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Pig advice

smoo

Mama Doe
... ok I know not exactly 'rabbit chat'

I'm thinking of getting alfie a buddy to play with once Luna is back with Indy,
Alfie was originally sold on his own because apparently he didn't get on with his brothers..

Things i'd like to know is , if he didn't get on with his brothers is it worth getting him a buddy, do I have to get them neutered as Alfie currently isn't?? he's around a year old at the moment.
 
a spayed female

He might be ok with a spayed female? Does a rescue have a lone spayed female he could meet? In the bun world we have always had a male/female neutered/spayed pair, but our pigs have always been female. As far as I know female piggie pairs almost always work, but male piggie pairs are less reliable even if related. Ask on a piggie forum? Good luck.
 
You can try bonding him with a baby boar, that often works, but its like bonding bunnies in that they dont always get on happily and a different friend needs to be found. Alternatively, neutering, waiting then getting a girlfriend also works. Theres loads of boars in rescues though, Im sure a cute little baby boar would be a lovely buddy.
 
I was told the other day there were many guinea pigs at RSPCA Ipswich. Could you give them a call and see if they have anyone appropriate? You might be able to date him and let him choose his own friend?
 
Yes, apparently it is easier to bond an adult boar to a male baby as then they establish a father-son relationship :love: I definitely think that piggies, even more so than bunnies, need partners/groups. Could you take him dating at a local rescue?

You'd probably struggle to find a spayed female, it's normally only done for health reasons as it's quite a risky op
 
Thanks guys, i'll have a look into the ipswich rescue, see if they have any little friends for him. I made the mistake of looking at the pigs at P@H - saw one, fell in love, named him brian but I just couldn't do it. Also Brian was a female...
 
You'd probably struggle to find a spayed female, it's normally only done for health reasons as it's quite a risky op

Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare spay all sows and they are rehomed like hot cakes for that very reason. I recently had Hooter spayed by my very bunny/piggy savvy vet (the same one that RGPW use actually). Most female piggies eventually suffer from cystic ovaries which although often present no symptoms, can cause problems. Simon,my vet, said he'd recently removed a cyst the size of a golf ball from a wee piggy:shock:. However, I don't think cystic ovaries are as life-threatening as uterine cancer is in female bunsters.
 
I have never bonded 2 males but have had more issues with female / female than male / female.

If you could get your male neutered it would give you more options. A male can be bonded with up to 10 females so you could then adopt a single or pair of females (if you have room) depending on what your local rescue had.

Neutering a male is a lot less stressful then neutering a female.
 
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