Boar Boys - have not had boys before

The Vickster

The Vickster

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Hello all,
3 days ago, I took on 2 boars from a lady who was giving them away on social media. They came from a pet shop in North London, moved down here, and now she cannot look after them anymore. They came with food (muesli), hay, water bottle, food, and a huge cage (seems like they did a few pets at home purchases). They look to be only around 2 years old, and have not developed any "additional items" if you get my drift.

I have messaged the previous owner, and she is going to ring the pet shop to confirm if they have been done - but I do not hold out much hope.
How long can it be till the males go in a secure outside house? Shall I wait till they are older? They have been in the owners house, which was very warm so they are used to the heat, but my senior girls have been in an outside building, very well secured and have survived blizzards and cold temps! So my questions are:

How long till they can go outside?
Providing they have not been done, what age do I get them done? Is now too soon? Shall I wait till they have developed more?
Sounds a bit farfetched, but I don't think I have enough females for both males. Should I rehome (give to a sanctuary) one of them?
If they are both done, can they like with a few females?

Did tell myself not to take on males, but could not let them go. I HATE when people give animals away for free.
 
First thing to do is to stop the muesli and slowly introduce the pellets. With regards going outside, it's too late to put them out now. Unless you can guarantee that the outbuilding will always be as warm as inside the house now. If not then you'll have to wait until temps are round 15c at night.

Not all boars will have a...sizeable package, but there should be something. Have you had a chance to weigh them as yet? In any case, once testicles have descended then they can be neutered. I would take them to the vet to be checked over next week.

One boar can live with many sows. You will need a plan B in case the sows don't accept them though. Once they go with sows, it's unlikely that they would want to live with a boar again. Is there an option to have them live (separately) alongside the sows they'd potentially be bonded with? That can sometimes help with bonding, but again it's not a guarantee.

I would consider keeping the boar in their pair and housing them above the sows, if possible.
 
Is it possible that they are youngsters and their testicles haven’t yet fully descended? It’s most unlikely that a pet shop would have neutered a pair of boars, so I would suspect they are younger than you may think. What do they weigh?

I agree that they will need to stay inside until late Spring before going outside, then they will be able to adjust to the night time temperature as it then slowly reduces over summer and autumn.

If they are well bonded, why not keep them as a boar pair but away from sows? If you are going to neuter them they will each need a sow wife/wives as you can’t have 2 boars in a group of sows.
 
I think it would be best to keep them as indoor piggies and keep them as a boar pair, when the time comes for one of them you can add them to the herd by slowly introducing them to the outside.
 
JourneyGabrielle'sPiggies said:
I think it would be best to keep them as indoor piggies and keep them as a boar pair, when the time comes for one of them you can add them to the herd by slowly introducing them to the outside.
Click to expand...
They shouldn't be introduced one by one as it leaves one alone. Both need to stay together inside or go together outside. They're likely not neutered though so definitely no introductions!
 
Siikibam said:
First thing to do is to stop the muesli and slowly introduce the pellets. With regards going outside, it's too late to put them out now. Unless you can guarantee that the outbuilding will always be as warm as inside the house now. If not then you'll have to wait until temps are round 15c at night.

Not all boars will have a...sizeable package, but there should be something. Have you had a chance to weigh them as yet? In any case, once testicles have descended then they can be neutered. I would take them to the vet to be checked over next week.

One boar can live with many sows. You will need a plan B in case the sows don't accept them though. Once they go with sows, it's unlikely that they would want to live with a boar again. Is there an option to have them live (separately) alongside the sows they'd potentially be bonded with? That can sometimes help with bonding, but again it's not a guarantee.

I would consider keeping the boar in their pair and housing them above the sows, if possible.
Click to expand...


I am all over it with the food-my girls are already on pellets.
Have not had a chance to weigh them yet, but will be on that straight away- we have chickens as well, and seem to be out sorting nets and enclosures at the moment due to bird flu being reported.
Yes they absleoutly can live alongside them, and I will definatley be neuturing them as soon as they are ready.
 
VickiA said:
Is it possible that they are youngsters and their testicles haven’t yet fully descended? It’s most unlikely that a pet shop would have neutered a pair of boars, so I would suspect they are younger than you may think. What do they weigh?

I agree that they will need to stay inside until late Spring before going outside, then they will be able to adjust to the night time temperature as it then slowly reduces over summer and autumn.

If they are well bonded, why not keep them as a boar pair but away from sows? If you are going to neuter them they will each need a sow wife/wives as you can’t have 2 boars in a group of sows.
Click to expand...

I thought they may be still quite young, and not fully developed. I have not weighed them yet, but will do asap.
I am happy to keep them inside until its warm enough 😊. Keeping them together would be ideal, as they seem very close.

Lots to 🤔🤔 over
 
I would leave them together if they’re well bonded and just house above the sows. They’ll be just fine now you’ve taken them in 🤗
 
Bless them - what a lot of changes to their little lives already!
My neutered boar was rejected very forcibly by one of the two sows we got during lockdown to be his companions so that was that. Now he has sow neighbours. If your boars are close and there's no need to take that gamble it might just be easier to keep them together?
 
Free Ranger said:
Bless them - what a lot of changes to their little lives already!
My neutered boar was rejected very forcibly by one of the two sows we got during lockdown to be his companions so that was that. Now he has sow neighbours. If your boars are close and there's no need to take that gamble it might just be easier to keep them together?
Click to expand...


I know! I would be exhausted!
One is still nervous, but the other one is confident. There is a little bit of rumbling and occasional mounting between them, and I have brought various suitable enrichment materials to keep them busy.
 
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