COME ON INTO THE PIG PEN!

This is where you'll get to meet my little critters, find some tips on piggy/bunny care, and other pertinent piggy and bunny info. I'm not breeding for either guinea pigs or rabbits at this time as I'm just getting started with these cute creatures. If I venture beyond the pet stage of cavy- and rabbit-keeping, you can be sure that I'll let you know through these pages, so be sure to check back periodically. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit here through my pig pen and bunny hutch.

The way I got into this hobby was first through a poultry friend of mine, Marian. Her daughter had an Abyssinian sow that give birth to five pups. A rather good-sized litter. The sire was a Shorthair. My older son had been asking for a pet of his own, so I agreed he could have a guinea pig. Lilly's litter was born on Feb. 27, 2000. Here's a pic of "Mom" a couple days prior to the miraculous event.

We decided to pick just one from this litter. My son chose the last one pictured above, one of the tri-colors, and we brought her home when she was 4 wks old. We thought at the time that it was a female, and my son, who is the actual owner, named her Millie. Her alias is Miss Peony, which comes from PNE, which stands for Pork-n-egggs, after a couple of friends. Here are a couple pics of Millie in her new home.

Not very long after getting Millie, we got her a couple companion piggies. These guys are males. One is a black Dalmation Teddy named Willie. His real name is Sweet William and he comes from a show breeder. Willie is a little more outgoing than the other male.

Cocoa is the other companion. He is a Tri-color Teddy, also from a show breeder. His real name is Felix. He is a little more shy than Willie and is more apt to run and hide. But Cocoa is a very nice boy.

As we picked up Willie and Cocoa (from a cavy show held nearby), we had the breeder show us just how you tell the gender on a young pig. So when we got home, we checked Millie. Millie was a male! We were able to put the newcomers into the same pen for that reason. They all got along great.

Sadly, a few weeks later, Millie didn't seem to be gaining any more weight. We noticed that he seemed to be eating a lot of the bedding and would not eat any of the treats we'd put in the pen. He would eat the pellets, however. We called the vet and made an appointment for Millie. He gave a shot for fluids and advised us to not use any bedding for Millie except paper towels. He also warned that Millie might feel a little sluggish for a little while. Poor little Millie didn't last the night. He passed away in the wee hours. I found him in the morning lying there peacefully. We buried Millie in a cheery, sunny spot at the farm. We'll miss Millie, but we have the company of Willie and Cocoa to enjoy.

Willie and Cocoa are doing great. They both have grown quite a bit since the summertime. They popcorn about their pen now and then which is really cute! They enjoy going outdoors on nice days in their roomy 6' diameter pen.

Finally a few pics of Willie and Cocoa!


"Fresh grass and pellets! YUM!"


Cocoa braves coming out of the house.


Willie being watchful while munching blades of grass, with wary Cocoa hiding in the safety of the house.

The above 3 pics were taken in late autumn of 2000.

More sad news. Poor Willie passed away on July 25, 2001. He and Cocoa had been enjoying some nice summer weather outside when one night, we had a summer storm. The night had turned somewhat chilly, and what with Willie seeming to be of more delicate health than Cocoa, he succumbed. I'm not sure if he had become wet and then got chilled, but we found him lying still in a corner of the pen. Poor Cocoa seemed upset, missing his buddy. We will miss Willie very much.

Cocoa was moved back into the house since Willie's passing to ensure that nothing would happen to him. Plus he seems to enjoy having our company since he now is the sole piggie of the house. Cocoa has become much more tolerant of us petting him and reaching into his pen too. He seems to be well-adjusted now to being the sole house piggie.

Ying Yang was the sire of Millie, our first pig. He was sometimes called Yingy or Yangy, and was a handsome and very friendly piggy. Yangy sired one other litter with Lilly, Millie's dam. Soon after, Yangy went to the veterinarian's office to have "that" operation and he then came home. Marian noticed that Yangy didn't seem quite right and took him back to the vet's. Poor Yangy had contracted some kind of infection from the operation and couldn't recover. He died the next morning at the vet's office. Marian and her daughter, Rachelle, who was Yangy's owner, picked Ying Yang up at the office and returned home for a burial service. Ying Yang was buried on a nice, sunny spring day in May, under a fruit tree. Fruit was one of Yangy's favorite treats. You'll be missed, Yangy. We'll see you over the Rainbow Bridge when it's our turn. Rest in Peace.

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