Hi I just rang the wildlife park where I bought the girls and he said
yes they are 2 weeks old and have been weened. He said they can be
weened within 24 hours if you put a bit of milk in with their water.
He said if I have any problems he will replace them free of charge but
he wouldn't have let them go if they weren't ready. He also said they
mate as soon as they are born too.
Megan
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Well, that person obviously doesn't know anything about piggies. They
cannot
be weaned "on command" (no mammal can). They need their mother's milk so
they get all kinds of antibodies against diseases (just like human
babies).
And it is the mother that weans them, not man.
Weaning simply means, that mom will less and less allow them to drink, so
they eat pellets and other things more and more. But this weaning will
happen only after 2 to 3 weeks. Mom knows when they are ready to start
making the transition from her milk to pellets. When they are about 3
weeks
old, mommy won't let them near her milk factory anymore and by then they
can
(and should) fully live on piggie food, greens and veggies.
And forgive me for laughing out very loud now. But mating right after
birth?
I think he gets some things mixed up. It is true, that the mother is
willing
to the male piggie, very soon after she gave birth. That is the reason why
their daddy (or any other adult male piggie) should not be allowed near
the
female when she's having her litter. Best is to remove dad a week (at the
latest) before mom gives birth. She won't really miss him. She is only
busy
getting ready for her kids to be born.
Baby piggies are ***ually mature in about 5 weeks (the girls) and 7 to 8
weeks (the boys). So there really is nothing to worry about, that son will
mount mommy, or his sister(s) right after he takes his first breath of
air.
This simply won't happen. When you have a litter with both girls and boys
in
it, you can keep mother and all her kids together for 6 weeks, before you
need to separate the boys from the girls. Yes, I typed 6 weeks, no typo.
In
this way you play it safe and you avoid any "accidents" between brother
and
sister(s) or mother and son.
The last piggie I took home, Maycka, was pregnant. She had a beautiful
litter of 3 babies: two girls (Hymba and Pip) and one boy (Beer, which is
Dutch for Bear). They all lived happily together until Beer reached the
age
of 6 weeks. Since then, Beer has lived solo. Coming Tuesday he will be
neutered and when he is no longer fertile (beginning of August), he will
be
reintroduced in the pack and than he can start his job as a harem leader.
--
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Esther & the Bunch (Kayley, Zorra, Maycka, Beer, Hymba & Pip)
To email me personally, please remove SPAMBLOCK
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