Barbering seperation advice needed

[PrincessPiggies94]

Hi I'm posting again as this is an ongoing issue but from previous advice I have seperated my herd of 5 sows into 3 pairs but I'm waiting on a teddy sow baby to pair with one of my sows so I can make 3 pairs, I currently have two lunks and a teddy sow in a trio and I will be seperating once baby teddy is ready, both lunks are barberers and both have short fur and I'm having issues finding out if its these two that are barbering one another or the teddy pig is doing it to them! Ive read that long haired pigs are the ones to likely target one another so do I pair a teddy and lunk? I'm stuck on who needs to be seperated.. and I have watched them but I cant seem to catch the culprits! So if anyone can give me any advice I would appreciate this as there is bald patchs already!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi I'm posting again as this is an ongoing issue but from previous advice I have seperated my herd of 5 sows into 3 pairs but I'm waiting on a teddy sow baby to pair with one of my sows so I can make 3 pairs, I currently have two lunks and a teddy sow in a trio and I will be seperating once baby teddy is ready, both lunks are barberers and both have short fur and I'm having issues finding out if its these two that are barbering one another or the teddy pig is doing it to them! Ive read that long haired pigs are the ones to likely target one another so do I pair a teddy and lunk? I'm stuck on who needs to be seperated.. and I have watched them but I cant seem to catch the culprits! So if anyone can give me any advice I would appreciate this as there is bald patchs already!

Hi

Pair up your piggies into different pair combinations for a couple of days (it won't break their bond) to hopefully find out who barberer is.

Otherwise you will just have to put up with having a habitual barber in the herd. They do occasionally happen but as long as they do not derail the group dynamics (and they usually don't if it is social barbering), then it is easier to just ignore the barbering.

My long-haired husboars not rarely ended up as short-haired as his wives - including the one who lived with three cataract sows who were nearly to pretty fully blind. But it was friendly barbering; the wives kind of saying: you are my husboar and I am looking after you.
That is also often what a new baby paired with a long-haired companion does (the long hair will disappear in about a week) - it is a way of saying: I am so happy that you have taken me on and I really care about you.

Be aware that barbering can have different functions. Dominance barbering (bullying) is comparatively rare in my own 20 years experience with various groups and coming up to 100 piggies. Most habitual barbering is friendly and should be ideally tolerated. Occasionally, the barberer is blind and/or deaf and uses barbering as a way of staying in touch.

More about the different functions of barbering: Barbering (Eating Hair)