I'm a new mummy to 2 little boy GPs!

[phantomnamechanger]

and it's even scarier than bringing a newborn baby home!

don't want them to get too hot or cold, are they pooing properly? are they eating enough? drinking? have they enough hay in their bedroom? do they really like each other or will they end up worst enemies?

no doubt we will have some photos soon - one's a very pale milky coffee colour with a few white facial markings
the other is mostly very dark, with a couple of tan/white patches on rear end and one cute tufty rosette thing on his forehead

[phantomnamechanger]

they have both eaten some kale and orange pepper, and we have seen one have a go at their GP pellets too - neither seem to be much interested in their hay - I thought they were supposed to be mad about the stuff and munch all day?
they've got some cardboard boxes and a big tube to hide in. we have been advised to leave them to get used to the hutch for a few days before letting them in the run on the lawn.
we were also told not to let them eat too much wet grass as its bad for them - does this mean they should not go in the run on very wets days too?
one of them has been making a cooing noise a bit like a pigeon but not sure what it means!
we've not put the rain cover on the hutch yet as I thought that would be mainly for the winter months - yes/no? they have a canvas screen over the top door to keep the wind out a bit, I hope they are ok. [worried mum]

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Awwww baby piglets

How old are your boys?

YY to letting them get used to their environment- definately chat to them, scoop them up for a cuddle (they will scarper , but that's all oart of their cunning plan. They do want cuddles, but they want you to make the effort)

When they graze, make sure the grass is dry (I put my adults out with cardboard to sit on , but I wouldn't take a risk with piglets)
Limit them to 30 minututes to begin with then build up time.
You can cut them some grass and dandelions , they'll love it.

Cooing noises (like a dove purr) is contentment (good sign)

The cover depends on how windy it is, you do't want rain or wind directly in their hutch, but if it;s calm then they'd be fine
Guinea eat alot at dusk/dawn, you might find that hay pile gone and replaced with a pile of cute piglet pooh

[phantomnamechanger]

They are 9 weeks. very sweet, already looking a bit braver!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aw did you wake up this morning and something was different, then you remembered?
Was their house a complete sty this morning (they aren't tidy)

First morning we got GP3 ( they slept in DD room in their indoor cage. She didn't get much sleep, she was too busy coo-ing) , I was presented with a teeny fluffy, featherweight piglet to cuddle.
And yes, I do remember thinking "Help, what have I done, I can't cope with a piglet" (even though we had newborns years ago)


They'll start to familiarise themselves with all the goings on, but they'll still do one of those cartoon animal scarpers ( when the leg go 90 miles an hour ) when they hear a noise. And they can bound across the cage in 2 leaps, GP3 could leap about 2' strides (so it seemed).
But not now (lardy arsed boar emoticon)

[phantomnamechanger]

well, yes, I had to get up early and prepare an extra breakfast. I was a little concerned at how chilly it was outside at 6.30, but they seemed ok huddled together in a big cardboard tube. I'm not really sure how much hay they need in their bedroom? are they supposed to completely hide in it? I've not seen them burrow or hide in it yet. we did put a little on top of their tube though.

I was a bit surprised by how much poo there was and by how much they eat (I guess those 2 are related!)

we'd not seen either of them drinking from their bottle so we put a dish of water in too - they tipped it out within half an hour.

they love kale, peppers and grass, they have had a little bit of apple too for a treat. they seem to ignore broccoli celery and carrot.

we've given the hutch its first quick clean out, got rid of all the wood shavings and hay and unused food - and poo and more poo. They were hard to catch but they will already take food out of our hands, especially kale and pepper.

they make sweet noises to each other and the kids love them.

[FernieB]

Ah the endless poo. They have to keep it coming as they need tummy room for more food.

Welcome to your baby boys. You will worry and coo more than you did over your kids .

Don't worry too much about the water. I have yet to see Smoothpig drink. As long as they are weeing they're fine. They get most of their water requirements from veg.

[phantomnamechanger]

I'm reading so much conflicting info
one website says no lettuce and cucumber, another has this in the recommended veg list.
one says they will need 150ml water a day, another agrees with fernie, saying they get enough from their grass and veg. so not to worry.
one said no citrus, another said they love oranges!
one says wash all the leaves and veg, another no wet grass.

I don't know if I'm doing it right! I'm concerned about over/under feeding them or not the right proportions - they seem to scoff their veg (apart from the ones they turn their noses up at!) and ignore their pellets. I've not seen them eating much hay, but they wolf down grass if I shove some in. They don't seem to like dandelion leaves (the wierdos! and Dh was banking on them keeping the lawn in order for him!)

They've been allowed to explore the downstairs of the hutch today with lots of boxes and tubes to play in - they almost fell down the ramp a few times but seem to have mastered it now.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

They are complex little animals

They need to eat fairly constantly - a bit like a horses digestion (but on a smaller scale) they will graze 20 hours a day and pooh lots of innofensive waste (unlike your carniverous types) but like horses, GP cannot be sick.
If they don't eat for a period of time (approx 7 hours) their guts go into stasis and they suffer organ (liver usually) failure. Which is why you'll read about us shovelling Critical Care or mashed mushy pellets into an ill non-eating piggie.

Water- mine never drink it but it's always on offer. I see pigs in pet shops at the water bottle but they don't seem to have unlimited vet (I presume they have veg am/pm then dry food in the daytime)
Mine pee (loads) so they're getting their fluid from veg

Lettuce - it's iceberg you can't give them, it's too watery. But things like romaine or those little gem lettuces (mine like the red /green ones )
Oranges - they can have but they're messy with them.
Cucumber is lovely in summer

Mine love corn on the cob - but they are fussy. Corn from Tesco - meh , from Sainsburys they demonlish. Costco, nope.
Romford market with the leaves on - yay.

