar’s for a forthcoming fundraiser as every little helps 😊
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I am still waiting for my own copy...
 
Wiebke said:
Thanks!

The operations have gone well. The boys are back home and after resting a little from their ordeal have been tucking into their dinner with their usual enthusiasm.
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Aw that’s lovely news X
 
Merab's Slave said:
Great news
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They are fully back to normal, both in terms of eating and rumbling away at the girls. :)

Their bits are looking very tidy, too. Not at all bad for 'operation hangover day' - which is my name for the day after when the operation drugs cocktail is worked out of the system, the body is sore and the healing process has not yet set in properly.
Simon is so quick with this routine operation that the time they are under is very short.
 
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I am very sad that Hapus has joined her sister Llawen at the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday, just about two weeks short of her estimated 7th birthday in late March. She has perked up being reunited again with her best friend Heilin 'Generous' after Llawen's death in January but it has been a race against old age and failing kidneys.

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Hapus 'Happy' was the more even-tempered of the two sisters who have come out of the Bracknell hellhole as babies and which I adopted in Autumn 2016 from Little Pip's Rehoming in Devon.
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Briallen (who later bonded with Barri), big white Carwyn, young Hapus and Llawen and Heini on the right on bonding day.

Between them, Heini and Briallen and their respective husboars provided stable companionship for the two squabbling sisters for a number of years - for Hapus until 2019 and for Llawen until 2022.
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Hapus moved in with gentle Briallen 'Primrose' and her new swain Barri 'Summit' after she got into trouble with Heini when both developed ovarian cysts at the same time. Hapus had hers removed in March 2020, just before the first Covid lockdown. The operation has bought her 3 more years of life.
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After first Carwyn's and then not very long afterwards Heini's sudden unexpected death, Llawen could not cope at all with being on her own but would not bond with any other Tribe piggy. In my desperation I adopted timid young Heini lookalike Heilin 'Generous', but even that was a complete fail. Llawen would never accept Heilin; not even in old age.

Her sister Hapus, however, immediately accepted Heilin 'Generous' and they became closely bonded best of friends, continuing to play 'tag' with each other even after Heilin reached adulthood. Llawen took Hapus's place with Barri and Briallen instead - Briallen she knew from her days with Heini and Carwyn; this was key for her acceptance.
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Hapus and Heilin accepted Teggy's widower, young lively Tudur, last summer but when he became a bit too much for increasingly arthritic Hapus by Autumn, I ventured to try and re-bond Hapus with Llawen, soon joined by widowed Hyfryd in her last months in a short-lived old ladies group.
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I feel very blessed to see my two Bracknell adoptees living to such an unexpectedly old age and to be with me for over 6 years and - despite many a sleepless night along the way - to manage to give them both as stable a social life as possible and especially to allow Hapus to fully live up to her wishful Tribe name: she has indeed found true happiness with Heilin for nearly 4 years with the exception of a few months.
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With two inches of soggy snow blanketing the garden yesterday, my usual send-off bouquet has been by necessity very restrained. Just some flowering rosemary sprigs from the front for remembrance and gratitude and a moth orchid bloom from the kitchen for the snow but also for the pure joy and happiness that I have been able to give Hapus.
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I’m so sorry Hapus has had the call to the bridge. She’s had a full, long life with you. She was a beautiful piggy. Take care ❤️
 
So sorry for the loss of Hapus.
Given her awful start in life her great age is a real tribute to the wonderful home she had with you.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
So sorry you Have lost the beautiful Hapus.
A lovely tribute. The love you have for all your piggies just shines through.
Sending you hugs.
Popcorn free little Hapus.xx🌈
 
I’m so sorry Hapus made her way over Rainbow Bridge, sending hugs. What a lovely tribute to a gorgeous girl

Sleep tight little Hapus 🌈
 
So sorry for your loss, you gave her a wonderful life and I'm sure she knew she was loved. Your sendoff bouquet was beautiful and I'm sure Hapus will have the best time over the Bridge. 🌈💌
 
