Hard lump under chin, soft poop as well?

Post Reply
Gracemackenz

Post   » Sat Jul 02, 2016 1:45 pm


About 3 feet by 2 feet. I let them play in the hallway for a few hours a day to make up for the smallish cage.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:59 am


They'll fuss a lot less if you can give them more space. A 2x4 C&C cage is roughly 2 1/2 feet by 5 feet. That's the minimum they really need.

Extra outside exercise runaround time is great, but it'll help keep them from fussing if they can run around when they feel like it rather than on your schedule.

Gracemackenz

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 12:22 am


Ok. I'll keep that in mind and buy another cage or make one soon. My mother has a concern though, and now I'm worried as well. Rosie doesn't sleep inside the house at all, always outside. There's plenty of room for both of them to be in there comfortably, but every time Rosie tries to go in there, JJ "kicks" her out. Throughout the night, we also hear loud screeches (I don't know if that's what you'd call it) from Rosie.

I don't know if it's a dominance thing from JJ, but I kind of feel bad for Rosie. Is it still part of the introducing type of thing? They've been in the same cage for about 3 weeks now, so I'm not really sure what to think about the situation...

User avatar
Delaine
Supporter in '14

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 12:30 am


Rosie needs a house too. Make sure there are two openings in each house. All Zoe has to do is stand outside Abbey's house and stare at her and Abbey let's out a shriek. Abbey knows I will come and save her from her evil sister.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 3:41 am


Ditto Delaine. Two houses at a minimum, three is better. And they need to have more than one door.

We use upside-down cardboard boxes with at least three, usually all four, sides cut to make openings. You can get little plastic mini-stepstool things at Walmart or a dollar store that serve the same purpose and work well.

All they really want is something covering them from the top. Past that, they need to be able to see more than one way in or out. That keeps one pig from either defending it, or trapping the other, and helps them to feel that they have an escape route.

Gracemackenz

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:41 am


Okay, thank you. I will make or buy a new house sometime this week and see if the problem goes away. Hopefully JJ won't be a big bully to her little sister anymore once I get a new house.

If I were to make a cardboard house with one big opening in the front (the whole side cut off) and some fleece cut with a fringe covering the opening, would that be okay? I was thinking since JJ would have to guard a bigger area, she'd let Rosie in. I'm probably going to stick to the advice y'all gave me and do two or more openings, but I was wondering if that could be an alternative to many openings.

Sorry if that's a stupid question

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:54 am


No, you need two doors in it so no pig can get trapped.

Gracemackenz

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:04 am


Okay. I'll make or buy the house today and I'm going to get a new cage soon, so they have more space to run around. Thanks for all the help!

User avatar
Delaine
Supporter in '14

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:18 am


Do you have two pellet dishes and water bottles? More than one pile of hay is important. My girls are very competitive. They always want what the other one has so if one is eating pellets the other one wants to eat pellets.

Gracemackenz

Post   » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:42 am


I have one pellet dish, and one water bottle. I'll add another water bottle because I have an extra laying around. I can add another dish as well.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:33 pm


Ditto the advice you have received on all counts.

Several smaller houses with lots of doors are much better than one large one with only one door. They don't want to feel enclosed or hidden, per se. They only really want a roof, with open passages/trails underneath it.

If you use cardboard -- make sure all tape is out of reach and labels are torn off. They'll chew it, which is fine as long as it's clean.

Gracemackenz

Post   » Tue Jul 12, 2016 3:06 pm


I am making a c&c cage on Friday; it will be a 4x2 with a 1x2 loft. Would you prefer fleece over bedding? I'm leaning towards fleece, but my mom is wanting bedding.

Post Reply