Main thing is not to give too much of one veg.
Brassicas (dark green veg ) can cause wing and there's the veg which have high levels of oxalic acid ( your watercress and spinach for example) that increases the risk of bladder stones.

Fruit can make them 'loose' and has a higher sugar level that veg (pigs are at risk of diabetes) . If you give apple, cut it upp (they can get little mouth soars) and celery (the stringy bits)

Grass is fine if it's wet (I usually sluice it under the garden tap) but not wet grass to sit on. It put them at risk having a wet belly.

They will eat their hay in the evening when they settle down to pooh eat (one of their less attractive qualities )

There's a guinea-food list somewhere - we keep doing them and updating them .

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

can cause wing

Wind - can cause wind ( it's not flipping Red Bull)

[phantomnamechanger]

thank you!

i'm a bit anxious does it show?

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

DD and I have "Anxious Guinea-Mum" T Shirts (especially as she wanted a boar (my only boar when I was a child didn't live a long life bullying cagemate) so I was .
The boars were a year old when we got them and I'm thinking "What if they don't LIKE me"

But they are lovely, snuggly, lardy creatures (once they settle down )

Enjoy them and the Super Furry Animal Guinea-Pig Mums are always here. Any problems (and any mad things they do ) - post it

[FernieB]

Get used to the anxiety - it stays .

Smooth has a habit of flopping down and being very still for a long time. I keep checking on him to make sure he's still alive. Poor boy - he's just got comfy for a nice snooze and that awful veg woman yells at him to make him get up

[FernieB]

Mine love cuc and red cos lettuce. They seem to thrive on it

[morethanacondiment]

Are you me, Phantom?
We got our boys on Thursday and I've been in a GP-induced panic ever since - are they drinking? Are they too hot? Are they scared of us? Has DS2 let them out?
They definitely associate us with food now - how can they eat and poo so much?!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aww 2 new Super Furry Animals morethan

It's quite heartening how many owners are going down the Two Boars Option. Boars are lovely but make sure you read all the boar related threads , they go through a erm, transition when they reach maturity (about 4-6 months) when they hit the Terrible Teens ( or get The Kevins as my DD calls it)

Our GP3 has now overtaken GP1 (in size and status) and it has been quite smooth, but the younger one sometimes tries to dominance mount GP1. He gets told to "Do One" in no uncertain terms, a head raise or a head butt and some ticky tooth chattering then they settle.

Space is the key. Enough room, enough hidey spaces, space between the food bowls. They love each others company but they don't want to be in each others faces.

DD and I love our boars , DH is a willing sitter but strangely, GP3 doesn't tolerate DH

[fortifiedwithtea]

Baby guinea pigs are like human toddlers regarding trying new veggies. If they won't try it first time try again later. It only takes one to crack, try it and like it and the other guinea pig will follow. A throw back to wild ancestors working out what is safe to eat by watching others in the herd.

My pet shop bought guineas would only eat carrots at first, which was very trying. My rescue guineas introduced my remaining pet shop girl to bell pepper, tomato and strawberries.

please, please post pictures of baby guinea pigs for us to coo over

[morethanacondiment]

Oh, no babies, sorry. We've rescued two 6 month olds - very lovely but not very small. Come on phantom, show us your littlies!

[fortifiedwithtea]

morethan 'teenage' guinea pigs are still adorable. Get your camera out

[phantomnamechanger]

no, I don't think I am you morethan

I am GP obsessed - the other morning as I was waking up I dreamt we had the lid of the hutch open and one GP was climbing vertically trying to make an escape bid, it was so real I ended up grabbing a fist full of escaping GP pillow!

mine have had their first time in the run today - they loved it and ran around in excited little circles chatting to each other and scoffing grass - we've put a small apple tree branch in there for them to chew and they have a box, igloo and a paper bag stuffed full of hay. they are happy little piggies

photos to come am not very technically able

[FernieB]

Sounds idyllic Phantom. In fact my more mature boys were wondering if they could do an exchange with you as their 'mum' does not provide quite so well for them. All they had in their run today was a couple of igloos and some dead leaves

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Dead Leaves
Dead Leaves

My GP1 dreams about dead leaves. We cut back the pear tree (his personal favourite) so there won't be as many. But there should be fewer manky pears and wasps

[phantomnamechanger]

Questions

• should I be putting veg in the run as well as hay and the grass?
• can GPs eat bindweed? or that sticky grass stuff? or honeysuckle leaves? or buddleia? what about garden berries, rose hips etc?

[phantomnamechanger]

another thing - do you keep the layout of your run the same, so they know their way round, even if the run has moved to a new patch, or do you vary it to make it interesting? what "toys" (if any) do yours have?

[FernieB]

I move the run regularly - sometimes every hour to get them to mow the whole lawn. I don't have a set layout for the run or cage. It varies to confuse them. They are easily confused and it keeps them on their toes. My boys can wander round for hours trying to find their food bowl if I move it 2 inches. Keeps them busy.

[FernieB]

No veg in the run - that's spoiling them. The grass is enough and pigs will eat and eat and soon get tubby. I put their bowl of pellets in with them and their water bottle.

Garden plants - be careful. I don't let their run be near plants in case. I make an exception for lavender - they love to prune the lavender for me.