And so it begins.......

Joandpiggies

Joandpiggies

Junior Guinea Pig
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Evening all,

Well despite my best efforts, I think the trio of boars, now approx 3 month in age have started squabbling. From the previous advice I found on this forum, I think that was inevitable really. However, my issue at the moment is trying to figure out when to separate and who to separate?

So far there has been a lot of rumble strutting, lots of chasing around, mainly from Rodney! But tonight I saw more aggressive behaviour from all 3 piggies. Rearing up, showing teeth, twisting and turning with each other and looking ready to bite, however none seem to have actually bitten yet. I’m wondering if they may sort themselves out, or if this is already bad enough to separate? But then, they all seem evenly matched at the moment, though Rodney seems to be the instigator and the one chasing and jumping the other two?

What do I do for the best here? I feel awful just leaving them to see if they draw blood and hurt one another, which I fear may happen when I’m not home to watch them. But then equally, I don’t want to separate if this is just them sorting out who’s boss?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Jo and piggies
 
Joandpiggies said:
Evening all,

Well despite my best efforts, I think the trio of boars, now approx 3 month in age have started squabbling. From the previous advice I found on this forum, I think that was inevitable really. However, my issue at the moment is trying to figure out when to separate and who to separate?

So far there has been a lot of rumble strutting, lots of chasing around, mainly from Rodney! But tonight I saw more aggressive behaviour from all 3 piggies. Rearing up, showing teeth, twisting and turning with each other and looking ready to bite, however none seem to have actually bitten yet. I’m wondering if they may sort themselves out, or if this is already bad enough to separate? But then, they all seem evenly matched at the moment, though Rodney seems to be the instigator and the one chasing and jumping the other two?

What do I do for the best here? I feel awful just leaving them to see if they draw blood and hurt one another, which I fear may happen when I’m not home to watch them. But then equally, I don’t want to separate if this is just them sorting out who’s boss?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Jo and piggies
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Hi! It looks like Rodney's testicles have started to descend and he is experiencing the first teenage hormone spike; you will notice an increasing area of swelling on both sides of his genitals in the coming weeks (you can find pictures of the process in our sexing guide).
Sexing Guide

At the moment, you need not split them up quite yet as they are careful not to cross the line yet, but be prepared to take Rodney out if necessary if he sets the other two off more seriously. Best have the divider handy so you can step in asap if necessary.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! It looks like Rodney's testicles have started to descend and he is experiencing the first teenage hormone spike; you will notice an increasing area of swelling on both sides of his genitals in the coming weeks (you can find pictures of the process in our sexing guide).
Sexing Guide

At the moment, you need not split them up quite yet as they are careful not to cross the line yet, but be prepared to take Rodney out if necessary if he sets the other two off more seriously. Best have the divider handy so you can step in asap if necessary.
Click to expand...

Thanks Wiebke!

I did notice when checking them over the other day that the testicles seem to be appearing on two of them.

I am ready to divide as and when necessary. I will keep a watchful eye on them and check them to see if their squabbles have turned into more serious fights and leaving any marks.

Thanks for your advice 😊X
 
I think that keeping a watchful eye is the best course of action at the moment and being ready to step in and separate only when someone crosses the line.
Just remember that these lovely lads can’t help their behaviour. It’s their hormones kicking in. Individually they are each still the lovely piggies you bonded with.
 
Be on the look out for constant "yawning" as that was the last warning I got before having to split my boars. Both would yawn, then eventually hold eye contact and freeze, which was enough to go full-on fight. Circle fights, once started, are when they BOTH bite down into each other (they won't let go) and constantly spin in a circle, which can last up to 5+ seconds.

The thing is, once they've hit that point of no return, they somehow remember each other as enemies, by sight. I put a divider in my boar cage to separate mine initially, and they'd occasional still try and nip each other through the bars, were constantly chattering (level 3 teeth chatter where it gets loud) and occasional rumbling. I was actually bitten HARD on a finger after accidentally poking one of them despite being separated. I instinctively pulled away, and heard a crunch as he hit the bone on my middle finger below the fingernail. The crunch was him hitting bone then sliding on the bone. He was almost 5" off the cage floor before he even let go. The skin was actually ripped on the top of the finger, nearly a 1/4" in length. It hurt like hell. Had it been anywhere else, it would have need a couple stitches. I've kept it bandaged and wrapped, and added neosporin (carefully given it was a deep puncture) and thankfully it sealed up w/o getting infected.

I know others have said to wait it out, but IF you see "yawning", just separate the ones that are yawning. IF they don't get into a full-blown fight, maybe they can be reintroduced at a few months later or after they've hit their hormone peak. Otherwise, it'll be separated for life if they get into it bad enough. And if they get a full blown fight, I personally wouldn't recommend a divider as the two at odds will be constantly irritated with each other, and IF one was still with the 3rd boar, they might actually get into by proxy, similar to how I was bitten, where I strongly believe the boar that bit me was reacting to the other boar being really close to the divider, and very near where my hand was, so the bite was reflex to what it thought was the other boar. I'm just grateful it didn't clip a finger tip nerve.

Even after I pulled the one that bit me out the divided cage and put him in a spare cage, both boars were still on edge for a few days, so in my case, a full separation brought them back to their "normal" selves. I've handled one then tried handling another, and nothing happened, so it doesn't seem to be a smell issue, but rather sight or proximity.
 
