First Time Clipping Woes

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Kylo

Post   » Sun May 19, 2013 10:30 am


I'm jealous of the pig co-operation you guys have.
I now can do solo clippings with Roger! Absolute sweetheart. :)
Harvey is officially being called 'Problem Pig'
He was given treats, gentle strokes, soft murmurs and light grips on the feet. Got two nails done, now have a bloody bite on my arm and a genuinely huffing pig. I spent 30 minutes on him alone, giving him breaks for hay and to cool off. No dice. Even the piggie burito failed. Very irritated mum here!
Anyone have bratty pig tips?

Quiet Wren

Post   » Sun May 19, 2013 9:06 pm


Kylo - that is one piggy fit you have going on there! Sheesh. I really don't quite know where to go from there. You've tried so much.

Is there a special treat he isn't allowed to have normally, but that he loves? Bits of apple? Something? If so, maybe you could make that the nail clipping only treat. It would still take some blood, sweat and tears (literally, in your case) to get him to the point where he understands that the treat and the nail clipping go together.

I would do it slow. One nail. One treat. Put him back. Done for the day. Try not to let him get to the so mad he could huff stage. I say this knowing that 30 min got you 2 nails... Do 1 nail a day for several days, always giving a super special treat. See if you can reach a point of grumpy tolerance before you move on.

BTW when you find an answer - make sure you share!

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LS in AK
Upside-down & Backwards

Post   » Mon May 20, 2013 5:29 am


Kylo, you deserve the piggy mum of the year award if Harvey throws a fit and bites you hard enough to make you bleed, and you describe him with no stronger words than *Problem Pig*.

I second Quiet Wren's suggestions. While my little boy has been squirmy and nippy since he was a baby, treats prove sufficiently distracting to get the job done in one or two sittings these days. If magic treats don't work, then I would get out the heavy duty work gloves, wear a thick baggy sweatshirt, burrito his upper body, ask for help with restraining him, and work fast. Or pay the vet to do it for you.

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Kylo

Post   » Mon May 20, 2013 7:05 am


He's not allowed Parsely which is his ultimate favourite. He's borderline, 'sludge' and removing high calcium veg has cured the deposits.
I was using bits of cucumber skin which he devoured so quickly I didn't get a chance to move to other nails. He still complained while eating it anyway.
Day by day with Parsely then!
I do get irritated, I just can't take it out on him. Even though he lets me touch him in the cage. I can pet and fuss away. But no nail clipping or I get chomped!

Quiet Wren

Post   » Mon May 20, 2013 10:34 pm


I think I would clip first, treat after. I'm afraid if you try to clip while he eats, he may bite you for disrupting his treat! However you work it out, I wish you luck!

And "problem pig" is definitely kind and generous of you. :)

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LS in AK
Upside-down & Backwards

Post   » Tue May 21, 2013 3:45 am


Kylo, do you have any kind of *hard* treats for Harvey to work on while you go after his nails? I realized in reading your response that I keep my little boy occupied with these:

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/produc ... bject=1571

They take awhile to eat, and I use them sparingly enough that he is not about to let the opportunity pass by, especially when I give him the entire cookie, even though I am messing with his paws at the same time.

Just an idea. My little boy inhales his veggies at the speed of light, and gets calcium deposits with parsley, too, so I don't dare risk it.

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ErinP

Post   » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:55 pm


oh my, we just trimmed our boys nails for the first time!! And it worked out so well and so easy!! Bullwinkle scratched my chest really (read REALLY) bad on Monday. It appears to be infected, which is not cool, but I digress. So, we were talking about their nails since then. Well, tonight we were talking about their nails after my fiance saw how long they really were and he asked me how hard I thought it would be to cut them. So, I picked up Bullwinkle and he went and got the clippers when he realized he was being so calm. Success!!! Peanut squirmed insanely and started acting like he'd bite, so we only got his back nails trimmed, but his front nails are fairly short. Yay! I was going to take them to the vet, but I'm so super happy we were able to get it done ourselves and know we can do it in the future too. Oh, but Bullwinkle pouted some kind of serious pouts! I have never seen a pig pout but he did! Until I gave him some flat leaf parsley. Then he warmed back up. For a while. I'm sure he'll sleep off the rest of his pouting, but that was rather cute!!! I'm happy and hope we can keep further scratching to an acute minimum.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:19 pm


I used what I learned here to help my trim my chickens' toenails! Two of four don't wear them down enough.

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ErinP

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:07 am


Interesting, Lynx! This site is so helpful and the people are great!

Quiet Wren

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2013 11:49 pm


That's funny Lynx! It never occurred to me that you would have to clip chicken toe nails!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:33 am


Me either! But it is evident to me that a couple chickens are slackers in the scratching for worms department.

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