My neutered boar Dylan has sadly not had any success as a last ditch effort with my now officially unbondable lady Beryn (who has obviously been kept as a single piggy from a young age before she was found wandering dumped on the grounds of Colwyn Bay Cricket Club in North Wales) or with Bedo's two remaining widows, both which have cataracts and one of which would not accept that Dylan was punching above her in the hierarchy.
Since Dylan is another single piggy that has spent his first two years of his life in a small hamster cage without exercise before being picked up from the free-ads by The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue, I have taken the liberty to see whether he would bond with one of the three baby boys that were born here three weeks ago when I emergency holiday sat their heavily pregnant mother for a local lady (unplanned pet shop pregnancy) and that are now at the age where they need to leave any sows in order to prevent further pregnancies.
I am very happy to introduce Dylan's little sidekick Llelo (baby name Beetroot)!
He is named 'Little Llewelyn' in memory of my Tribe founding partriarch and the piggy who set off my Welsh naming theme. Like Llewelyn, Llelo has one mostly white and one mostly ginger side.
(Llewelyn, ca. 2006-2011)
Llelo was very keen to be friends with Dylan right from the start and Dylan is very patient and protective of him, even racing across the bonding run to answer a distress wheek. The baby antics will hopefully help Dylan to further strengthen the muscles in his atrophied back end. He was rather exhausted this morning after two days of nonstop baby energy!
Llelo making friends with Dylan in the early stages of the bonding; his feistier brother (baby name Broad Bean) in the front.
Since character compatibility and mutual liking is key in any boar bond, the success of the meeting was to see whether Dylan would take to the baby boars and whether he would click with one them in the 24 hours they were at my house.
Here is a video from the bonding; acceptance has at this point already happened. Llelo is happy to play chasing with dodgems with Dylan while the other boy is rather intent on trying it on with dominance rumblestrutting and mounting, which is not going down quite as well with Dylan and has earned him some more emphatic nips.
All these behaviours are very much in the mild range of dominance. There is no aggression at any point even though it is pretty lively. The two babies have only known love and have had daily human interaction since birth, so they confident and are not fazed by returning to their birthplace!
Dylan and Llelo have moved into a baby-safe pen with tightly meshed grids in the deep-cleaned and renovated Boar Bay next to my now adult (neutered) boar pair with 4 year old black Nosgan (Nightsong) and 2 year old white Nye (Noble); Nye was 4 months old when I adopted him as a companion for skittish Nosgan (another sow bonding failure).
Here is a video of Llelo meeting the 'neighboars'
There has been lots of rumblestrutting and plenty of measuring up 'boar hakas' through the grids between the neighbouring parties, but Dylan and Llelo have established a close and loving bond.
Like Nye, Llelo is going to be neutered when he is old enough to ensure that there can't be any accidental babies in my piggy room and to also give me more freedom to find a new solution for him if his bond with Dylan is not surviving the teenage months (which I strongly hope it will!) or in case he becomes bereaved.
PS: One of the three baby boys has remained with the family to be also neutered and to move back in with his mother and auntie in due time; they were not happy to part with all three boys...
The third boy, who is full of personality but too feisty for Dylan, has travelled with me to Neville's Nest Guinea Pig Rescue where he will be put up either for boar dating or for adoption when he is ready.
Since Dylan is another single piggy that has spent his first two years of his life in a small hamster cage without exercise before being picked up from the free-ads by The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue, I have taken the liberty to see whether he would bond with one of the three baby boys that were born here three weeks ago when I emergency holiday sat their heavily pregnant mother for a local lady (unplanned pet shop pregnancy) and that are now at the age where they need to leave any sows in order to prevent further pregnancies.
I am very happy to introduce Dylan's little sidekick Llelo (baby name Beetroot)!
He is named 'Little Llewelyn' in memory of my Tribe founding partriarch and the piggy who set off my Welsh naming theme. Like Llewelyn, Llelo has one mostly white and one mostly ginger side.
(Llewelyn, ca. 2006-2011)
Llelo was very keen to be friends with Dylan right from the start and Dylan is very patient and protective of him, even racing across the bonding run to answer a distress wheek. The baby antics will hopefully help Dylan to further strengthen the muscles in his atrophied back end. He was rather exhausted this morning after two days of nonstop baby energy!
Llelo making friends with Dylan in the early stages of the bonding; his feistier brother (baby name Broad Bean) in the front.
Since character compatibility and mutual liking is key in any boar bond, the success of the meeting was to see whether Dylan would take to the baby boars and whether he would click with one them in the 24 hours they were at my house.
Here is a video from the bonding; acceptance has at this point already happened. Llelo is happy to play chasing with dodgems with Dylan while the other boy is rather intent on trying it on with dominance rumblestrutting and mounting, which is not going down quite as well with Dylan and has earned him some more emphatic nips.
All these behaviours are very much in the mild range of dominance. There is no aggression at any point even though it is pretty lively. The two babies have only known love and have had daily human interaction since birth, so they confident and are not fazed by returning to their birthplace!
Dylan and Llelo have moved into a baby-safe pen with tightly meshed grids in the deep-cleaned and renovated Boar Bay next to my now adult (neutered) boar pair with 4 year old black Nosgan (Nightsong) and 2 year old white Nye (Noble); Nye was 4 months old when I adopted him as a companion for skittish Nosgan (another sow bonding failure).
Here is a video of Llelo meeting the 'neighboars'
There has been lots of rumblestrutting and plenty of measuring up 'boar hakas' through the grids between the neighbouring parties, but Dylan and Llelo have established a close and loving bond.
Like Nye, Llelo is going to be neutered when he is old enough to ensure that there can't be any accidental babies in my piggy room and to also give me more freedom to find a new solution for him if his bond with Dylan is not surviving the teenage months (which I strongly hope it will!) or in case he becomes bereaved.
PS: One of the three baby boys has remained with the family to be also neutered and to move back in with his mother and auntie in due time; they were not happy to part with all three boys...
The third boy, who is full of personality but too feisty for Dylan, has travelled with me to Neville's Nest Guinea Pig Rescue where he will be put up either for boar dating or for adoption when he is ready.
