Hi I have 4 boars all under a year (2 pairs). And my slightly older pair seems to be having some bullying and I'm not sure how to go about it. I thought my ginger boy was sick because he was not gaining/ slightly loosing weight, but once i separated them he immediately started putting weight back on. But they figured out how to get to each other (literally putting the grids out of the connectors) So I let it be overnight but this morning I really noticed how my tri-colored pig was keeping my ginger from eating. So now the tri-colored pig is in the playpen while I'm at school. But I really dont know how to go about stopping the bullying since it’s in his nature. I thought about trying to switch the pairs but my younger pair seems to be doing fine for now so I dont know if I want to risk ruining it.
Boar bond
- Thread starter Dh720
- Start date
You test a bond by separating them for a few days and seeing if the bullied pig perks up. That is then a clear indication that there is a dysfunctional bond.
As you have already tried that and the bullied pig did Indeed perk up, you can conclude that their bond is not a happy one.
You cannot stop bullying. The only solution to a dysfunctional or failed bond is to permanently separate them.
They will have to each have their own 3x2 c&c cage next to each other but you must cable tie the grids together so they can’t get them apart, you don’t rely on the connectors.
Do not mix up the pairs. There is no point in disrupting and potentially ruining the bond between the two who get on. If you were to try to mix up the pairs but can’t find matches in which work, then you may not get the original pair back to together - you could end up with four single piggies
I’ve added some guides below for further information
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble
As you have already tried that and the bullied pig did Indeed perk up, you can conclude that their bond is not a happy one.
You cannot stop bullying. The only solution to a dysfunctional or failed bond is to permanently separate them.
They will have to each have their own 3x2 c&c cage next to each other but you must cable tie the grids together so they can’t get them apart, you don’t rely on the connectors.
Do not mix up the pairs. There is no point in disrupting and potentially ruining the bond between the two who get on. If you were to try to mix up the pairs but can’t find matches in which work, then you may not get the original pair back to together - you could end up with four single piggies
I’ve added some guides below for further information
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble
Do you think in the future it would be okay if I tried bonding them again once they are older and hormones are more leveled out? They will obviously be bar buddies for now but I’d feel kind of bad with both of them being solo forever, but I definitely dont have room for 6 pigs.
Sadly not. A broken bond is permanent: they won’t decide they like each other when they are older.
Hormones don’t help the situation but if two piggies are not character compatible then that isn’t something which changes even when hormones aren’t raging so much.
Boars do tend to start to mellow out when testosterone starts to fizzle out, but that does start to happen until they are around 4/5 years old. Even so it won’t change a character compatibility issue between them.
You have to be careful not to be fooled by behaviours between the bars. Things like laying beside each other between the divider, or pacing, chewing or rumbling at the divider are actually territory marking behaviours, not a sign they want to be together.
The pig doing the bullying is usually quite upset by a separation but only because they can no longer bully the other piggy.
Living side by side provides interaction and companionship for them both, so they aren’t fully considered single as such, but they will be happier not having to share a territory.
I have two separated boys. They had a fight when they were 18 weeks old and have lived side by side ever since. They’ve just turned 4 years old
Hormones don’t help the situation but if two piggies are not character compatible then that isn’t something which changes even when hormones aren’t raging so much.
Boars do tend to start to mellow out when testosterone starts to fizzle out, but that does start to happen until they are around 4/5 years old. Even so it won’t change a character compatibility issue between them.
You have to be careful not to be fooled by behaviours between the bars. Things like laying beside each other between the divider, or pacing, chewing or rumbling at the divider are actually territory marking behaviours, not a sign they want to be together.
The pig doing the bullying is usually quite upset by a separation but only because they can no longer bully the other piggy.
Living side by side provides interaction and companionship for them both, so they aren’t fully considered single as such, but they will be happier not having to share a territory.
I have two separated boys. They had a fight when they were 18 weeks old and have lived side by side ever since. They’ve just turned 4 years old