Adopted boars seem to have fallen out! :-(

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BenandCedric

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Hi All, So glad I found this forum, I have learnt so much over this last week or so!
I had pigs when I was younger and recently adopted 2 brothers who were seeking a new home (owners didn't have time for them). The pigs I had growing up were brothers and never seemed to have any issues with behaviour. The two we have adopted seemed okay initially but after about a week they started to bicker - lots of loud chitter chattering which escalated to fights, we separated them after their last bigger fight as was worried they'd injure one another. I have read lots about reintroducing pigs after a fight and they're currently in the bath trying to figure out who is the boss, while I clean their shared home (as per one of the articles and videos I've watched on this forum). The hope is I can pop them back into their shared (but now very neutral) home and we'll slowly reintroduce some double exit hides once they've settled down again in that environment. They have made a lot of noise and tussled in the bathtub (I observed to make sure it didn't get too bad but didn't intervene) and are currently quiet and just sitting at opposite ends of the bath. I'm not sure whether this is the best I can hope for just now, or whether I should be seeing them gambling about together happily?!
I checked again their history with the old owners, who assured me they had always lived together with no problems. I guess I just have to take them at their word.
If I pop them back into their cleaned out home and they have two of everything re feed/water - we can keep a close eye on them over the next few days etc but I'm wondering whether I'm doing everything right? Also, what am I looking for to ensure that a 'contented' bond is established? If they live in the same area without big fall fights but sleep separately and keep themselves to themselves are they happy pigs? I'm worried they may be stressed and are tolerating one another rather than actually benefitting from one another's company. Any thoughts or things to look out for would be very welcome. We just wanted to give them a nice home and felt it positive to rehome rather than buy young. Their home is 5ftx2ft so big enough I think.
 
:wel:
I’m sorry to hear this.

When boars change location, they need to reestablish their relationship in any new environment so seeing dominance is normal. However, if they have escalated into a full on fights, then I’m afraid they should not be reintroduced.
When you say tussled in the bath - are we talking a rolling around fur ball? If so, then please do separate them and sadly you will need to accept that they no longer want to be together.
Piggies who cannot live in the same cage will need to be kept in separate but side by side cages with companionship through the bars only. Each piggy needing a minimum of a 4ft x 2ft cage.
While its normal for even bonded piggies to not sleep together, totally avoiding each other is a very separate thing and could mean they just don’t want to be together.

A 5ft cage is the minimum size for two boars who live together.

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble
 
Piggies&buns said:
:wel:
I’m sorry to hear this.

When boars change location, they need to reestablish their relationship in any new environment so seeing dominance is normal. However, if they have escalated into a full on fights, then I’m afraid they should not be reintroduced.
When you say tussled in the bath - are we talking a rolling around fur ball? If so, then please do separate them and sadly you will need to accept that they no longer want to be together.
Piggies who cannot live in the same cage will need to be kept in separate but side by side cages with companionship through the bars only. Each piggy needing a minimum of a 4ft x 2ft cage.
While its normal for even bonded piggies to not sleep together, totally avoiding each other is a very separate thing and could mean they just don’t want to be together.

A 5ft cage is the minimum size for two boars who live together.

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. No, they weren't a flying fur ball, rather chasing each other and nipping? Sorry, I should also say, their home is 2 x (5x2). What would be signs that they're content?
 
I really hope they can sort themselves out and live together. They don’t necessarily have to sit cuddling with each other. I have two boys and they do like to be in separate hideys some of the time. But then sometimes they will snuggle together 😍.
 
weepweeps said:
I really hope they can sort themselves out and live together. They don’t necessarily have to sit cuddling with each other. I have two boys and they do like to be in separate hideys some of the time. But then sometimes they will snuggle together 😍.
Click to expand...
Me too! I feel sad or that we've failed them in some way if they used to get on, and now don't.... :-(
 
You definitely haven’t failed them. The change of location could have set them off. Or hormones kicking in (how old are they)? Or even the hot weather? Is it hot where you are?
 
I am sorry you are going though this.
Just remember it is not your fault, and often when people are looking to rehome their pets they may be economical with the truth.

It is good you cleaned out their home, but to give them the absolute best chance of success I would reintroduce them somewhere totally neutral - a large playpen set up on a floor of a room they don't usually live in is a good start.
Even a clean cage will carry smells and reminders for them.

Initially place them in the bonding pen with just water sources and a couple of large piles of hay and take it from there.
The guides linked to above will give you all the details that you need.
 
Were they both nipping at each other? Was there any humping/mounting, allowing oneself to be humped/mounted and wheeking? Have a read of the link below in levels of dominance. Can you also explain what happened in the fights which led to the separation?

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Chasing, mounting, rumbling are all normal dominance behaviours - you see these even in well bonded boys throughout their lives - and aren’t reason to separate them. My own boar pair are three years old and love nothing more than chasing and mounting!

A full on, fur ball, rolling around fight with the potential for injuries to be caused or being caused, warrants permanent and immediate separation.
If such a fight hasn’t occurred, then try to reintroduce them in neutral territory (no hides, just hay and water) see how things go. If they don’t fight or there are no aggressive signs, then you can move them to a thoroughly cleaned out cage. If they do fight, then that is their decision that they don’t want to be together.

The signs of being content are that they are happy to be around each other, no fights (dominance is normal). They may never share a hide (my boys don’t) but can still be well bonded.

When you say it’s 2x 5x2 - do you mean it’s a two storey cage? if so, then upper levels don’t count towards the cage size. Piggies are ground roaming so their cage needs to be single level and any area connected by a ramp is a bonus space only. So if it is a 5x2ft hutch, then it is 10 square feet being two storey doesn’t make it 20 sq ft. 10sq ft is the minimum for a boar pair so your hutch is fine, 12 sq ft is recommended size.
 
So after much observation, Ben and Cedric are now living in parallel and spend time together in a very large run on the lawn during the day. This seems to be working for them. They have so much space they can be together but the less dominant piggy has plenty of space to give way to the more dominant one, and they are rubbing along nicely. I noticed them pop corning and whizzing about their run the other day, more positive signs. The normal dominance signs which we see when they're outside together seem to become magnified and more troublesome when they're 'housed' together despite the size of the hutch being ok.
 
Did you do a reintroduction as was suggested above, followed by a thorough clean of their cage then putting them back? How did it go? Would you have space to expand their cage at all?

The issue with this is that each meeting is bonding for them. It can also become stressful because you’re interrupting daily and then restarting the next. I would consider just keeping them entirely separate if that’s what you’ve decided to do.
 
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