It's been quite a week trying to match my little baby boys Bran (Brangwyn = White Raven) and Bron (Bronruddyn = Robin) once they had sat out their post-neutering safety wait.
You can find the full story in this thread here: FIVE Weddings, Three Divorces and Still No Funeral

Little blonde Brangwyn bonded straight away with minimal ado with his neighbouring sows, 3 years old black and ginger Beti (former Betty) and 4 years old black and white Begw (Peggy/'Little Pearl'); they had signalled their friendship through the bars quite some weeks before and have seen him grow up since he had to leave the Cornish sows. They have settled together well with Bran dominating timid Begw (pronounced Beggoo) but crucially not questioning Beti's leadership.

Bran's baby name Brangwyn 'White Raven' really suits him since he has a feisty and mischievous side, so I have decided to keep it.

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Much more dominant red Bronruddyn, who unfortunately like his dad Barcud doesn't know when to stop pushing, was a much harder proposition and failed bonding with either of the adult sow trios I had lined up with him, so I had to go down to plan C and bond him with his 6 weeks older half-sister Blodyn 'Flower'.

It's not great love at this stage but they do know each other from the day the little boys were born to matriarch Modron in the same cage. They have kept the family bond and hierarchy alive through the cage bars during roaming time.
For that reason, Blodyn (the daughter from the sibling pregnancy between Barcud and Millyn) has been able to invoke her higher family ranking and to keep her little brother under wraps comparatively easily. It also helps that she is obviously a sharp shooter in target peeing - my little Robin has had ample opportunity to grow a healthy respect of this female weapon!
I hope that they will become good friends over the coming months once the group establishing dominance phase is over. They have a vocal bond and there is no tension between them outside the inevitable hierarchy affirming rounds.

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Since Bronruddyn was always going to be only a baby name since I went down in bird size with the numbers of Cornish aby boys being born. He had the smallest bird name but is the largest son and the one most like his dad Barcud in both looks and outlook. Bron was going to get a new name in his prospective new home, which has sadly not come off. After some consideration I have decided to rename him Baeddan (a Welsh boys name meaning 'Boar') - he is definitely one! It is pronounced Bythan. :D
 
Wiebke said:
It's been quite a week trying to match my little baby boys Bran (Brangwyn = White Raven) and Bron (Bronruddyn = Robin) once they had sat out their post-neutering safety wait.

Little blonde Brangwyn bonded straight away with minimal ado with his neighbouring sows, 3 years old black and ginger Beti (former Betty) and 4 years old black and white Begw (Peggy/'Little Pearl'); they had signalled their friendship through the bars quite some weeks before and have seen him grow up since he had to leave the Cornish sows. They have settled together well with Bran dominating timid Begw (pronounced Beggoo) but crucially not questioning Beti's leadership.

Bran's baby name Brangwyn 'White Raven' really suits him since he has a feisty and mischievous side, so I have decided to keep it.

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Much more dominant red Bronruddyn, who unfortunately like his dad Barcud doesn't know when to stop pushing, was a much harder proposition and failed bonding with either of the adult sow trios I had lined up with him, so I had to go down to plan C and bond him with his 6 weeks older half-sister Blodyn 'Flower'.

It's not great love but they do know each other from the day the little boys were born to matriarch Modron and have kept in touch through the cage bars during roaming time.
For that reason, Blodyn (the daughter from the sibling pregnancy between Barcud and Millyn) has been able to invoke her higher family ranking and keep her little brother under wraps comparatively easily. It helps that she is obviously a sharp shooter in target peeing - my little Robin has had ample opportunity to grow a healthy respect of this female weapon! I hope that they will become good friends over the coming months once the group establishing dominance phase is over. They have a vocal bond and there is no tension between them outside the inevitable hierarchy affirming rounds.

Since Bronruddyn was always going to be only a baby name since I went down in bird size with the numbers of Cornish aby boys being born. He was going to get a new name in his prospective new home, which has sadly not come off. After some consideration I have decided to rename him Baeddan (a Welsh boys name meaning 'Boar') - he is definitely one!
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Aw, so glad that they have bonded, what a stunning pair 😍
 
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