We have received a Christmas card!

"Look piggies! We have received a Christmas card," says Miss Marple Piggyfriend.

" And it has lovely piggies on the front. I will prop it up so that you can all see it."

Miss Marple shrewdly suspects that she has seen these piggies before and she is right.

She opens the card and detects that it has been sent by our friends the Surrey Squeakers.

" Thank you Squeakers," say all the Piggyfriends in unison " and thank you to Slave Stefanie too."

The Piggyfriends cannot help but notice that the Squeakers are eating grass, which is in short supply here at the moment as Slave's friend's farm is flooded due to the endless rain.

Magnus is helping too.

Here is another box of pretty Christmas things from the attic. Maguns is helping to unpack them.

" Mama Bonbon said that there might be carrots in the next box," says Magnus.

" I do not think that this is what she had in mind, Slave. This is a nice, jolly carrot and it is fuzzy and orange just like me but it is not what I was expecting."

" How about this one sweetie?" asks Slave. " Now that is more like it," says Magnus. " Thank you! I will share it with Martin."

I am helping.

Hello readers. Bonbon Piggyfriend here.

Slave brought boxes and boxes of pretty things down from the attic and I am helping.

"Look!" says Slave. "Candy canes."

"Well, yes, they look very nice but I am not sure that they are edible. Maybe there will be carrots in the next box."

Are your Slaves doing weird things like this?

More photos of our new girls.

Bounty loves his new girls. Our pigsitter came to visit and he held them on his lap so that Slave could take some better photos. Please excuse the tatty towels but Slave did not want him to end up with soggy trousers.

Here is Saffron

And here is Ebony.

Slave loves an agouti because they are a different colour underneath. You never see this so here she is in an undignified pose so that you can see her orange tum.

Our new girls have settled in really well and have discovered the radiator that runs along the back of the pen. They would rather nap here with Bounty than use their wooden house. Slave tried to take a photo of them all in a row but they saw the camera coming and scattered. Maybe next time!

New Piggyfriends!

Hello readers. Bounty Piggyfriend here. Slave found a piggy rescue online called Pooh Piglets and she called them to see if they had any piggies needing a new home as I have been on my own. The lovely lady that runs it knew Lyn and Liz from Palace Piggies, from where many of the Piggyfriends came before they moved away and she also knew our wonderful retired Rodentologists as she went to see them for lessons. She also knows Jason, who gave us Bonbon, Bella, Miss Marple, Hazel and Bonny as they both show their piggies. Slave says that it is a small world. Well piggies are pretty small.

So last Monday, Slave took me to meet some piggies. I was in charge of the sat nav as Slave did not know the town to which we went and she did the driving. Miraculously, we parked in front of the rescue on time and we went into the shed to meet some piggies. Slave was hoping for a baby boar to be my companion but they did not have any.

Slave put me into a pen on the floor whilst she looked at some prospective dates for me. She was spoilt for choice but she saw this little lady and she put her in the pen with me.

Slave loves an agouti and said that she looks just like Kiwi, my neighbour at home except that she has a little crest on her head. Her name is Ebony, even though she is not black. She came to the rescue from a breeder who did not want her any more and she has had lots of piglets. She was rather nervous but she came and sat next to me whilst we ate chicory and Slave looked at the other girls.

She thought that this piggy looked pretty ( and so do I ) so she was put in the pen with me and Ebony. She did not even have a name poor thing and she also came from a breeder. We all got on well together and I was hoping that Slave would take these nice girls home with us.

The lad who helps at the rescue went to get some more piggies. He came back with a cosy full of baby sows and Slave said that my pen at home is big enough for more piggies. She would have added one or two of these little girls but the sharp eyed lad noticed that one of them had fungal in her coat and Pauline, the rescue lady, checked them all out and they had to be returned to the other shed for treatment when we had gone. All the humans furiously washed their hands and Slave looked at a cage full of feisty Abbies instead but when she saw how well Ebony, the nameless girl and I were getting on she decided that she would just take them.

Slave had taken an extra carrier just in case she found me some new friends but Pauline said why not put them all together for the ride home and here we are.

A bit of a squeeze but it was nice and warm in the car and we were all full of chicory so we fell asleep on the way home. Slave decided to name my second new friend Saffron.

Ebony had only been collected from a show the day before we went and, having only spent one day at the rescue and then being driven a long way to our house, she was understandably nervous. Here you can just see her peeking out from behind my house. She and Saffron explored my home.

Slave gave us a pile of grass but my new friends were unsure what to do with it. They said that they had never had grass before. How dreadful! They had a sniff at it and ate a few blades but....

.....Saffron preferred the broccoli leaves.....

.....and so did Ebony.

I love my new friends. When they have settled in, Slave will take some more photos to share with you. In the meantime, please welcome Ebony and Saffron to the Piggyfriend herd.

Happy Hallowe'en to all of our Readers.

The Piggyfriends would like to wish you all a Happy Hallowe'en with lots of treats. We apologise for the paucity of suitable seasonal decorations but Slave cannot open the little cupboard where they live. These were all that she could come up with as they are too big for the cupboard.

"Will you help me light this candle please Slave," says Bonbon. "I have never done this before."

Take care with the candles everypig!

A VIP visit. A Very Important Piggyperson comes to see the Piggyfriends.

Not long ago, we had a VIP visit us here at Piggyfriends. GPDD readers will know Ann Evans, our very good friend and the world's best Rodentologist.

She and her husband, Paul were on holiday in England, visiting lots of friends and they came to see us! What an honour!

Here they are with our Bonbon.

And again with Martin.

We all got cuddles and then it was the turn of our Carter. He had been having trouble eating and our Slave suspected that he had oral thrush and treated him accordingly. He is all better now but it was a while before he could eat properly and when something like this happens, our teeth sometimes overgrow a bit.

As we knew that Ann would be coming, we asked if she could bring her piggy dental kit with her so that, rather than have Carter undergo anaesthesia at the vet, he could have a thorough inspection with the expert.

Here he is, getting ready for the procedure. You can see some of the equipment at the bottom left of this photo. One of the separators and a file.

In the picture below, he has the buccal separators in his mouth so that Ann can see right inside. Ann has him in a little drawstring bag so that his paws do not get in the way. Our retired Rodentologist used to tightly wrap patients in a towel. Both methods work well as we tend to get our feet into everything and the person wielding the instruments needs to see clearly what is going on.

Now for the scary bit. Ann is looking inside Carter's mouth and has clippers and files at the ready.

Carter had some little bits filed from his molars and when it was all over, which did not take very long, he was sitting on Ann's lap tucking into some favourite pieces of veggie.

We do miss our Rodentologist and hope that no pig needs any dental treatment until Ann's next holiday.

Carter says "Thank you Ann! Now I can eat  properly again."