When my three were in their early teenage months I came home to chicco having a small cut on his nose, and from then on he was definitely the boss of groucho, so there may be squabbles and accidental small injuries, but it's easy to tell the difference between them and a full on fight. I agree that a lot of loud, persistent teeth chattering and yawning are the danger signs. I saw this when I tried to introduce a fourth (before I knew better). Sometimes a time out with a divider will do the trick (I've done it a few times), but you'll know when a permanent separation is inevitable. Good luck x
 
Thank you everyone for your pearls of wisdom. I will take this on board and just be mindful to keep checking them for any injuries or signs of an imminent fight.

It’s sad to think that I may have to seperate them, but if they really go at it, then I will have to. They’ve been so good together up until now, They’re each adorable and have their own personalities which are shining through now. If one is removed from the cage for weighing or checking nails etc, then the others cry out for the missing piggie, and always search for him. I can’t ever keep one separated for very long as they let me know when they want to be back with their brothers. So it will be so sad to see them parted.

I will keep you posted with how they get on through this adolescent stage. Wish me luck!
 
I don't know how long/wide your cage is, but if it's C&C, maybe consider lengthening/widening it even more, which might give some extra cushion room for them to stretch out. Obviously avoid setting things up that create choke points in the flow of the cage, where they might get forced into the same area.

Also, fwirw, by the time you detect an actual scab from a bite, it might already be several days old to a couple weeks old (never pick at them). I saw a fresh tuft of hair pulled from a rump, where it just looked "bald" on that tiny spot. A few days later, it was an actual scab. Another spot (that initially appeared to have something like boar glue on it) near a rib behind the front leg that was kinda clear and sticky; after pulling it off the fur thinking it was something else, a tuft of hair came out instead. Where that tuft was, was an actual HOLE the size of an eraser you could see right in to the cavity of the rib area. Due to the way the fur covers everything, I almost didn't even catch it and it wasn't bleeding.

So check daily. Push fur against the grain to inspect the actual skin at the hair root carefully. The one with the hole, I was fortunate the skin was exposed enough to get a band-aid on it, then I wrapped his torso several times with a self-grabbing bandage that made him look like he was wearing a tube-top. It thankfully sealed on it's own and is fully healed now. Just be prepared if things go sideways. GL!
 
Little Piglets said:
I don't know how long/wide your cage is, but if it's C&C, maybe consider lengthening/widening it even more, which might give some extra cushion room for them to stretch out. Obviously avoid setting things up that create choke points in the flow of the cage, where they might get forced into the same area.

Also, fwirw, by the time you detect an actual scab from a bite, it might already be several days old to a couple weeks old (never pick at them). I saw a fresh tuft of hair pulled from a rump, where it just looked "bald" on that tiny spot. A few days later, it was an actual scab. Another spot (that initially appeared to have something like boar glue on it) near a rib behind the front leg that was kinda clear and sticky; after pulling it off the fur thinking it was something else, a tuft of hair came out instead. Where that tuft was, was an actual HOLE the size of an eraser you could see right in to the cavity of the rib area. Due to the way the fur covers everything, I almost didn't even catch it and it wasn't bleeding.

So check daily. Push fur against the grain to inspect the actual skin at the hair root carefully. The one with the hole, I was fortunate the skin was exposed enough to get a band-aid on it, then I wrapped his torso several times with a self-grabbing bandage that made him look like he was wearing a tube-top. It thankfully sealed on it's own and is fully healed now. Just be prepared if things go sideways. GL!
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Thanks Little Piggies!

I will definitely keep checking the boys over for any marks and wounds.

I have quite a lot of space for them with a homemade set up. From previous advice on the forum, they now each have their own water bottles, hay bags, pellet bowls and I scatter the veggies instead of placing in a single bowl (which i did originally) I have also got tunnels instead of hideys with one entrance, that way either can escape at each end. They have good space to escape each other if need be. There’s 4 tunnels in total.

I’ve checked them today and fortunately they all seem calm and to be getting along. No signs of any fighting. Long may that continue 😊

That sounded awful for your poor piggie! I’m glad he healed well though.

Best wishes,
Jo
 
Can I just ask a question that may have been posted somewhere else on this forum, that I may have missed. Could their sudden aggression from yesterday be anything to do with the cage clean I did just before this all happened? Has anyone had experience of that? I just thought it seemed odd that as soon as I cleaned their cage, they started up and began squabbling?
 
Joandpiggies said:
Can I just ask a question that may have been posted somewhere else on this forum, that I may have missed. Could their sudden aggression from yesterday be anything to do with the cage clean I did just before this all happened? Has anyone had experience of that? I just thought it seemed odd that as soon as I cleaned their cage, they started up and began squabbling?
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Yes, it could. When the cage is cleaned, you're removing a lot of their scent, and there can be some reestablishing of hierarchy. You might find similar flash points at floor time. What I used to do was to leave some of their unwashed/uncleaned stuff in the cage, so that they still identify their scent. I'd change the fleeces one day, and the hay trays, tunnels etc the next... Worth a try. Good luck x
 
Reenie said:
Yes, it could. When the cage is cleaned, you're removing a lot of their scent, and there can be some reestablishing of hierarchy. You might find similar flash points at floor time. What I used to do was to leave some of their unwashed/uncleaned stuff in the cage, so that they still identify their scent. I'd change the fleeces one day, and the hay trays, tunnels etc the next... Worth a try. Good luck x
Click to expand...

Thanks Reenie,

I will be more aware of this in future and make sure I leave some familiar scents in the cage when cleaning. I had changed everything on this occasion and so it was all fresh. But what you say makes total sense.

Best wishes,
Jo
 
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