all this boar talk is worrying me..

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annaleaze

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As some of you know i pick my two babies up next saturday (4-5 weeks old) and the amount i've read about their behaviour and fallings out i'm starting to worry if i'll be experienced enough to deal with them both? I'm 100% up for it! But theres a tad of worry as i'm not reading much positives about Boars lol
 
My boys get along great! If one of them is trying to dominate the other one too much and seems to be really aggressive get a spray bottle and give him a little squirt in the face (not the nose) when he tries any mounting or aggressive behaviour. I got this advice from the rescue that I got Hamish from and it has stopped a lot of bickering between the boys.
 
I'm picking mine up next week too XD
Are they brothers? I'm getting brothers and am not that worried as they've been together since a young age.
I was searching around the internet and the most common thing i saw was that the younger they're paired the less likely they are to fight. I'd try not worrying have you got a cage or anything in case of emergencies? it may help to reassure you a little :)
 
If youve getting a bonded pair from a rescue, which is what I would recomend, Its unlikely youll have any problems. :)

Also, the best ways to keep boars happy as they go through the teenage phase is to have two of everything. Two food bowls, two places to get hay, two water bottles, two hiding places(preferably with two exits/entrances each so nobody gets backed in). Your very aware of what to look out for after doing your research. :)

I think you are basically an ideal first time owner! :)
 
thanks peeps, i'll relax a little now then, i've got two of everything ready for when needed, and my "emergency" cage lol they're bonded as were born 4 hours apart from diff mums and raised together and still together now so maybe as you say they'll be ok. :))
 
Just make sure they have less to fall out over i.e 2 bowls, bottles, pigloos etc they'll be fine they dont all fight :)
 
thanks gizmo yes i have two of everything ready, i just panic as i keep reading about boar fall outs lol i am a worrier ")
 
Twoflower said:
My boys get along great! If one of them is trying to dominate the other one too much and seems to be really aggressive get a spray bottle and give him a little squirt in the face (not the nose) when he tries any mounting or aggressive behaviour. I got this advice from the rescue that I got Hamish from and it has stopped a lot of bickering between the boys.
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Ive never heard of this before - what rescue gave you that advice? Mounting is a normal sign of dominance, I'm not sure squirting pigs in the face will stop this, i would have though this could only aggrevate the situation as you are not letting them sort out what is in most cases normal boar behaviour.

Two of my boys mount each other frequently and its very much a game to them - they do it to one another and go on a popcorning frenzy afterwards - but then they are perfectly matched and are very close.

My other two boys (father and son) are the complete opposite and at times things do become tense between them (mild teeth chattering, mounting, screams of protest) - i just watch closely, they are around 3yrs & 2yrs old.

I think if boars are showing that much aggression that you need to spray them in the face to make them stop - i would advice splitting them up and finding them a more suitable friend each.

My experience of pigs is that they do not respond to certain 'behaviour' training like dogs - so using techniques like you would with a dog wouldn't work well.

I may be completely wrong - i just find that treatment a little extreme for such a normal behaviour between boars. :{
 
the good thing is if i have any problems i can go back to the rescue with them and the lady will help re bond them or find another friend! but i dont want them to get to that stage! anyway i havent even got them yet lol i need to sshhhh:x
 
I'm sure they'll be fine hon, you sound very prepared which is half the battle!

I thought my two boys wouldn't stay together but a year on and there still going strong with only minor bickering every now and then!

Best tip is space space and space! Boars seem to get on better the more room you give them :)

Here's my two boys squeaky and rodger :)

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Aw dont panic! You have all the people here with boar experience, there's some great sticky threads too. Whether they are brothers or not makes no difference, it's all about the personality. Boars can bicker but if they're genuinely bonded well they normally overcome it. It can be worrying watching them chase and mount, I have a very hormonal boar right now but it's all normal to them, part of growing up. I've been keeping piggies for around 20 years and nearly all have been board and I have had 1 fall out which was resolved anyway. That might be luck I don't know but I'm sure it proves they're not all a pain ;)
 
thanks they look gorgeous (although i do have a phobia of red eyes! dont take offence tho as he's cute :p)

do they grow out of their hormonal stage then?
 
I have 15 boars, 7 pairs and a little guy waiting to pair up. (I also have sows) and they all get along great in their partnerships. Some are brothers, others aren't, and they did go through the hormonal stage (the ones that are older, still a couple of pairs to go through it) and they are fine! Don't panic just yet! :(|)
 
annaleaze said:
thanks they look gorgeous (although i do have a phobia of red eyes! dont take offence tho as he's cute :p)

do they grow out of their hormonal stage then?
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I had a phobia of red eyes too! Till we got Rodger, then we got Jessie, she has red eyes too lol

To be honest i'm still not keen on red eyes, they still occasionally freak me out if one of them looks at me funny! :))

Rodger never seemed to go through a hormonal stage (he's 1 year old) whereas squeaky constantly seems hormonal and he's nearly 3!
 
