Continuing Life In The Pigpen
Too right, Maddy.
Oh he certainly knows it, Mildred. Quite the snowflake this one.
Intros have been ongoing for the past hour.
Simon is, as I thought, a Slytherin. He has no interest in Graham thus far (except that Graham please respect his personal space) and his interpig communication is rather, um, combative.
Graham is trying his best to be good but he does love proximity.
Both are eating like horses which seems to be pig for 'Do I look bothered? I am so not bothered.'
Only one dustpan intervention so far but I don't really expect a great result today. I'll give it another few hours though.
Oh he certainly knows it, Mildred. Quite the snowflake this one.
Intros have been ongoing for the past hour.
Simon is, as I thought, a Slytherin. He has no interest in Graham thus far (except that Graham please respect his personal space) and his interpig communication is rather, um, combative.
Graham is trying his best to be good but he does love proximity.
Both are eating like horses which seems to be pig for 'Do I look bothered? I am so not bothered.'
Only one dustpan intervention so far but I don't really expect a great result today. I'll give it another few hours though.
Oh Stephen, where art thou?
Definitely my most fraught intro. That said, it wasn't too bad. Like, as far as I know, no one is bleeding.
It's not a success by any stretch yet. They got tired out several times during the floor part but it took almost 4 hours before they napped within a foot of each other. Until then it had been as far apart as possible. I grabbed that moment to put them in their new cage. The same blanket from intros is in the cage.
Dominance is not established but I know with Stephen and Bobbins it took a few days. Simon is mostly getting out of Graham's way or going to nip him. Graham seems a bit confused that Simon doesn't know the steps to the friendship dance. Simon is a truly 'Alan-y' pig in that respect. There's been one scuffle since they went in the cage and they're currently taking it in turns to be in the hay bin or nap at the other end of the cage. :/
I have pics but I feel like I'd be jinxing what is a tense situation by posting them just now.
I'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight. The pig shampoo etc are all in the bathroom ready for a buddy bath if anything kicks off.
Definitely my most fraught intro. That said, it wasn't too bad. Like, as far as I know, no one is bleeding.
It's not a success by any stretch yet. They got tired out several times during the floor part but it took almost 4 hours before they napped within a foot of each other. Until then it had been as far apart as possible. I grabbed that moment to put them in their new cage. The same blanket from intros is in the cage.
Dominance is not established but I know with Stephen and Bobbins it took a few days. Simon is mostly getting out of Graham's way or going to nip him. Graham seems a bit confused that Simon doesn't know the steps to the friendship dance. Simon is a truly 'Alan-y' pig in that respect. There's been one scuffle since they went in the cage and they're currently taking it in turns to be in the hay bin or nap at the other end of the cage. :/
I have pics but I feel like I'd be jinxing what is a tense situation by posting them just now.
I'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight. The pig shampoo etc are all in the bathroom ready for a buddy bath if anything kicks off.
The atmosphere seems better this morning but I'm still holding my breath a bit.
By late last night Simon had at least stopped trying to nip so much and instead was wheeking loudly whenever Graham got close enough to touch him. He does have some lovely noises, does Simon. Graham is full of expression and enthusiasm but Simon hits quite melodious notes.
Graham's not being mean or even too swagger-y, he's actually being quite gentle and restrained by his standards. Even his noises have been gentler to try to not freak Simon out. He's really excited to have a friend. I keep telling Simon just to hump G's head rather than scream or nip but he's not got the piggy skill set to do that yet. He is totally over-reacting though. He's constantly eating so it's not like Graham is actually upsetting him.
There was some whispering and the occasional burst of activity and tooth chattering from the cage overnight but no big drama.
They really remind me of a young Stephen and Alan. One with excellent social skills and one without. One really wants to snuggle and the other likes personal space. Those two found the middle ground, this pair can too if they try.
I could see there being a bit of nonsense and a buddy bath today but I'm slightly hopeful now. There's small progress in the right direction.
Intros. A fraction of a second before Simon nipped
Graham - *rumble*
Simon - *munch*
Home sweet home?
Bonus Simon pose
By late last night Simon had at least stopped trying to nip so much and instead was wheeking loudly whenever Graham got close enough to touch him. He does have some lovely noises, does Simon. Graham is full of expression and enthusiasm but Simon hits quite melodious notes.
Graham's not being mean or even too swagger-y, he's actually being quite gentle and restrained by his standards. Even his noises have been gentler to try to not freak Simon out. He's really excited to have a friend. I keep telling Simon just to hump G's head rather than scream or nip but he's not got the piggy skill set to do that yet. He is totally over-reacting though. He's constantly eating so it's not like Graham is actually upsetting him.
There was some whispering and the occasional burst of activity and tooth chattering from the cage overnight but no big drama.
They really remind me of a young Stephen and Alan. One with excellent social skills and one without. One really wants to snuggle and the other likes personal space. Those two found the middle ground, this pair can too if they try.
I could see there being a bit of nonsense and a buddy bath today but I'm slightly hopeful now. There's small progress in the right direction.
Intros. A fraction of a second before Simon nipped
Graham - *rumble*
Simon - *munch*
Home sweet home?
Bonus Simon pose