Advice on bonding a new male piggy in to group of female piggies

[ekuk]

Hello all, I've recently rescued a young boar who I wanted to add to my herd of sows, they are all aged 2 and under and the boar is 7 months old, neutered. He's been living next door to them a couple weeks and I've been trading their poops and blankies.
Is there a particular order I should introduce him to the group? Eg, introduce him to one individual sow at a time or a pair or the youngest girls? Or the current alpha sow first? Or should I just put them all together in a large neutral area and watch closely?
I've been lucky with previous bondings as they were all girls, already a pair or a trio and one group was very young and passive.
Thanks,
Emma

 

[Piggies&buns]

You put them all in at the same time. They have to form a hierarchy as a herd.

For clarity, we do not recommend scent swapping poops and blankets in advance of bonding. It can actually be detrimental to the bonding.
Piggies are territorial and finding the scent of other pigs in their own territory can cause conflict when they then come face to face with the pig with that smell.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

 

[VickiA]

I have bonded a neutered boar into a herd of sows on a number of occasions. I always do this in exactly the same way – a neutral pen and all piggies put in together. Depending on the number of piggies that you have, you may want another pair of hands or two in order to put all the piggies in at the same time. Have no distractions – no hides or places where anyone can get caught. A simple large pile of hay is the only thing I would put in a bonding pen to start with.. The bonding will have to go through a series of phases whereby acceptance takes place and then dominance is established working from the top ranking pig down to the bottom ranking pig so it can take quite a while before you know that it is safe to them put them back into their permanent newly cleaned enclosure.
please do make sure you have read the bonding guides fully before you start the bonding process. If you keep your questions in this one thread. It will make it easier for any of us who are online to support you during the process.

 

[Wiebke]

I agree with the above. I have done lots of cross gender bondings with a neutered boar and sows and always started on neutral ground together with a big heap of hay in the middle of the bonding pen.