Boar bonding

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Julesie

Julesie

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So Corey has less than one week to go before he can be tested with Romano. Romano is totally lonely, watching the boys through the bars and lying their and today hes been a git, chewing the bars and tugging them, trying to get in with the other two. He's driving me nuts.

So my question is, when I go to the next step in a few days, how do I go about it? I've read boar dating but I want to make sure I get every step right to possibly make this work.

Please any advice would be wonderful. I heard its best to test them on your lap first? Or is this wrong?

I'm very nervous about this so would really appreciate any and all help, especially from people who have bonded boars before.

Romano is just over a year old and Corey is 1.5 years old.
 
Oh thank you so, so much. I really hope it works as Romano's obviously lonely so if they don't get on... god knows what I'll do. xD;

I'll be rereading that site a million times.
 
I just did this - its still very early days but so far its been ok. My boys were put in a neutral pen with a divider so they could see/sniff.

They were sniffing & eating grass from eachothers side of the divide & looking pretty hapy so eventually the divide was lifted and they met. there was no teeth chattering or any aggressive behaviour just some mounting from Billy the younger boy.

it went smoother than I expected, which is why I am probably now a nervous wreck waiting for something awful to happen :{
 
Here are tips on introductions: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
And here is Suzygpr's boar bonding threat. it contains useful description of acceptable and not acceptable behaviour as well as several videos.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59233

Please be aware that whatever you try, in the end it comes down to whether the boars are character compatible or not. Most of the tricks will only mask any potential problem, but will not obviate it.

Boar bonding always takes several days before a bond can be declared stable; that can take up to two weeks. Do not separate unless there are major signs of aggression or there is truly incessant humping from one boar to an unwilling partner; make sure that you have a humping with the boars to try and hopefully draw off some of the "fire". Separating too quickly is only counterproductive, as the boars have to start right back in square one and do all over again.

Bonding is not for the faint hearted; it is all about testing out the limits in a relationship and things can sometimes escalate very quickly. From what I can see from the boar dating experiences at a rescue, it seems to take about two to three tries on average to find the right mate; so you are in with about a 50% or slightly less chance that they will get on.
 
Thank you for that link - read it & am deffo putting a teddy in when I get home from work!

Hopefully Billy will have his end away with that instead! :x

I think its more my behaviour thats the issue. I'm such a terrible worrier! mallethead
 
Thank you so much for the posts of help.

I've already bought a humping teddy for them for 50p yesterday so thats all cleared and covered.

I'll definitely try my best but again I'm going to try and not be positivie because I've read the whole wales boar dating thread and have seen how hard it can be. I'm just hoping it will as Romano is very lonely so hopefully this will make him less likely to attack. He's laid back usually anyway.
 
So I am curious.

Should I have the boys on my lap first and see how they get on or put a divider down the cage so they can see one another and then do the lap thing?

Just want to make sure I do the right order. :)
 
You can do either - there is no right or wrong, just different routes to take.

I would think that with boars the lap method is probably more efficient in finding out whether there is a chance that they might gel or whether they won't get on right from the start.
 
I wouldn't suggest having them on your lap, as if a fight breaks out you may get bitten or may not be in a position to break it up. I've not boar dated before, but from what I've read I would say having them both in cages side by side for a few days, or out for floor time or in the run split through the middle so they can get to know each other first. Then you can put them both in a neutral place (maybe after a bonding bath) and see how they get along.
I hope this helps.
 
Thank you both. I'll definitely think about which seems better.

I just think Romano will chew the bars a lot if i split teh cage as hes doing that with my current two boars he sees through the divider and I won't be able to tell what hes thinking.

He's definitely not after my other two, he just spends his day laying down watching them through the bars and then occasionally having a fifteen minute chew session to get in.
 
I can only comment on what worked for me which was to have them in a neautral pen with a divider initially. They can sniff thru the bars, look at eachother, and come to terms with eachothers presence in their own time rather than if you plonk them on your lap. One of the guides said to place them on your lap singly so they can smell the other on the towel/blanket first.

I would say let them see eachother thru a divider first. It was really obvious quite quickly with mine that they were happy to see eachother there was sniffing thru the bars then eating grass from eachothers side to show off - it was quite sweet really. No one chattered teeth or got cross.

Personally, I would use the divider idea. They won't react properly plonked on your lap esp the new pig cos he will be uneasy anyway... they'll probably just sit there stunned & I wouldn't use the fact they have sat still next to eachother as a red light that they would get on when they were walking about...
 
Thank you so much.

Would you reccomend when I go to cleanout Romanos CC cage that I put a divider down the middle. It'll be freshly clean on both sides and then they can see one another? I'll put correx so Romano can no longer see Ludwig and Gilbert and only Corey.
 
Id do that if you want to go down the divider route just make sure you really do give romanos cage and any equipment a good scrub!

Personally i'm not a fan of the divider and would rather just put them in a neutral territory first straight away to see what happens. Some people like lots of enrichment to distract them, but ive found some hay & veg with not toys ect to be better. Nothing worse when one become possessive over a tube/hide and they end up fighting over that. Unfortunately bonding is trial and error so if i were you i'd pick all the bits from different bonding methods you like best and make your own.

I've also always sat them on my lap fist too, top to tail, i've found they're too busy being disgruntled about being stroked and bum sniffing to fight.
 