Twoflower said:
My boys get along great! If one of them is trying to dominate the other one too much and seems to be really aggressive get a spray bottle and give him a little squirt in the face (not the nose) when he tries any mounting or aggressive behaviour. I got this advice from the rescue that I got Hamish from and it has stopped a lot of bickering between the boys.
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To add on to this The spray thing is really just flicking drops of water in the aggressive ones face as it is the same as when the other pig sprays, which is what Hamish ended up doing to Guinness when he was getting really annoying. I only had to do this at the rescue while boar dating Guinness. He is a pretty aggressive baby and after a bit of water stopped trying to bully Hamish and calmed down. After Hamish came home with me and moved into the the cage with Guinness I didn't have any problems like when they had first met. Now the mounting and teeth chattering is mild and they seem to enjoy chasing each other around. Flicking water worked really well and didn't hurt or upset Guinness in any way.
 
Glad i posted this now as i feel positive again now! Thanks a lot x and glad i'm not the only one with red eye phobia lol my partner thinks i'm crazy! I have goat eye phobia too LOL! They're wrong! But i love goat's just never look at their eyes ha ha. I wonder if the waters like a distraction then? Which is what stops him? I read so much and the amount of times i've thought oh what if i do this? And then read to find i shouldn't! Lol glad i found this forum! My daughter keeps sayin about the harnesse's! And i said oh yeah good idea! Then i read a sticky i think about them and now i'm like NO WAY! They should be banned! Flippin cruelty! So i've bought my husky a new harness instead ;) although no chance my daughter can walk her! Maybe i should get my daughter a harness for my dog to walk Her! Ha ha funny
 
Twoflower said:
To add on to this The spray thing is really just flicking drops of water in the aggressive ones face as it is the same as when the other pig sprays, which is what Hamish ended up doing to Guinness when he was getting really annoying. I only had to do this at the rescue while boar dating Guinness. He is a pretty aggressive baby and after a bit of water stopped trying to bully Hamish and calmed down. After Hamish came home with me and moved into the the cage with Guinness I didn't have any problems like when they had first met. Now the mounting and teeth chattering is mild and they seem to enjoy chasing each other around. Flicking water worked really well and didn't hurt or upset Guinness in any way.
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I'm glad you've clarified the water spraying advice. As much a you say it worked for you, I would never use a 'punishment' to stop a Guinea Pigs behaviour.
I dont want members here to start using water to stop natural behaviour such as chasing and mounting I feel I have to clarify why it is wrong.

Some Animal are really sensitive and punishment could have pushed the behaviour either way.
Most animals would get rather stressed and fearful - however meanful the rescue was in explaining the mimicking of spraying to be a behaviour another animal would do, the whole process of bonding Guinea Pigs is to monitor how they get on by using their normal behaviour to demonstrate their meeting, which is always down to finding out who is going to be the dominant one from the friendship, and whether they like one another and can come to a compromise enough to live their life in a closed cage together.

Speaking as a qualified dog trainer for people with disabilities I understood the negatives of using punishment rather than reward to get the desired behaviour.

When bonding I use lots of hays and foraging material as a distration this is a positive enviroment with distration. If I need them to have time out for a few seconds I would pop a dustpan in as visual barrier.

I know you gave advice with good intention but I really get worried when I feel it is inappropriate to use.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76162

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Paula
 
DON'T PANIC !

Haha, keep calm and carry on! My two brother piggies, Bentley and Chester, get along great, they occasionally mount each other but it's perfectly natural, well it's weird but they'd do it in the wild, it's just there behaviour, and as long as you keep an eye on them you can just leave them too it !

Eddie and Ollie are my two slightly naughty boars, they occasionally squabble but they just chase each other and then calm down, it never gets to rough because in most pairs there will a submissive one that just takes it and goes of quiet,

With my Bentley and Chester, Bentley used to be submissive but he's trying to be dominant now, and Chester is just letting him, mainly because he's to fat to care, but don't be worried, they sort everything out between themselves !

Boars aren't as terrible as they sound !
 
We had originally intended to get two girls because I had read somewhere they had less chance of fighting, but in the end we fell in love with our two boys (although we kept the girl names we'd planned for them!) I hadn't had pair boys before so I was a little worried when I saw their dominance behaviour, that's when I came to this site. If you've read up about it first and you are prepared I'm sure you will be fine.

As you've read two of everything and space space space! I upgraded the size of their cage twice in the first few months, we now have a 120cm 2 storey, and I have dreams of c & c cage if we get a bigger place! Give them as much floor time as possible (especially if they are being particularly grumpy towards
each other). Lots of hay is a wonderful bonding tool! We had a sometimes tricky teenage years but they made it through with only one major incident which was my fault- they started going nuts at each other when I played another guinea pig wheeking on you tube! Some time-out, floor time and hay sorted them out though.

Good luck, when they stay friends and get close it's so worth the effort! *I love my boys!Xx
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