If you don't have the option of totally new neutral territory then yes, long as its clean & there is no one scent greater than the other.

Good luck! Xx
 
Thank you both. I'm going to ask my mum if I can let them meet in the kitchen first then as neither Corey or Romano have been in there so it will be neutral to both. Romano's otherwise been everywhere in my house. :))

Would you suggest I try and bond them in the kitchen and then clean out the CC cage and place them both in it or?

I'm worried about messing step 2 up.

I would probably need my mum to watch the boys whilst I clean the cages if thats needed to get rid of Romano's scent.
 
Try not to over think it, I personally would let them sniff with a divider first somewhere neutral & if all goes well let them meet. That's how I did it but I am sure there are many variations.

I would be inclined to let them sniff while separated first if it were me, if you're going to use the kitchen just make sure you would be able to get to them quickly if there was a problem.

What's the personality of your boy like? Rodney is very placid & did act the way I hoped he would. Calm & lazy haha

Don't panic too much about step 2 they will have met by then & it won't be a shock. Plus you'll be there supervising. Xx
 
I tend to overthink things a lot. xD;;; I'm a huge worrywart whih is why I am prone to pani attacks. ^^;

Romano's personality is interesting. He's pretty laid back. Arthur was the agressor when they were together and Romano would go to the corner and sort of shy away from him and avoid him. He was big into the avoidance. He only bit Arthur once on the face whereas Arthur bit him many times it turned out. He WAS the dominant pig of the relationship. He didn't try to force dominance by humping or bugging the other piggy but he enjoyed walking around the cage rumbling, but that was it.

He's very relaxed over all.
 
I'm
A worrier too I was petrified of it all which is why the divider was good for me because I could see Rodney reacting knowing he was safe.

I worried all the time I wasn't at home all of last week, I've relaxed a bit now but I still don't trust Billy 100% & don't like to leave them too long.

It will be obvious straight away if one of them doesn't like the other, so try not to panic. As someone who has now seen it, I could tell straight away my boys were ok they showed no signs of nastiness at all & actually both acted pleased to see another pig.

It'll be ok, if there is angry chattering etc then you'll kno not to push your luck. Once they've met ok they'll be fine to go in a freshly cleaned cage just kep a close eye, and make sure all toys are new ones so no one is possessive xx
 
Thank you so much for all the advice.

I feel a lot better about doing this now. ^_^ Just really hope it works out as I've fallen hard for Corey and would love him to be Ro's new mate. :)
 
Aww yeah I was praying it'd go well for me first time, and luckily so far it has been fine although Billy is a right pain in the botty. He has character I'll give him that!

Just try not to stress about the next step etc, deal with the first initial meeting. As long as after that you are putting them into a freshly cleaned cage it should be ok. Make sure you also have 2 of things, food bowls etc. I did this but its been a waste of time for me as they only want to use the same one the other one is! So I have ended up with one long food bowl which has room for both to sit at each end (which they do haha). But they are sharing hay racks & foods bowls quite nicely so far.

Billy is dominant, but is very immature & silly & seems to take a stern look from Rodney being the older pig. So far! Hopefully this is as bad as he will get... it is nice to have 2 again, altho I had got used to it being fairly quiet & I now need earplugs everytime I open the fridge again!

Hopefully all will be fine, when are you doing it again?
 
Thank you. He came named Corey. I actually plan to rename him if I can keep him though to Dib as each of my piggies are named after characters from shows I like. :)


I'm doing it tomorrow.

I have one last question. When putting them in tomorrow with the border between them, how long should I leave them there to get to know one another? Should I pull it up so they can meet for a bit after and then put them in the newly cleaned cage together? Or should I let them meet through bars then put them in the CC together but have the divider?
 
The first time my boys met with a divider they were probably only separated for about twenty mins, it was so obvious they were happy with it we then lifted the divider & they then sniffed & popcorned about & were totally fine.

If they are interested in each other in a good way thru the divide, after a little while lift the divide & let them meet then leave them like that for a little bit. They should then be ok to go in the cage I'd say after a good hour of meeting. I know some people would probably advise longer but if you are limited for space etc then it's not always an option plus I don't think it's necessary if it's obvious they are getting on. My boys really did seem genuinely pleased to see another pig, for Rodney he was missing his twin brother who died about 5 weeks before.

It would be quite obvious quite quickly if they're not going to get on at all I should think, and it'll be quite obvious if they do like each other. Rodney got quite excited & was really interested in Billy thru the bars, he was punching grass from his side & showing off. He usually hates being outside...

When they met Billy jumped him a bit but would run off popcorning. There was no teeth chattering. Look out for angry chattering, yawning & any face to face action. Face to botty is good.

Let me kno how you get on! x
 
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*humped not jumped

Course I am no expert, and your boys may not bother with each other thru the bars for longer but mine did after about 10 mins I'd say then were really excited & sniffing each others faces. Let them find each other in their own time.

I thought Rodney was never gonna move he just sat like a blob for ages, but when he realised Billy was there he perked up.
 
Actually it may have been more like 45 mins Or so with divider thinking about it. Give them a good hour with & without it...
 
Thank you so much!

I did let Romano peek at Corey through the bars and they both just seemed to be biting the bars and a small rumble but otherwise nothing else but they only saw one another as I was feeding the boys and happened to have Corey in my arms at the time.

Hopefully this means they won't be too bad.

I'll see how it goes tomorrow and update you.
 
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